Today in History for 12th July 2026

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Historical Events

1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Taishōgun, the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan and de facto ruler
1862 - Federal troops occupy Helena, Arkansas
1940 - Frederick McKinley Jones receives a patent for an air conditioning unit for trucks, helping to change long-haul carriage of food and blood
1979 - “Disco Demolition Night” at Comiskey Park: fans go wild destroying disco records and cause the White Sox to forfeit the second game of a doubleheader to the Detroit Tigers
2018 - World's longest fingernails are cut off; Indian man Shridhar Chillal's left-hand nails measured a combined total of 909.6 cm (358.1 inches) after growing for 66 years

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Famous Birthdays

1928 - Barbara Cowsill, American singer and rock band mother (The Cowsills - "Hair"; "We Can Fly"), born in Cranston, Rhode Island (d. 1985)
1933 - Brian Cant, British stage and screen actor and children's television presenter (Play School, 1964-85), born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England (d. 2017)
1935 - Hans Tilkowski, German soccer goalkeeper (39 caps, West Germany; Westfalia Herne, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt), born in Husen, Germany (d. 2020)
1956 - Mel Harris [Mary Ellen], American actress (Hope-30 Something), born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
1978 - (Christopher) "Topher" Grace, American stage and screen actor (That '70s Show -"Eric"; In Good Company; Home Economics), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1073 - Johannes Gualbertus, Italian monk/saint, dies
1441 - Ashikaga Yoshinori, 6th Japanese shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate (1428-41), assassinated during an evening play by the Akamatsu family at 47
1946 - Ray Stannard Baker, American journalist (Puliter Prize 1940), dies at 76
1975 - Carl Snavely, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Bucknell, North Carolina, Cornell 180–96–16), dies at 80
2020 - Rod Bernard, American "swamp pop" singer ("Allons Danser Colinda"), dies at 79

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