July 12

Historic Events

2026

A bar fire kills 33 people in Bangkok, Thailand. ›

2024

Gazpromavia Flight 9608 crashes in Russia's Kolomensky District near Kolomna, killing three. ›

2013

Six people are killed and 200 injured in a French passenger train derailment in Brétigny-sur-Orge. ›

2012

Syrian Civil War: Government forces target the homes of rebels and activists in Tremseh and kill anywhere between 68 and 150 people. ›

2012

A tank truck explosion kills more than 100 people in Okobie, Nigeria. ›

2007

U.S. Army Apache helicopters engage in airstrikes against armed insurgents in Baghdad, Iraq, where civilians are killed; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet. ›

2006

A cross-border raid by Hezbollah militants starts the 2006 Lebanon War. ›

2001

Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-104, carrying the Quest Joint Airlock to the International Space Station. ›

1998

The Ulster Volunteer Force attack a house in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a petrol bomb, killing the Quinn brothers. ›

1998

France win their first World Cup title, defeating defending champions Brazil 3–0. ›

1995

Chinese seismologists successfully predict the 1995 Myanmar–China earthquake, reducing the number of casualties to 11. ›

1979

The island nation of Kiribati becomes independent from the United Kingdom. ›

1975

São Tomé and Príncipe declare independence from Portugal. ›

1973

A fire destroys the entire sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the United States. ›

1971

The Australian Aboriginal flag is flown for the first time. ›

1967

Riots begin in Newark, New Jersey. ›

1963

Pauline Reade, 16, disappears in Gorton, England, the first victim in the Moors murders. ›

1961

Indian city Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams, killing at least two thousand people. ›

1961

ČSA Flight 511 crashes at Casablanca–Anfa Airport in Morocco, killing 72. ›

1960

Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded. ›

1948

Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion orders the expulsion of Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramla. ›

1920

The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty is signed, by which Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania. ›

1918

The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi blows up at Shunan, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621. ›

1917

The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona. ›

1913

Serbian forces begin their siege of the Bulgarian city of Vidin; the siege is later called off when the war ends. ›

1913

The Second Revolution breaks out against the Beiyang government, as Li Liejun proclaims Jiangxi independent from the Republic of China. ›

1862

The Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress. ›

1847

A riot occurs in Woodstock, New Brunswick, between Catholics and members of the Orange Order that results in up to ten deaths. ›

1812

The American Army of the Northwest briefly occupies the Upper Canadian settlement at what is now at Windsor, Ontario. ›

1806

At the insistence of Napoleon, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg and thirteen minor principalities leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine. ›

1801

British ships inflict heavy damage on Spanish and French ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras. ›

1799

Ranjit Singh conquers Lahore and becomes Maharaja of the Punjab (Sikh Empire). ›

1790

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy is passed in France by the National Constituent Assembly. ›

1789

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. ›

1776

Captain James Cook begins his third voyage. ›

1691

Battle of Aughrim (Julian calendar): The decisive victory of William III of England's forces in Ireland. ›

1580

The Ostrog Bible, one of the early printed Bibles in a Slavic language, is published. ›

1576

Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Rajmahal. ›

1562

Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatán, burns the sacred idols and books of the Maya. ›

1543

King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace. ›

1527

Lê Cung Hoàng cedes the throne to Mạc Đăng Dung, ending the Lê dynasty and starting the Mạc dynasty. ›

1493

Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the best-documented early printed books, is published. ›

1488

Joseon Dynasty official Choe Bu returns to Korea after months of shipwrecked travel in China. ›

1470

The Ottomans capture Euboea. ›

1450

Although he had been previously pardoned, Jack Cade is killed while fleeing, bringing an end to Jack Cade's Rebellion. ›

1335

Pope Benedict XII issues the papal bull Fulgens sicut stella matutina to reform the Cistercian Order. ›

1191

Third Crusade: Saladin's garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two-year siege of Acre. ›

927

King Constantine II of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh and King Owain of the Cumbrians accept the overlordship of King Æthelstan of England, leading to seven years of peace in the north. ›

813

Leo V the Armenian is crowned as Byzantine Emperor after he successfully forced previous emperor Michael I Rangabe to abdicate the previous day. ›

526

Election of Pope Felix IV following the death of Pope John I earlier that year. ›

70

The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple. ›