July 12

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

[edit] Births

• 100 BC - Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman soldier and politician (d. 44 BC)
• 1394 - Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shogun (d. 1441)
• 1468 - Juan del Encina, poet and composer
• 1730 - Josiah Wedgwood, English potter (d. 1795)
• 1807 - Thomas Hawksley, English civil engineer (d. 1893)
• 1817 - Henry David Thoreau, American writer and philosopher (d. 1862)
• 1819 - Charles Kingsley, English writer (d. 1875)
• 1824 - Eugène Boudin, French painter (d. 1898)
• 1849 - Sir William Osler, Canadian 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 (d. 1943)
• 1868 - Stefan George, German poet (d. 1933)
• 1870 - Louis II of Monaco (d. 1949)
• 1876 - Max Jacob, French poet (d. 1944)
• 1880 - Tod Browning, American film director (d. 1962)
• 1884 - Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1920)
• 1886 - Jean Hersholt, Danish film director and 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 (d. 1960)
• 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)
• 1913 - Willis Lamb, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1917 - Andrew Wyeth, American artist
• 1920 - Beah Richards, American actress (d. 2000)
• 1920 - Pierre Berton, Canadian journalist and writer (d. 2004)
• 1922 - Mark Hatfield, U.S. Senator from Oregon
• 1925 - Roger B. Smith, American automobile executive
• 1930 - Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director, and writer
• 1932 - Otis Davis, American runner
• 1933 - Donald E. Westlake, American author
• 1934 - Van Cliburn, American pianist
• 1937 - Bill Cosby, American comedian and actor
• 1937 - Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France
• 1943 - Christine McVie, singer, musician, and songwriter (Fleetwood Mac)
• 1947 - Gareth Edwards, Welsh rugby player
• 1948 - Richard Simmons, American fitness trainer
• 1948 - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sufi musician (d. 1997)
• 1964 - Gaby Roslin, English television presenter
• 1967 - Richard Herring, English comedian
• 1971 - Kristi Yamaguchi, American figure skater
• 1972 - Travis Best, NBA player
• 1976 - Anna Friel, British actress
• 1977 - Brock Lesnar, American professional wrestler
• 1984 - Gareth Gates, British singer
• 1991 - Erik Per Sullivan, American actor

[edit] Deaths

• 783 - Bertrada, wife of Pippin III (b. 720)
• 1441 - Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shogun (b. 1394)
• 1536 - Erasmus, Dutch writer and philosopher
• 1682 - Jean Picard, French astronomer (b. 1620)
• 1712 - Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland (b. 1626)
• 1773 - Johann Joachim Quantz, German flutist and composer (b. 1697)
• 1804 - Alexander Hamilton
• 1845 - Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian author (b. 1808)
• 1910 - Charles Stewart Rolls, British engineer and aviator (b. 1887)
• 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 (b. 1868)
• 1931 - Nathan Söderblom, Swedish clergyman, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1866)
• 1935 - Alfred Dreyfus, French military officer (b. 1859)
• 1949 - Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland (b. 1860)
• 1950 - Elsie De Wolfe, actress and interior decorator (b. 1865)
• 1962 - Roger Wolfe Kahn, American 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, American musician (b. 1907)

[edit] Events

• 1543 - King Henry VIII of England married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr at Hampton Court Palace.
• 1573 - Spanish forces under the Duke of Alva capture Haarlem after a seven month siege.
• 1690 - Williamite war in Ireland: Battle of the Boyne (Gregorian calendar) - The army of William III of England defeats that of the deposed King James VII of Scotland and II of England.
• 1691 - Williamite war in Ireland: Battle of Aughrim (Julian calendar) - The decisive victory of William's forces in Ireland.
• 1759 - Seven Years' War - French and Indian War: British cannon start firing on French at Quebec City, from Lévis, Quebec.
• 1806 - Sixteen German imperial states left the Holy Roman Empire and formed the Confederation of the Rhine.
• 1812 - War of 1812: The United States invades Canada at Windsor, Ontario.
• 1862 - Medal of Honor authorized by the United States 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 - World War II: Battle of Kursk - German and Soviet forces engage in largest tank engagement of all time.
• 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.
• 1979 - Disco Demolition Night held at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois
• 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 - Earthquake in Posočje, Slovenia, 2 dead, 4.9 on the Richter scale.
• 2004 - Pedro Santana Lopes is officially appointed Prime Minister of Portugal.
• 2005 - Prince Albert II is enthroned as ruler of the Principality of Monaco.