On This Day: 12 July

Julius Caesar is born		100 BC
The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six–month siege. Three days later they would breach the walls, which enabled the army to destroy the Second Temple		70
King Constantine II of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth (South Wales), Ealdred of Bamburgh (Northumberland) and King Owain of the Cumbrians accept the overlordship of King Æhelstan of England, leading to seven years of peace in the north		927
Four days after returning to England (having been in Normandy fighting his enemies), Henry II visits Canterbury to do penance for the death of Thomas Becket, who was murdered by some of Henry's knights three years earlier and had already been canonized as a saint		1174
During the Third Crusade, Saladin's garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two–year siege of Acre		1191
Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle – one of the best–documented early printed books – is published		1493
Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife, at Hampton Court Palace		1543
The Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Raj Mahal		1576
The Armada sets sail from Spain		1588
William III's troops under Godert de Ginkel defeat those of James II at the Battle of Aughrim – the decisive victory over the Jacobites in Ireland		1691
Captain James Cook begins his third voyage		1776
In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later; fire sweeps through Paris after two days of rioting		1789
Nelson loses the sight of his right eye when hit by flying gravel at the siege of Calvi in Corsica		1794
In response to Jacobin activity and the fear that workers would strike during a conflict to force the government to accede to their demands, Parliament passes the Combination Act – prohibiting trade unions and collective bargaining		1799
The British fleet inflicts heavy damage on Spanish and French ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras (a.k.a. the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar)		1801
Sixteen German imperial states leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine		1806
God conveys to Joseph Smith, leader of the Mormon Church, that polygamy is permissible (according to Smith)		1843
Crimea evacuated		1856
US Congress authorises the Medal of Honor		1862
Victoria Embankment is opened by the Prince of Wales		1870
Turkey cedes possession of Cyprus to Britain		1878
Former French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus is officially exonerated by a military commission – almost ten years after Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy was shown to be the actual perpetrator of the act of treason of which Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted in 1894. (See also 13 July and 21 July)		1906
Charles Rolls, co–founder of Rolls–Royce, dies in a flying accident – the first British citizen to die thus		1910
At least 621 lives are lost when the battleship Kawachi of the Imperial Japanese Navy blows up in Tokuyama Bay at Shunan, western Honshu		1918
President Woodrow Wilson officially opens the Panama Canal		1920
Donald Bradman scores a Test record 334 against England at Leeds		1930
The Anglo–Soviet agreement is signed in Moscow		1941
German and Soviet forces engage in the Battle of Prokhorovka – one of the largest armoured engagements in history		1943
The RAF becomes the first air force to use jet aircraft in operational service		1944
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben–Gurion orders the expulsion of Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramla		1948
Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns from the US Army in order to stand for President		1952
At least two thousand lives are lost when the Indian city of Pune floods due to the failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams		1961
The Rolling Stones perform their first concert, at London's Marquee Club		1962
US Surgeon General Leroy E. Burney announces the US Public Health Service's belief that there is a direct causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer		1967
Thor Heyerdahl and a 7–man crew complete a 57–day crossing of the Atlantic from Morocco to Barbados, in Ra		1970
Bill Shankly, 58, announces his retirement as manager of Liverpool FC, saying that he was starting to feel the strain after almost 15 years in the job and that he had to take his family into consideration		1974
São Tome and Principé declares independence from Portugal		1975
Kiribati becomes independent from the United Kingdom		1979
Hostilities between Britain and Argentina over the Falklands officially end		1982
Reed International agrees to sell Mirror Group Newspapers to Robert Maxwell's Pergamon Press		1984
Dozens of people are injured in the second consecutive night of violence in Portadown, County Armagh, after Orangemen converge on the town following their annual marches to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne		1986
The Sunday Times defies a government injunction and publishes extracts from Peter Wright's Spycatcher		1987
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is left with a party in tatters after Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian parliament, resigns from the Soviet Communist Party		1987
The Prince and Princess of Wales announce their intention to divorce		1996
Jason, Mark and Richard Quinn, aged 7, 9 and 11, lose their lives when a petrol bomb is thrown through a window at the rear of their terraced house in Ballymoney, County Antrim, by members of the Ulster Volunteer Force		1998
France beat Brazil 3–0 in the World Cup final in Paris		1998
Leaked Foreign Office documents initiate controversy over the business dealings of Conservative Party treasurer Michael Ashcroft		1999
Twelve–year–old Shevaun (sic) Pennington leaves her Wigan home to join Toby Studabaker, 31, a US Marine on the run in France, whom she met in an Internet chat room		2003
A 34–day conflict begins as Israeli forces launch their most serious attacks on southern Lebanon in six years, after Hezbollah militants kill three Israeli soldiers and seize two in a cross–border raid		2006
Lord Levy, the Labour Party's chief fundraiser, is arrested by police investigating the "cash for peerages" scandal		2006
US Army helicopters engage in airstrikes against civilians in Baghdad; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet		2007
During the Syrian Civil War, Government forces target the homes of rebels and activists in Tremseh; estimates of the number of fatalities vary between 68 and 150		2012
At least 121 lives are lost in Okobie, Nigeria, when a tank truck falls into a ditch, spills its petrol contents, and explodes		2012

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On This Day: 12 July