July 12 in History

In 1970, the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and an international crew sailed a boat made of papyrus reeds from the Moroccan coast across the Atlantic Ocean to Barbados. The voyage of Ra II was meant to show that ancient peoples could have crossed the ocean in simple reed craft. It did not prove they did, but it demonstrated that such a journey was physically possible, and it made Heyerdahl one of the most famous explorers of the twentieth century.

In July 1998, France won the FIFA World Cup for the first time, defeating defending champion Brazil 3-0 in the final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris. Zinedine Zidane scored two goals, both from headers, and the victory became one of the most celebrated moments in French sporting history. It also set off a national conversation about identity and integration that outlasted the tournament itself.