Sunday 12th of July 1536

Humanist and theologian Desiderius Roterodamus Erasmus dies of dysentery at the age of 70 in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland.

Monday 12th of July 1543

52-year-old King of England Henry VIII of England marries 31-year-old Catherine Parr in Hampton Court Palace, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom.

Saturday 12th of July 1817

Writer, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau known for his book ‘Walden’ is born in Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse, Concord, Massachusetts, United States.

Wednesday 12th of July 1854

Innovator and entrepreneur George Eastman is born in 29 Stafford Avenue, Waterville, New York, United States.

Sunday 12th of July 1874

Radical artist and poet Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven aka The Dadaist Baroness is born as Else Hildegard Plötz in Swinemünde, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

Monday 12th of July 1880

Film director Tod Charles Albert Browning is born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.

Wednesday 12th of July 1882

Composer Alfred Humphreys Pease is born at the age of 44 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.

Saturday 12th of July 1884

Artist Amedeo Clemente Modigliani is born in Via Roma 38, Livorno, Toscana, Italy.

Thursday 12th of July 1894

33-year-old Murderer Albert Joseph Pierre Bruneau aka The Murderous Priest is sentenced to death for the murder of Abbé Fricot in Laval, Mayenne, France.

Friday 12th of July 1912

37-year-old Beatrice Constance Annie Mundy aka Bessie is drowned by serial killer George Joseph Smith aka The Brides in the Bath Murderer in 80 High Street, Herne Bay, Kent, United Kingdom.

Saturday 12th of July 1924

Victim of Andrew Cunanan aka American Gigolo/American Psycho Lee Albert Miglin is born in Westville, Illinois, United States.

Monday 12th of July 1926

Writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, spy and archaeologist Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell aka The Uncrowned Queen of Iraq commits suicide by an overdose of sleeping pills at the age of 58 in Baġdād, Muḥāfaẓät Baġdād, Iraq.

There is much debate on Bell's death but it is unknown whether the overdose was an intentional suicide or accidental since she had asked her maid to wake her.

Friday 12th of July 1935

Artillery officer and presumed traitor Alfred Dreyfus dies of a heart attack at the age of 76 in Paris, VIe, Île-de-France, France.

Saturday 12th of July 1958

33-year-old Satan worshipper and serial rapist Edward John Louis Paisnel aka The Beast of Jersey attacks and rapes an unidentified 31-year-old woman in La Rozelle, Jersey, United Kingdom.

Friday 12th of July 1963

16-year-old Pauline Reade is abducted and her head smashed with a shovel by serial killers the Moors Murderers aka Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in Hollin Brown Knoll, Saddleworth Moor, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

In March 1987 Myra Hindley visited the Moors several times trying to find their missing victims' graves. On the afternoon of 1 July 1987, after more than 100 days of searching, the police found Reade's body lying in a shallow grave 90cm below the surface.

Sunday 12th of July 1964

Twenty-two people die and 128 become seriously ill when they were accidentally poisoned during a memorial service in Stilia, Phocis, Greece.

The victims were attending a mnemósynon, an orthodox memorial service for the late Grigorios Apostolopoulos, and were served koliva a traditional food associated with the service. The widow had accidentally put a powdered insecticide on the dish of wheat and raisins while preparing it, after having mistaken it for powdered sugar.

Saturday 12th of July 1969

61-year-old Maria Hettgen is sexually assaulted and strangled by serial killer Joachim Kroll aka Jockel aka Der Ruhrkannibale in Hardenbergerufer, Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Monday 12th of July 1971

37-year-old Serial killer Juan Vallejo Corona aka The Machete Murderer is indicted with a 25 murder count in Yuba City, California, United States.

Thursday 12th of July 1979

Mobster and boss of the Bonanno crime family Carmine Galante aka The Cigar aka Lilo is shot dead by three ski-masked men just as he finished eating lunch at the age of 69 in Joe and Mary's Italian-American Restaurant, 205 Knickerbocker Avenue, New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States.

Galante died with a cigar still held between his teeth.

Thursday 12th of July 1979

Over 80 die in hotel fire in Hotel Corona de Aragón, Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.

At the time of the event the hotel lodged high-profile General Franco family members Carmen Polo, Carmen Franco y Polo and Cristóbal Martínez Bordiú as well as many high-ranking military personnel, five of whom died in the fire.

Saturday 12th of July 1986

75-year-old Trevor Thomas is strangled in his bathtub by serial killer Kenneth Erskine aka The Stockwell Strangler in Barton Court, Jeffreys Road, London, Clapham, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Wednesday 12th of July 1989

31-year-old Spree killer Christian Dornier shoots 15 people, including his 57-year-old mother Jeanne and 26-year-old sister Corinne, to death in Luxiol, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.

Other victims included Pierre Boeuf, Marie-Alice Champroy, 67-year-old Louis Cuenot, 5-year-old Pauline Faivre-Pierret, 47-year-old Louis Girardot, 45-year-old Marcel Lechine, 50-year-old Louis Liard, 81-year-old Marie Périard, her 79-year-old brother Stanislas, 40-year-old Georges Pernin, 10-year-old Johann Robez-Masson and his 14-year-old brother Johnny. Dornier was chased by 40 police officers and wounded in the stomach during a shootout before being taken into custody. He was diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and thus could not be held accountable for his crime according to French law.

Monday 12th of July 1999

Mass murderer Cyrano A. Marks commits suicide by a shot through the head at the age of 40 in 3783 Adamsville Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

Minutes before Marks killed his 33-year-old girlfriend Deleane Briskey, her children 15-year-old Craig DeCarlo, 16-year-old Tasha, 13-year-old David Antonio and 9-year-old Antuan Lucas and Deleane's 37-year-old sister Essie Jo Hugley. 11-year-old Santonio Lucas survived.

Saturday 12th of July 2003

I walked about 15kms of the Hong Kong Trail in just one afternoon, starting off from The Peak via the Pokfulam Water Reservoir and Chi Fu Fa Yuen to Aberdeen, then took a bus back to my lodgings at Wang Fat Apartments in Wan Chai in Hong Kong, China.

Saturday 12th of July 2003

A lotus flower somewhere on the way between the Peak and Aberdeen in Hong Kong, China.

Sunday 12th of July 2015

A striking blue flower on the cathedral wall in Duomo di Monreale, Monreale, Sicilia, Italy.