THIS DAY IN HISTORY ― JULY 12

July 12 is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 172 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).   

NATIONAL DIFFERENT-COLORED EYES DAY  

1191 – Third Crusade: Saladin's garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two-year siege of Acre. Saladin died in Damascus in 1193, having given away much of his personal wealth to his subjects. He is buried in a mausoleum adjacent to the Umayyad Mosque. Saladin has become a prominent figure in Muslim, Arab, Turkish and Kurdish culture, and he has often been described as being the most famous Kurd in history.

1470 – The Ottomans capture Euboea. 

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

1789 – French revolutionary and radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gave a speech in response to the dismissal of Jacques Necker France's finance minister the day before. The speech calls the citizens to arms and leads to the Storming of the Bastille two days later. 

1806 – Sixteen German imperial states leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon sought to consolidate the modernizing achievements of the revolution, but he wanted the soldiers and supplies these subject states could provide for his wars. Napoleon required it to supply 63,000 troops to his army. The success of the Confederation depended on Napoleon's success in battle; it collapsed when he lost the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.

1812 – War of 1812: The United States invades Canada at Windsor, Ontario.

1862 – The Congressional Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress. It is the United States of America's highest military honor, awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. The medal is awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress to U.S. military personnel only. There are three versions of the medal, one for theArmy, one for the Navy, and one for the Air Force. Personnel of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard receive the Navy version.

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

1943 – World War II: Battle of Prokhorovka: German and Soviet forces engage in one of the largest tankengagements of all time.  

1961 – Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams. Half of Pune is submerged, more than 100,000 families need to be relocated and the death toll exceeds 2,000. 

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

1967 – The Newark riots begin in Newark, New Jersey. 

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

1973 – A fire destroys the entire sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the United States. 

2006 – Hezbollah initiates Operation True Promise.

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

TODAY'S BIRTHS

1730 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (d. 1795)

1817 – Henry David Thoreau, American philosopher and author (d. 1862)

1934 – Van Cliburn, American pianist and composer (d. 2013)

From Wikipedia and Google (images), ex as noted.