July 12

July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining.

Events

• 1573 – Spanish forces under the Duke of Alva capture Haarlem after a seven month siege.
• 1690 – William of Orange's army wins the Battle of the Boyne as reckoned under Gregorian calendar.
• 1759 – British cannon start firing on French at Quebec, from Lévis, Quebec.
• 1812 – Americans invade Canada at Windsor, Ontario.
• 1862 – Medal of Honor authorized by the US Congress.
• 1892 – A hidden lake bursts out of a glacier on the side of Mont Blanc, flooding the valley below and killing around 200 villagers and holidaymakers in Saint Gervais
• 1932 – Lambeth Bridge, London, opened by King George V of the United Kingdom
• 1932  – Hedley Verity establishes a first-class record by taking all ten wickets for only ten runs against Nottinghamshire on a pitch affected by a storm.
• 1933 – Congress passes the first federal minimum wage law in the United States: 33 cents per hour.
• 1943 – The largest tank engagement ever takes place, part of the Battle of Kursk
• 1950 – René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France
• 1960 – Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded
• 1967 – Four days of race riots begin in Newark, New Jersey that will claim the lives of 27 people.
• 1973 – The 1973 National Archives Fire destroys the entire 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center
• 1975 – São Tomé and Príncipe declare independence
• 1979 – The island nation of Kiribati declares independence
• 1993 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake off the shore of Hokkaido, Japan launches a devastating tsunami, killing 202 on the small island of Okushiri
• 1998 – KDE 1.0 released.
• 2002 – Gay rights: The Superior Court of Ontario orders Ontario to recognize same-sex marriages.
• 2004 – Pedro Santana Lopes is officially appointed Prime Minister of Portugal.

Births

• 100 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman soldier and politician
• 1394 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Ashikaga shogun (d. 1441)
• 1468 – Juan del Encina, poet and composer
• 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
• 1730 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter (d. 1795)
• 1807 – Thomas Hawksley, civil engineer (d. 1893)
• 1817 – Henry David Thoreau, American writer and philosopher (d. 1862)
• 1819 – Charles Kingsley, writer
• 1824 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (d. 1898)
• 1849 – Sir William Osler, physician, author, professor of medicine (d. 1919)
• 1850 – Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist (d. 1912)
• 1852 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, President of Argentina (d. 1933).
• 1854 – George Eastman, American inventor (d. 1932)
• 1855 – Edward 'Ned' Hanlan, rower (d. 1908)
• 1861 – George Washington Carver, American botanist
• 1868 – Stefan George, German poet (d. 1933)
• 1870 – Louis II of Monaco (d. 1949)
• 1876 – Max Jacob, French poet (d. 1944)
• 1880 – Tod Browning, film director (d. 1962)
• 1884 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1920)
• 1886 – Jean Hersholt, film director, actor (d. 1956)
• 1892 – Bruno Schulz, Polish writer and painter (d. 1942)
• 1892 – Harry Piel, actor, film director, and producer (d. 1963)
• 1895 – Kirstin Flagstad, Norwegian soprano (d. 1962)
• 1895  – R. Buckminster Fuller, American architect (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Oscar Hammerstein II, American lyricist
• 1902 – Günther Anders, philosopher and writer (d. 1992)
• 1904 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician and leader (d. 1997)
• 1904 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet, Nobel Prize recipient (d. 1973)
• 1908 – Milton Berle, American comedian (d. 2002)
• 1909 – Joe DeRita, American actor and comedian (d. 1993)
• 1917 – Andrew Wyeth, American artist
• 1920 – Beah Richards, actress (d. 2000)
• 1920  – Pierre Berton, journalist and writer (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Mark Hatfield, U.S. Senator from Oregon
• 1925 – Roger B. Smith, American automobile executive
• 1930 – Gordon Pinsent, actor, director, and writer
• 1932 – Otis Davis, American runner
• 1933 – Donald E. Westlake, author
• 1934 – Van Cliburn, American pianist
• 1937 – Bill Cosby, American comedian and actor
• 1937  – Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France
• 1943 – Christine McVie, rock singer
• 1947 – Gareth Edwards, rugby player
• 1948 – Richard Simmons, fitness trainer
• 1948  – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, musician (d. 1997)
• 1964 – Gaby Roslin, television presenter
• 1967 – Richard Herring, comedian
• 1971 – Kristi Yamaguchi, figure skater
• 1976 – Anna Friel, British actress
• 1977 – Brock Lesnar, professional wrestler
• 1984 – Gareth Gates, British singer
• 1986 – Chris Ansette, British actor
• 1991 – Erik Per Sullivan, actor

Deaths

• 783 – Bertrada, wife of Pippin III (b. 720)
• 1441 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Ashikaga shogun (b. 1394)
• 1536 – Erasmus, Dutch writer and philosopher
• 1845 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian author
• 1918 – Dragutin Lerman, Croatian explorer (b. 1864)
• 1919 – Charles Rock, actor
• 1921 – Ralph Herz, actor
• 1923 – Harry Lonsdale, actor
• 1926 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator
• 1931 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish Nobel Peace Prize laureate
• 1935 – Alfred Dreyfus, French military officer
• 1949 – Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland (b. 1860)
• 1950 – Elsie De Wolfe, actress and interior decorator (b. 1865)
• 1962 – Roger Wolfe Kahn, band leader (b. 1907)
• 1988 – Josh Logan, film director and writer
• 1996 – John Chancellor, American television journalist (b. 1927)
• 1996 – Jonathan Melvoin, musician and keyboardist (The Smashing Pumpkins) (b. 1961)
• 1999 – Bill Owen, British actor (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Benny Carter, musician

Holidays and observances

• Kiribati – Independence Day
• Mongolia – Naadam Holiday (2nd day)
• Northern Ireland – Battle of the Boyne Day (see Irish calendar).
• São Tomé and Príncipe – Independence Day
• Sunset and sunrise occur along Manhattan's street grid centerline

External links

• BBC: On This Day

July 11 – July 13 – June 12 – August 12 — listing of all days