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12th July

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1957: A new Aga Khan


The Ismaili sect of the Shi'ite Muslims welcomes a new spiritual leader when Prince Karim Al-hussain of Pakistan is proclaimed Aga Khan IV. Prince Karim’s grandfather, Aga Khan III, died the previous day after a 72-year reign. The title Aga Khan, which means chief commander, was first conferred on the leader of the Ismailis by the shah of Iran in 1818. Aga Khan I later rose up in revolt of the shah's successor, but was defeated and fled to India. The second Aga Khan reigned for only four years before Aga Khan III, or Sultan Sir Mohammed Shah, came to power in 1885. Aga Khan III became an important leader to all of Indian's Muslims, not just the Ismailis, and bypassed his own son to pick his grandson as heir. First criticized as a wealthy jet setter, Aga Khan IV devoted much of his time and money to the development of Ismaili communities in Pakistan and elsewhere.

1998

France win football's World Cup - beating Brazil 3-0 in the final in Paris.

1996

Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, agree the terms of their divorce - ending their 15 year marriage.

1970

Explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his crew cross the Atlantic in 57 days aboard a boat made entirely of papyrus.

1969

Tony Jacklin becomes the first British golfer since 1951 to win the Open.

1941

World War II: British and Russians sign a mutual assistance treaty in Moscow against Germany.

1932

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

1930

Australian cricketer Don Bradman sets a new test record with an innings of 334 against England at Leeds - 309 scored in one day.

1920

US President Woodrow Wilson officially opens the Panama Canal - six years after the first ship sailed through it.

1906

In France, the guilty verdict against army officer Captain Alfred Dreyfus for treason is annulled and he is restored to his rank and regiment.

1870

London's Victoria Embankment, built by Sir J W Bazalgette, is opened by the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.

1794

English admiral Horatio Nelson loses his right eye during the siege of Calvi in Corsica.

1730

Josiah Wedgwood, English pottery designer, is born at Burslem in Staffordshire.

1543

Henry VIII marries his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr at Hampton Court Palace.

1191

Richard the Lionheart takes the city of Acre during the Third Crusade.

100BC

Birth of Roman Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar.

1947

Welsh rugby union international Gareth Edwards.

1927

English actor Frank Windsor.

1904

Chilean poet, diplomat and Communist leader Pablo Neruda - pseudonym of Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basualto. Receives the Nobel Prize for Literature while serving as Chilean Ambassador to France. Dies 1973 aged 69.

1895

American composer Oscar Hammerstein. Combines with Richard Rodgers to write The Desert Song; South Pacific and Sound Of Music.

1854

American inventor and industrialist George Eastman - founder of Eastman Kodak.

1730

Josiah Wedgwood, English pottery designer, is born at Burslem in Staffordshire.

1982

English actor Kenneth More dies of Parkinson's Disease aged 67.

1981

Race horse trainer Fred Rimell.

1910

Charles Rolls, pioneer pilot and co-founder of Rolls-Royce cars, dies when his airplane crashes during a flying competition near Bournemouth.

1859

Scottish writer and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson.