Today in History: Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana agreed the terms of their divorce, ending their 15-year marriage

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on July 12:

1906 – French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus, who was falsely accused of treason, was finally pardoned and restored to his rank and regiment.

1920 – The Panama Canal was formally opened, six years after the first ship sailed through it.

1943 - World War II: Battle of Prokhorovka - Russia defeats German forces in one of the largest ever tank battles

1957 - US Surgeon General Leroy Burney connects smoking with lung cancer.

1970 – China agreed to make an extensive loan to Tanzania and Zambia to build the Tanzam railway linking the two countries.

1995 – Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj breaks 1,500m world record with a run of three minutes, 26 seconds.

1996 – Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana agreed the terms of their divorce, ending their 15-year marriage.

2003 – Benny Carter, legendary U.S. alto sax player and jazz composer, died aged 95.

2005 – Mei Mei, the world’s oldest panda raised in captivity, died at a Chinese zoo aged 36.

2006 – Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight more in cross-border attacks, sparking a month-long war with Israel.

2007 – World’s tallest man marries in China.

2012 – Fatal tanker fire in Okogbe, Nigeria.

2013 – Intercity train derails at Bretigny-sur-Orge station near Paris.

(Reuters)