July 12th

Feast Day of Saints Nabor and Felix. They were martyred during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian in 303 AD. The two are said to be Roman soldiers from Mauretania Caesariensis under Maximian. They were condemned in Milan and executed by decapitation in Laus Pompeia.





100 BC Roman General and statesman Julius Caesar is born in Rome. He played an important role in the demise of the Roman Republic and the introduction of the Roman Empire.





1543 King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace. Parr was the most married Queen of England, ( being married four times ), and also the first English Queen to be titled " Queen of Ireland".



1690 The armies of William III defeat those of the former James II at the Battle of the Boyne. The symbolic importance of the battle has made it one of the most important battles of British history with it playing a prominent part in Orange Order folklore with commemorative marches held each year.





1730 English potter Josiah Wedgwood is born in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. He founded the Wedgwood Pottery company and is credited with introducing industrialisation in the manufacture of pottery.



1928 English journalist and newsreader Sir Alastair Burnet is born in Sheffield. Said to be Mrs. Thatcher's favourite, Burnet fronted ITN's flagship bulletin " News At Ten" for eighteen years.





1932 Yorkshire cricketer Hedley Verity takes a world record 10 wickets for 10 runs in a county match for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire.





1935 French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus died in Paris aged 75yo, exactly 29 years to the day since his exoneration from the charges of treason that turned into the most tense political drama ever known in French History.





1937 American comedian and actor Bill Cosby was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After starring in the 1960s' action thriller "I Spy", Cosby went on to play Cliff Huxtable in " The Cosby Show" which aired for eight seasons 1984-92.





1946 Welsh Rugby Union star and sports' broadcaster Gareth Edwards is born in Pontardawe, playing from scrum half Edwards has been often described as "the greatest player ever to pull on a Welsh rugby shirt".





1951 American actress and singer Cheryl Ladd was born in Huron, South Dakota as Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in Charlie's Angels when she replaced the departing Farrah Fawcett Majors amid great publicity.







1963 16yo Pauline Read disappears on her way to a dance at the British Railways Club in Gorton, Manchester, becoming the first victim of the "Moors Murderers".

 

1966 English actress Tamsin Greig is born in Maidstone, Kent.  Known for many roles including two Channel 4 television comedies: Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing. She currently stars in two sitcoms: as Beverly Lincoln in transatlantic sitcom Episodes, and as Jackie in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner. Other notable roles include Alice Chenery in BBC One's comedy drama Love Soup, Debbie Aldridge in BBC Radio 4's soap opera The Archers, Miss Bates in the 2009 BBC version of Jane Austen's Emma, and Beth Hardiment in the 2010 film version of Tamara Drewe.







1973 Celebrated American Horror film actor Lon Chaney Jr. died of heart failure in San Clemente, California aged 67yo. Famous for playing Larry Talbot in  the 1941 film " The Wolf Man", he also played leads in other horror films such as the Mummy, Frankenstein's monster and Count Alucard.







1982 English stage and screen actor Kenneth More died in London aged 67 yo from the effects of Parkinson's Disease. Raised to stardom with the vintage car saga "Genevieve" leading to a series of light comedic, happy go lucky roles in films such as "The Admirable Crichton" and the first of the "Doctor" series alongside serious roles as the stoic British hero in " The Thirty Nine Steps" and as Douglas Bader in " Reach For The Sky". Later he enjoyed a successful career on TV in The Forsythe Saga and as G.K.Chesterton's crime solving Catholic priest Father Brown.







1984 English singer/songwriter Gareth Gates is born in Bradford. Runner up to Will Young in the first series of Pop Idol. In 2009 he moved into musical theatre starting with Joseph & The Technicolour Dreamcoat. Then Les Miserables as Marius in the West End.







1999 English character actor Bill Owen died in Westminster, London from pancreatic cancer aged 85 yo. Owen played the role of William "Compo" Simmonite in the long running BBC series " Last of the Summer Wine" for 26 years until his death. He is buried in the churchyard at St. John's Parish Church in Upperthong , near his beloved town of Holmfirth, the home of Summer Wine.







2013 Egyptian- English journalist and traveller Alan Whicker died from bronchial pneumonia at his home in Jersey aged 87yo. His TV career spanned almost 60 years with his "Whicker's World" series lasting over 30 years. 







Football News: Luis Suarez has moved from Liverpool to Barcelona. The suspended striker said he was delighted to be moving to Spain and it's a move he can get his teeth into. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers denied that the move left him with a toothless forward line or that his team would lack bite going forward. The move will apparently cost £75 million which is just over £2.34 million per tooth.

Adding Bite To Uruguay's Attack

A Lot of Dosh Per Gnasher!