July 12: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – July 12 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 12th July 1109: Syria’s harbor city Tripoli was captured by Crusaders.
2. 12th July 1191: In Palestine, Saracens were defeated by English King Richard I the Lionheart and the Crusaders.
3. 12th July 1442: King Alfonso V of Aragon became the King of Naples today.
4. 12th July 1580: The first printed Bible, the Ostrog Bible, in a Slavic language was published today.
5. 12th July 1630: The Gull Island was on this day bought from Indians by New Amsterdam’s governor for Cargo. He renamed it Oyster Island which later came to be known as Ellis Island.
6. 12th July 1679: The Habeas Corpus Act which allows a prisoner’s right to have the lawfulness of prisoner’s detention to be examined by court was ratified today by King Charles II.
7. 12th July 1691: Antonio Pignatelli was elected today as Pope Innocentius XII.
18th Century – What Happened on July 12 – The 1700s
8. 12th July 1700: Gregorian calendar accepted by Gelderland.
9. 12th July 1730: Lorenzo Corsini was today chosen as Pope Clemens XII.
10. 12th July 1771: Explorer James Cook sailed Endeavour back to Downs in England.
11. 12th July 1774: A symbolic declaration of independence was passed by citizens of Carlisle, Pennsylvania today.
12. 12th July 1785: 1st manned flight ventured into in Netherlands by a gas balloon.
13. 12th July 1790: During the French Revolution the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was adopted putting the Catholic Church in France under the control of the state.
19th Century – July 12 This Day That Year – The 1800s
14. 12th July 1801: The French and the Spanish fleets were today beaten by the British fleet in the second Battle of Algeciras.
15. 12th July 1812: Canada was today invaded by the US forces led by General Hull.
16. 12th July 1817: The first flower show was held in Ireland today. It was held in Donnybrook, County Cork, Ireland.
17. 12th July 1850: The establishment of a Provincial State was accepted by the Dutch 2nd Chamber today.
18. 12th July 1859: William Goodale of Massachusetts patented the paper bag manufacturing machine.
19. 12th July 1862: The Medal of Honor was authorized by the US Congress today.
20. 12th July 1874: Ontario Agricultural College was founded on this day.
21. 12th July 1878: In New Orleans fever of epidemic nature began today taking a toll of 4,500.
22. 12th July 1879: In Germany, agricultural and industrial tariffs were introduced today.
23. 12th July 1882: In Washington D.C. the first ocean pier of the US was completed today.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day July 12th – The 1900s
24. 12th July 1901: Canadian salmon fishermen on the Pacific coast, who were on strike in their resentment against the non-union Japanese who continued to fish, marooned and imprisoned 47 of them.
25. 12th July 1901: A group of 104 aristocrats in Germany presented a declaration against dueling today. The tradition however will go on.
26. 12th July 1902: Female suffrage was approved by the Australian parliament today.
27. 12th July 1902: In Britain Alfred Balfour succeeded Lord Salisbury, upon his retirement as British Prime Minister today.
28. 12th July 1905: The British and the Japanese renewed their alliance entered into in 1902 for 10 years, and agreed to the provision of mutual support in the event of an attack by any other power.
29. 12th July 1909: The Congress today passed the 16th amendment (power to tax income).
30. 12th July 1912: The feature film “Queen Elizabeth” was exhibited in New York City today. It was the first foreign feature film to be exhibited in the US.
31. 12th July 1916: The third and the fourth of the four fatal Jersey shore shark attacks occurred today. Eleven-year-old Lester Stilwell was dragged into the creek by a shark, and 24-year-old Watson Fisher who went to rescue Stilwell, thinking that he had a seizure, was bitten and bled to death.
32. 12th July 1917: Vigilantes kidnap and deport 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee in Arizona. This came to be known as Bisbee deportation.
33. 12th July 1918: Five hundred people were killed when a Japanese warship exploded in the Bay of Tokayama today.
34. 12th July 1920: Lithuania and USSR signed a peace treaty today. Lithuania became an independent republic.
35. 12th July 1926: The flying Finn, Paavo Nurmi created a world record in a 4X1500m walk with a timing of 16:26.2.
36. 12th July 1928: A tennis match was televised for the first time today.
37. 12th July 1932: In first-class cricket, Hedley Verity took all ten wickets of just 10 runs against Nottinghamshire on a storm-affected pitch today.
38. 12th July 1933: The first minimum wage law was passed by the Congress today. The minimum wage is 33 cents per hour.
39. 12th July 1934: The US Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz Island was abandoned today.
