This Day in History - 12th July

1543England's Henry VIII married Catherine Parr, his sixth and last wife, at Hampton Court Palace. Catherine was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and she outlived him. She was also the most-married English queen, having a total of four husbands.

1690William of Orange defeated the deposed Catholic, King James II, at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.

1730The birth of Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founder of the Wedgwood company and credited with the industrialization of the manufacture of pottery. He was a prominent abolitionist, and is remembered for his 'Am I Not a Man And a Brother?' anti-slavery medallion.

1794British admiral Horatio Nelson lost his right eye at the siege of Calvi, in Corsica. Nelson was born at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk.

1910Charles Rolls, aged 32, pioneering pilot and co-founder of Rolls-Royce, was killed when he crashed his biplane in a flying competition in the Southbourne distric of Bournemouth. He was the first Briton to be killed in a flying accident.

1932Yorkshire cricketer Hedley Verity took 10 wickets for 10 runs in a county championship match against Nottinghamshire at Headingley, Leeds.

1962The Rolling Stones performed their first ever concert, at the Marquee Club in London.

1969Tony Jacklin became the first British golfer since 1951 to win the Open Championship.

1974The manager of Liverpool football club, Bill Shankly announced his retirement.

1982Kenneth More, English actor died. His film roles cast him as an archetypal, carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman. As More himself described it, 'I seem fated to be either the stiff-upper-lip war hero or the hearty back-slapping idiot'.

1984Robert Maxwell bought the Mirror Group newspapers.

1989Judy Leden became the first woman to cross the English Channel by hang glider. She was launched from a hot air balloon 13,500 ft above Dover and completed the flight in less than 30 minutes.

2000House of Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd announced that she would resign from the high-profile post and her seat before the General Election.

2012The public launch of the Canal & River Trust (formed on 2nd July 2012). The new charity took over from British Waterways and was given responsibility for canals and rivers in England and Wales. It was the largest ever single transfer of state assets to the voluntary sector.

2013Journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker died at the age of 87 after suffering from bronchial pneumonia. His TV career stretched nearly six decades and he was best known for his documentary series, Whicker's World, which ran from 1959 to 1988 on both the BBC and ITV. He was made a CBE for services to broadcasting in 2005.

2013A military funeral was held for Fusilier Lee Rigby at Bury Parish Church in Greater Manchester. He was killed outside Woolwich Barracks in May by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.