12 July 2024 (MIA)

1470 – The Ottomans capture Euboea.

1493 – Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the best-documented early printed books, is published.

1527 – Lê Cung Hoàng ceded the throne to Mạc Đăng Dung, ending the Lê dynasty and starting the Mạc dynasty.

1543 – King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.

1561 – Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow is consecrated.

1562 – Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatán, burns the sacred books of the Maya.

1580 – The Ostrog Bible, one of the early printed Bibles in a Slavic language, is published.

1690 – Battle of the Boyne (Gregorian calendar): The armies of William III defeat those of the former James II.

1691 – Battle of Aughrim (Julian calendar): The decisive victory of William III of England’s forces in Ireland.

1776 – Captain James Cook begins his third voyage.

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.

1790 – The Civil Constitution of the Clergy is passed in France by the National Constituent Assembly.

1799 – Ranjit Singh conquers Lahore and becomes Maharaja of the Punjab (Sikh Empire).

1801 – British ships inflict heavy damage on Spanish and French ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras.

1804 – Former United States Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton dies a day after being shot in a duel.

1806 – Sixteen German imperial states leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine.

1812 – The American Army of the Northwest briefly occupies the Upper Canadian settlement at what is now at Windsor, Ontario.

1862 – The Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress.

1913 – Serbian forces begin their siege of the Bulgarian city of Vidin; the siege is later called off when the war ends.

1917 – The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona.

1918 – The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi blows up at Shunan, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621.

1920 – The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty is signed, by which Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania.

1943 – German and Soviet forces engage in one of the largest armored engagements of all time.

1948 – Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion orders the expulsion of Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramla.

1960 – Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded.

1961 – Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams, killing at least two thousand people.

1962 – The Rolling Stones perform their first concert, at the Marquee Club in London.

1970 – A fire consumes the wooden home of Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt and irretrievably destroys about 90 percent of his output.

1971 – The Australian Aboriginal Flag is flown for the first time.

1975 – Sao Tomé and Príncipe declare independence from Portugal.

1979 – The island nation of Kiribati becomes independent from United Kingdom.

1989 – Lotte World Adventure opened in Seoul, South Korea.

1996 – Macedonia establishes diplomatic relations with Afghanistan and Malta.

2006 – Hezbollah initiates Operation True Promise.

2007 – U.S. Army Apache helicopters perform airstrikes in Baghdad, Iraq; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet.

2012 – The Turaymisah massacre kills 250 people during a Syrian military operation in a village within the Hama Governorate.

2012 – A tank truck explosion kills more than 100 people in Okobie, Nigeria.

2013 – Six people are killed and 200 injured in a passenger train derailment in Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.

2013 – Malala Yousafzai addresses the United Nations and calls for worldwide access to education.

2016 – Bernie Sanders endorses fellow Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in a speech in New Hampshire.

2017 – World’s largest iceberg (later christened A68) breaks away from Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica, about 6,000 sq km in length.

2021 – At least 92 people die in a fire in a COVID-19 hospital ward in Iraqi city of Nasiriya.