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Events on Monday 31 December 2012 9
2003 – 2012Brigade of GurkhasJoined the Brigade of Gurkhas in 2003, following his family's military tradition. Served for nearly a decade, developing the discipline and physical resilience that would define his mountaineering career.
2011 – 2012Royal Society and AAAS PresidentElected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 2011 and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012, reflecting his stature as one of the leading figures in world science.
20122012: Sebastian VettelRed BullVettel won his third consecutive title in a dramatic season, fighting back from last place in the opening lap of the final race in Brazil to finish sixth and clinch the championship.
2012First Summit: DhaulagiriClimbed his first 8,000-metre peak, Dhaulagiri (8,167m), while still serving in the British military, igniting his passion for high-altitude mountaineering.
2012Gershwin PrizeTogether with Hal David, received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the nation's highest honour for songwriters.
2012HelplessStarred in the mystery thriller Helpless, earning praise for portraying a man searching for his missing wife.
2012Louis Vuitton Collaboration and Global RetrospectivesCollaborated with Marc Jacobs on a line of Louis Vuitton products — leather goods, fashion, accessories and jewellery — covered in her signature dots, sold through pop-up shops worldwide. Major retrospectives opened at the Tate Modern in London and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in the same year.
2012The HobbitAppeared as the Great Goblin in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
2012Major StrokeSuffered a major stroke that left him wheelchair-bound and with limited use of his legs. He later recalled that he had been having a massage when the masseur noticed something was wrong and called an ambulance. The stroke effectively ended his ability to perform on stage, though he continued occasional voice work and public appearances.