March 12

March 12 is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 294 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius
• 1550 – Several hundred Spanish and indigenous troops under the command of Pedro de Valdivia defeat an army of 60,000 Mapuche at the Battle of Penco during the Arauco War in present-day Chile
• 1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Society of Jesus, are canonized by the Roman Catholic Church
• 1689 – The Williamite War in Ireland begins.
• 1811 – Peninsular War: A day after a successful rearguard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delayed the pursuing Anglo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Red River Campaign begins as a US Navy fleet of 13 Ironclads and 7 Gunboats and other support ships enter the Red River
• 1881 – Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain.
• 1885 – Tonkin Campaign: France captures the citadel of Bắc Ninh.
• 1894 – Coca-Cola is bottled and sold for the first time in Vicksburg, Mississippi, by local soda fountain operator Joseph A. Biedenharn.
• 1912 – The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.
• 1913 – Canberra Day: The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra. (Melbourne remains temporary capital until 1927 while the new capital is still under construction.)
• 1918 – Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for 215 years.
• 1920 – The Kapp Putsch begins when the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt is ordered to march on Berlin.
• 1921 – İstiklâl Marşı is adopted in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
• 1922 – Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan form the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic
• 1928 – In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kills 431 people.
• 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile march to the sea to protest the British monopoly on salt in India
• 1933 – Great Depression: Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States. This is also the first of his "fireside chats".
• 1934 – Konstantin Päts and General Johan Laidoner stage a coup in Estonia, and ban all political parties.
• 1938 – Anschluss: German troops occupy and absorb Austria.
• 1940 – Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia. Finnish troops and the remaining population are immediately evacuated.
• 1942 – World War II: Pacific War: The Battle of Java ends with an ABDACOM surrender to the Japanese Empire in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies.
• 1943 – Italian occupation of Greece: The Italian occupying forces abandon the town of Karditsa to the partisans. On the same day, an Italian motorized column razes the village of Tsaritsani, burning 360 of its 600 houses and shooting 40 civilians.
• 1947 – Cold War: The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
• 1950 – The Llandow air disaster occurs near Sigingstone, Wales, in which 80 people die when their aircraft crashed, making it the world's deadliest air disaster at the time.
• 1961 – First winter ascent of the North Face of the Eiger.
• 1967 – Suharto takes power from Sukarno when the MPRS inaugurate him as Acting President of Indonesia.
• 1968 – Mauritius achieves independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1971 – The March 12 Memorandum is sent to the Suleyman Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.
• 1992 – Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1993 – Several bombs explode in Mumbai, India, killing about 300 and injuring hundreds more.
• 1993 – North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea says that it plans to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and refuses to allow inspectors access to its nuclear sites.
• 1994 – The Church of England ordains its first female priests.
• 1999 – Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
• 2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade.
• 2003 – WHO officially release global warning on pandemic SARS disease.
• 2004 – The President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, is impeached by its National Assembly: The first such impeachment in the nation's history.
• 2009 – Financier Bernard Madoff pleads guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street's history.
• 2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan's earthquake.
• 2014 – A gas explosion in the New York City neighborhood of East Harlem kills eight and injures 70 others.

