Today in History: 362 Muslim pilgrims were crushed to death during a stoning ritual at the annual Haj pilgrimage in Mena, Saudi Arabia

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on January 12:

1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes first woman elected to U.S. Senate.

1950 – A Swedish tanker struck the British submarine Truculent during the submarine’s trials in the River Thames. Fifty-five of the 70 men on the submarine died.

1964 – One month after Zanzibar became independent, the ruling Zanzibar National Party government was overthrown in a coup.

1976 – Dame Agatha Christie, queen of the detective story and creator of detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, died.

1997 – Cristina Sanchez becomes first ever fully-fledged female bullfighter to don a sequinned “suit of lights”.

1999 – Mark McGwire’s record-setting 70th home run ball sells for $2.7 million.

2002 – The former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance died.

2002 – British experts arrive in Kabul on rescue mission to save some of Afghanistan’s animal war victims.

2003 – The former Argentinian military dictator General Leopoldo Galtieri died.

2004 – The world’s largest cruise ship, the $800 million Queen Mary 2, set off across the Atlantic on its maiden voyage.

2006 – 362 Muslim pilgrims were crushed to death during a stoning ritual at the annual Haj pilgrimage in Mena, Saudi Arabia.

(Reuters)