June 12th

Born on this date - 

1107 - Zhao Gou (趙 構) of China, son of Emperor Huizong (徽宗) of China and his concubine, later dowager Empress Xianren ((顯仁皇后).  After his father and his older half-brother Emperor Qinzong (欽宗) were captured by the Jurchen, Gou became emperor of China as Emperor Gaozong (高宗) and established the Southern Song empire.  After years of fighting the Jurchen, Gaozong turned pacifist, a major reason being that he did not want his brother released and restored to the throne.  Gaozong abdicated in 1162 after a reign of just over 35 years, but lived in retirement for 25 more years until his death on November 9, 1187.  He was a notable poet of his time, his work influencing other Chinese poets.  As his only son predeceased him, his successor was his sixth cousin, Emperor Ziaozong (孝宗), a descendant of Emperor Taizu (太祖), the founder of the Song dynasty.

1519 - Cosimo de' Medici, son of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and Maria Salviati.  Cosimo became Grand Duke of Tuscany when he was 17, after his distant cousin Alessandro de' Medici was assassinated.  Since Cosimo was relatively unknown in Florence at the time of his ascension, the city's nobles favored him as heir because they thought they could control him.  Once he was in power, Cosimo rejected the agreement he had signed which gave much of his power to a council of Forty-Eight.  Later that year, Cosimo was recognized as grand duke by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.  Charles would remove imperial garrisons from Tuscany, while Cosimo would provide help against France in the Italian Wars.  Cosimo is most known today for his creation of the Uffizi, which is now a museum with one of the most important art collections in the world.  Cosimo died in 1574 at the age of 54 and was succeeded by his oldest son Francesco I de' Medici, who had taken over day-to-day administration of Tuscany a decade earlier.  By his first wife, Eleanora di Toledo, he had 11 children, several of whom were infamous in Italian history.  His daughter Isabella was famously murdered by her husband for adultery in 1576.  Another daughter, Lucrezia was the wife of Alfonso II d'Este and was the subject of Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess".  Her mysterious death when she was 17 was suggested to be due to poisoning because of her loose morals.  Cosimo's youngest son, Pietro, murdered his wife and cousin, Eleanora di Garzia di Toledo, due to adultery five days before his sister Isabella died for the same reason.  It is believed the two murders were coordinated between Pietro and Isabella's husband with the tacit approval of Francesco I de' Medici.

Died on this date - 

918 - Æthelflæd of Wessex, aged about 48-49.  She was born around 869-870, the oldest child of King Alfred and Ealhswith.  Before 890, she was married to Æthelred of Mercia, by whom she had a daughter Ælfwynn.  After her husband's death in battle in 911, she became Lady of the Mercians, ruling Mercia as her husband's successor.  Unusually for women at the time, she was considered to be a master tactician and military leader.  After her death, she was succeeded by her daughter Ælfwynn.  Ælfwynn's rule did not last long, as she was forced to submit to her uncle Edward the Elder, merging Wessex and Mercia into a single kingdom.

1675 - Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy, aged 40.  He was born on June 20, 1634, the son of Duke Vittorio Amedeo I of Savoy and Christine of France.  Carlo became duke at the age of 4 on his older brother's death in 1638.  He was known for his persecution of the Vaudois, a heretical Christian sect, leading to a massacre of Vaudois in 1655.  He married twice, and had by his second wife, his successor Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, who was the first King of Sicily, although he was forced to give up the title and become King of Sardinia.  The Kings of Italy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are descended from Carlo and Vittorio.

1758 - August Wilhelm of Prussia, aged 35.  He was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover and was born on August 9, 1722.  His older brother was Frederick the Great.  By his wife Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, August was the father of Friedrich II of Prussia, who inherited the throne from the childless Frederick the Great.  His daughter Wilhelmina was the Princess Consort of Orange and the mother of the first King of the Netherlands.

1818 - Emperor Egwale Seyon of Ethiopia, unknown age.  He was the son of Emperor Hezqeyas.  His father lost the throne in 1794 and a number of appointees became emperor before until several nobles brought Egwale Seyon back as emperor.  He married Walatta Iyasus and had five children.  His reign was marked by civil war among the nobles.  After his death, he was succeeded as emperor by his brother Iyoas, instead of his sons, supposedly due to his sons' bad character.