40. 12th July 1935: Belgium recognized the Soviet Union today.
41. 12th July 1937: Soviet long-range experimental aircraft Tupolev ANT 25 did a record-breaking non-stop flight from Moscow to San Jacinto in California today.
42. 12th July 1940: Fredrick McKinley Jones patented his air conditioning unit for trucks, which would help long haul carriage of perishables like food and blood.
43. 12th July 1943: This day is the formation day of the National Committee of Freies Deutschland.
44. 12th July 1943: Today Pope Pious XII received German ambassador Baron von Weizsacker.
45. 12th July 1943: In one of the largest ever tank battles fought, Russians defeated the Germans at the battle of Prokhorovka.
46. 12th July 1944: The authority of General De Gaulle was recognized by the US government.
47. 12th July 1948: 6 RAF de Havilland Vampires flew across the Atlantic, which was the first time Jets flew across the Atlantic.
48. 12th July 1949: Dutch KLM Constellation aircraft crashed near Bombay in India killing 45 people.
49. 12th July 1950: The Hague Council of Annulment convicted and awarded death sentences to German war criminals W. Lages, F.H. Van de Funten, and F. Fischer.
50. 12th July 1952: East German SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) decided to form the German DR army today.
51. 12th July 1954: Today the Major League Base Ball Association was founded.
52. 12th July 1954: The proposed plan for the Interstate Highway System was put forward by US President Dwight D Eisenhower today.
53. 12th July 1955: In Argentina, the Christian Democratic Party was formed today.
54. 12th July 1957: General Dwight D Eisenhower was the first US President to fly in a helicopter.
55. 12th July 1957: US Surgeon General Leroy Burney linked smoking with lung cancer.
56. 12th July 1958: The US today performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island.
57. 12th July 1960: Today Congo, Char, and Central African Republic declared independence.
58. 12th July 1960: USSR launched Sputnik 5 into space with two dogs on board.
59. 12th July 1962: USSR puts two manned crafts in space for the first time.
60. 12th July 1964: In the Women’s US Open Golf tournament held in San Diego, Mickey Wright won her 4th title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen.
61. 12th July 1966: It was today announced by the US treasury that it would buy mutilated silver coins at silver bullion price at Philadelphia and Denver mints.
62. 12th July 1967: Race riots broke out in Newark, New Jersey. 26 people were killed and 1500 were injured in the riots. More than 1000 people were taken into custody.
63. 12th July 1968: USSR performed a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.
64. 12th July 1970: Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic sailing from Morocco to Barbados in a raft Ra II. He took 57 days to complete the journey.
65. 12th July 1970: Tanzania today signed a contract with China for the building of the Tanzanian Railway.
66. 12th July 1978: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada test site.
67. 12th July 1990: In Soweto, South Africa, Shanti town women stripped to the waist and stood in front of the bulldozers sent by authorities to demolish their homes.
68. 12th July 1990: Russian President Boris Yeltsin quit the Soviet Communist Party today.
69. 12th July 1993: A massive earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck Hokkaido, Japan. 160 people died in the quake.
70. 12th July 1998: Nelson Mandela, the South African President accompanied Queen Elizabeth II on a coach drive through the streets of London today.
21st Century – July 12 This Day In History – The 2000s
71. 12th July 2002: Director Sanjay Leela Bansali’s Hindi film “Devdas”, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and Madhuri Dixit premiered today.
72. 12th July 2012: The Syrian army killed 200 people today in Tremseh.
73. 12th July 2012: An oil tanker crashed and exploded in Okogbe, Rivers state, Nigeria killing anywhere between 90 to 155 people.
74. 12th July 2013: A commuter train derailed in Paris. 8 people were killed in the accident.
75. 12th July 2013: Human Rights Activist Malala Yousafzai addressed the United Nations today. During her address, she called for worldwide access to education.
76. 12th July 2015: In Wimbledon Men’s tennis final, defending champion Novak Djokovic defended his title by beating Roger Federer 7-6, 6-7, 6-4,6-3.
77. 12th July 2016: US Senator Bernie Sanders in a speech in New Hampshire, endorsed Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
78. 12th July 2018: An explosion at a chemical plant in Jiangan County, Sichuan Province in China killed 19 people today.
79. 12th July 2018: US President Donald Trump arrived in the UK today, amid protests, for a 4-day visit.
80. 12th July 2018: the Republic of Ireland, after passing legislation in the parliament, will be the first country to sell its investments in fossil fuel companies.
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