12th July anniversaries

• Birth
  • 1908
  • United States
  • "Birth of Milton Berle, American comedian ."
• event
  • 1174
  • Great Britain
  • "Henry II did penance for the death of Thomas à Becket, murdered by his knights 3 years previously and already canonised; the following day in a 'seeming act of divine providence', the last supporters of the revolt against him were surprised and captured a"
  • 1543
  • Great Britain
  • "Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr, wife #6, who survives him "
  • 1895
  • Great Britain
  • First recorded motor journey of any length (56 miles) in Britain
  • 1932
  • Great Britain
  • Lambeth Bridge in London opens
  • 1933
  • United States
  • US Congress passed the first federal minimum wage law in the United States (later abolished until 1938).
  • 1979
  • Kiribati
  • Kiribati declared its independence from Great Britain
  • 1984
  • Great Britain
  • Czechoslovakian-born British publisher and media proprietor Robert Maxwell bought Mirror Group newspapers
  • 1994
  • Germany
  • "The ban on German troops fighting outside their own country was lifted, allowing Germany to join UN and NATO peace-keeping missions. The ban had been in place since the end of World War II"
  • 1998
  • Ireland
  • "Three young brothers were killed in a loyalist arson attack in Drumcree, Northern Ireland."
• Death
  • 1999
  • Great Britain
  • "Death of Bill Owen, British actor (Compo in Last of the Summer Wine)"