12 July

Events

• 1690 - William of Orange's army wins the Battle of the Boyne.
• 1759 - British cannon start firing on French at Quebec, from Lévis,_Quebec.
• 1812 - Americans invade Canada at Windsor,_Ontario.
• 1862 - the Medal of Honor is authorized by the U.S. Congress.
• 1932 - Lambeth Bridge, London, opened by King George V of the United Kingdom
• 1950 - René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France
• 1967 - Four days of race riots begin in Newark, New Jersey that will claim the lives of 27 people.
• 1975 - São Tomé and Príncipe declare independence
• 1979 - The island nation of Kiribati delcares independence
• 1998 - KDE 1.0 released.
• 2002 - Gay rights: The Superior Court of Ontario orders Ontario to recognize same-sex marriages.

Births

• 1730 - Josiah Wedgwood, potter
• 1807 - Thomas Hawksley, civil engineer (+ 1893)
• 1817 - Henry David Thoreau, writer, Transcendentalist philosopher
• 1819 - Charles Kingsley, writer
• 1849 - Sir William Osler, physician, author, professor of medicine (+ 1919)
• 1854 - George Eastman, inventor of the Kodak camera (+ 1932)
• 1855 - Edward 'Ned' Hanlan, world champion rower (+ 1908)
• 1861 - George Washington Carver, botanist who discovered many uses for peanuts
• 1868 - Stefan George, poet (+ 1933)
• 1870 - Louis II of Monaco (+ 1949)
• 1882 - Tod Browning, film director (+ 1962)
• 1884 - Amedeo Modigliani, painter and sculptor (+ 1920)
• 1886 - Jean Hersholt, film director, actor (+ 1956)
• 1892 - Harry Piel, actor, film director and producer (+ 1963)
• 1895 - Oscar Hammerstein II, lyricist known for his work with Richard Rodgers on various musicals (+ 1960)
• 1895 - R. Buckminster Fuller, American architect, (+ 1983)
• 1902 - Günther Anders, philosopher and writer (+ 1992)
• 1904 - Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician and leader (+ 1997)
• 1904 - Pablo Neruda, author, won Nobel Prize for literature in 1971, (+ 1973)
• 1908 - Milton Berle, comedian (+ 2002)
• 1909 - Joe DeRita, AKA "Curly Joe", former member of the Three Stooges (+ 1993)
• 1920 - Beah Richards, actress (+ 2000)
• 1922 - Mark Hatfield, former US Senator from Oregon
• 1930 - Gordon Pinsent, actor, director, writer
• 1933 - Donald E. Westlake, author
• 1934 - Van Cliburn, pianist
• 1937 - Bill Cosby, comedian, actor
• 1937 - Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France
• 1948 - Richard Simmons, fitness trainer
• 1948 - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, musician (+ 1997)
• 1965 - Mauro Gandini, economist
• 1971 - Kristi Yamaguchi, figure skater
• 1976 - Anna Friel
• 1977 - Seann William Scott, actor
• 1991 - Erik Per Sullivan, actor, Malcolm in the Middle

Deaths

• 1536 - Erasmus of Rotterdam, Dutch writer and philospher
• 1912 - Dragutin Lerman, Africa explorer (born 1864)
• 1919 - Charles Rock
• 1921 - Ralph Herz
• 1923 - Harry Lonsdale
• 1926 - Gertrude Bell, archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator known as the "Uncrowned Queen of Iraq"
• 1935 - Alfred Dreyfus, French military officer
• 1962 - Roger Wolfe Kahn, band leader
• 1988 - Josh Logan, film director, writer
• 2003 - Benny Carter, musician

Holidays and observances

• Kiribati - Independence Day
• Mongolia - Naadam Holiday (2nd day)
• Northern Ireland - Battle of the Boyne Day
• São Tomé and Príncipe - Independence Day

July 11 - July 13 - June 12 - August 12 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Referenced By