12 July in history
9 events that happened on 12 July, from 927 to 1997.
✦ Anniversary of the day
927 CE 1,099 years ago
Æthelstan receives the submission of northern rulers at Eamont
At Eamont, near Penrith, four rulers, among them King Constantine II of Alba, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth and Ealdred of Bamburgh, accepted Æthelstan's overlordship. Seven years of peace in the north followed.
1191 CE 835 years ago
Acre surrenders to the armies of the Third Crusade
After a siege of almost two years, the garrison of Acre surrendered to Richard I and Philip II. The port became the crusaders' main base and later capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
1335 CE 691 years ago
Pope Benedict XII issues a bull to reform the Cistercians
At Sorgues, Pope Benedict XII issued the bull Fulgens sicut stella matutina to reform the Cistercian Order. It prescribed economic consolidation of indebted houses, compulsory attendance at the general chapter, stricter discipline and reorganised theological studies for monks.
1543 CE 483 years ago
Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr, his sixth wife
Henry VIII married the twice-widowed Catherine Parr at Hampton Court. She outlived him, helped reconcile the king with his daughters and became the first English queen to publish a book in her own name.
1691 CE 335 years ago
Williamite army wins the Battle of Aughrim
William III's forces under Godert de Ginkel defeated the Jacobite army at Aughrim in County Galway (12 July Old Style). The bloodiest battle in Irish history effectively decided the Williamite war.
1862 CE 164 years ago
Lincoln signs the act creating the Army Medal of Honor
President Lincoln signed a resolution authorising the Medal of Honor for army soldiers who distinguished themselves by gallantry. It remains the highest US military decoration.
1997 CE 29 years ago
Malala Yousafzai is born in Pakistan's Swat Valley
Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora. Shot by the Taliban in 2012 for campaigning for girls' education, she survived and in 2014 became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Born on 12 July 6
Died on 12 July 7
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.