Historical Events on July 12

  • 1776: The explorer Captain James Cook starts his 3rd voyage of exploration.
  • 1790: The National Constituent Assembly passes the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in France.
  • 1804: After being shot in a duel just the day before, former U.S Secretary of the Treasurer Alexander Hamilton dies from his wounds.
  • 1806: The Confederation of the Rhine is formed when 16 German Imperial States exit the Holy Roman Empire.
  • 1812: The American Army of the Northwest briefly stays at Windsor, Ontario.
  • 1862: The United States Congress authorizes the Medal of Honor.
  • 1918: Over 620 people are killed when the Imperial Japanese Naval Battleship called the Kawachi explodes at Shunan, Japan.
  • 1962: The rock band the Rolling Stones have their first concert at London’s Marquee Club.
  • 1967: In Newark, New Jersey, riots start on this date.
  • 1973: A fire sweeps through the 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the U.S., destroying the entire floor.
  • 2006: The Israel Lebanon war starts on this day.
  • 2007: Airstrikes are done in Baghdad by United States Army Apache helicopters. The cockpit footage is then leaked on the Internet.
  • 2012: Approximately 250 people are killed during a Syrian military operation. It would become known as the Turaymisah Massacre.
  • 2012: In Okabie, Nigeria, a tank truck explodes and kills more than a hundred people.
  • 2013: In Brétigny-sur-Orge, two hundred people are injured and another six are killed when a French passenger train derails.

Famous Birthdays on July 12

  • American essayist, philosopher and poet, Henry David Thoreau is born in 1817.
  • American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Louis B. Mayer is born in 1884.
  • Japanese biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate, Satoshi Omura is born in 1935.
  • American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer, Bill Cosby is born in 1937.
  • English singer-songwriter Christine McVie is born in 1943.
  • American author, screenwriter and playwright, Delia Ephron is born in 1944.
  • American psychologist Richard C. McCarty is born in 1947.
  • American fitness trainer and actor, Richard Simmons is born in 1948.