Births

• 1096 – Canute Lavard, Danish prince (d. 1131)
• 1270 – Charles, Count of Valois (d. 1325)
• 1386 – Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (d. 1428)
• 1475 – Luca Gaurico, Italian astrologer (d. 1558)
• 1476 – Anna Jagiellon, Duchess of Pomerania, Polish princess (d. 1503)
• 1479 – Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours (d. 1516)
• 1500 – Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1558)
• 1501 – Pietro Andrea Mattioli, Italian scientist (d. 1577)
• 1515 – Caspar Othmayr, German Lutheran pastor and composer (d. 1553)
• 1573 – Agnes Hedwig of Anhalt, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (d. 1616)
• 1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (d. 1676)
• 1613 – André Le Nôtre, French gardener and architect (d. 1700)
• 1626 – John Aubrey, English historian and philosopher (d. 1697)
• 1637 – Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and Albany (d. 1671)
• 1647 – Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (d. 1727)
• 1672 – Richard Steele, Irish-Welsh journalist and politician (d. 1729)
• 1685 – George Berkeley, Irish bishop and philosopher (d. 1753)
• 1701 – Johann Friedrich Cotta, German Lutheran theologian (d. 1779)
• 1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
• 1735 – François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest, French politician and diplomat (d. 1821)
• 1753 – Jean Denis, French politician, lawyer, jurist, journalist, and historian (d. 1827)
• 1756 – Avram Mrazović, Serbian writer, translator, pedagogue and Senator (d. 1826)
• 1766 – Claudius Buchanan, Scottish theologian (d. 1815)
• 1766 – Francisco Javier de Cienfuegos y Jovellanos, Spanish bishop and cardinal (d. 1847)
• 1774 – Johann Caspar Horner, Swiss physicist, mathematician and astronomer (d. 1834)
• 1781 – Frederica of Baden (d. 1826)
• 1784 – William Buckland, English geologist and paleontologist; Dean of Westminster (d. 1856)
• 1785 – Clemens Maria Franz von Bönninghausen, Dutch and Prussian lawyer (d. 1864)
• 1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Toronto (d. 1861)
• 1795 – George Tyler Wood, American military officer and politician (d. 1858)
• 1806 – Jane Pierce, American wife of Franklin Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
• 1807 – James Abbott, Indian Army officer (d. 1896)
• 1807 – Albert Mackey, American medical doctor and author (d. 1881)
• 1812 – Ignacio Comonfort, Mexican politician and soldier (d. 1863)
• 1815 – Louis-Jules Trochu, French military leader and politician (d. 1896)
• 1821 – John Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
• 1821 – Medo Pucić, Croatian writer and politician (d. 1882)
• 1823 – Katsu Kaishū, Japanese statesman (d. 1899)
• 1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, Russian-German physicist and academic (d. 1887)
• 1831 – Joseph Gérard, French Roman Catholic priest (d. 1914)
• 1832 – Charles Boycott, English farmer and agent (d. 1897)
• 1832 – Charles Friedel, French chemist and mineralogist (d. 1899)
• 1832 – Jean Alfred Fournier, French dermatologist (d. 1914)
• 1834 – Hilary A. Herbert, Secretary of the Navy (d. 1919)
• 1835 – Gregorio Maria Aguirre y Garcia, Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain
• 1835 – Charles Friedel, French chemist and mineralogist (d. 1899)
• 1835 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1909)
• 1837 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (d. 1911)
• 1838 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (d. 1907)
• 1843 – Gabriel Tarde, French sociologist and criminologist (d. 1904)
• 1845 – William Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish nobleman (d. 1895)
• 1848 – Cyrill Kistler, German composer (d. 1907)
• 1851 – Charles Chamberland, French microbiologist (d. 1908)
• 1852 – Richard Altmann, German pathologist and histologist (d. 1900)
• 1857 – William V. Ranous, American actor and director (d. 1915)
• 1857 – Andreas Voss, German botanist and horticulturist (d. 1924)
• 1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (d. 1935)
• 1859 – Ernesto Cesàro, Italian mathematician (d. 1906)
• 1860 – Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet, songwriter, playwright and fascist intellectual
• 1860 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian poet and author (d. 1895)
• 1863 – Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian soldier, journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1938)
• 1863 – Carl Holsøe, Danish artist (d. 1935)
• 1863 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and chemist (d. 1945)
• 1864 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (d. 1922)
• 1864 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish organist and composer (d. 1943)
• 1867 – Raul Brandão, Portuguese writer and journalist (d. 1930)
• 1869 – George Forbes, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1947)
• 1874 – Edmund Eysler, Austrian composer (d. 1949)
• 1877 – Wilhelm Frick, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 1946)
• 1878 – Musa Ćazim Ćatić, Bosnian poet
• 1878 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1903)
• 1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, English-American chemist and academic (d. 1952)
• 1881 – Gunnar Nordström, Finnish physicist and academic (d. 1923)
• 1881 – Pavel Janák, Czech architect (d. 1956)
• 1881 – Väinö Tanner, Finnish politician of Social Democratic Party of Finland
• 1882 – Erwin Baker, American motorcycle and automobile racing driver (d. 1960)
• 1882 – Carlos Blanco Galindo, Bolivian politician (d. 1943)
• 1883 – Max Braun, American tug of war medalist (d. 1967)
• 1883 – Sándor Jávorka, Hungarian botanist (d. 1961
• 1885 – Mario Sironi, Italian artist (d. 1961)
• 1886 – Henri Gagnebin, Swiss composer (d. 1977)
• 1888 – Walter Hermann Bucher, German-American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1965)
• 1888 – Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor (d. 1965)
• 1888 – Florence Lee, American actress (d. 1962)
• 1888 – Erich Rothacker, German philosopher (d. 1965)
• 1889 – Idris of Libya (d. 1983)
• 1890 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1950)
• 1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1976))
• 1893 – Jean Brochard, French actor (d. 1972)
• 1894 – Yoshiki Hayama, Japanese author (d. 1945)
• 1895 – William C. Lee, American general (d. 1948)
• 1896 – Jesse Fuller, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1976)
• 1898 – Tian Han, Chinese playwright (d. 1968)
• 1898 – Luitpold Steidle, German army officer and politician (d. 1984)
• 1899 – Ramón Muttis, Argentine footballer (d. 1955)
• 1900 – Rinus van den Berge, Dutch athlete (d. 1972)
• 1900 – Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, 19th President of Colombia (d. 1975)
• 1903 – Max Gordon, Village Vanguard jazz club founder (d. 1989)
• 1904 – Lyudmila Keldysh, Russian mathematician (d. 1976)
• 1904 – Bodo Uhse, German writer, journalist and political activist (d. 1963)
• 1905 – Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor (d. 1982)
• 1907 – Ricardo Faccio, Uruguayan-Italian footballer (d. 1970)
• 1907 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (d. 2007)
• 1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
• 1908 – David Marshall, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Singapore (d. 1995)
• 1909 – Petras Cvirka, Lithuanian author (d. 1947)
• 1910 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1980)
• 1910 – László Lékai, Archbishop of Esztergom and Cardinal
• 1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 49th President of Mexico (d. 1979)
• 1911 – Manyi Kiss, Hungarian actress (d. 1971)
• 1911 – William Patrick Stuart-Houston, nephew of Adolf Hitler (d. 1987)
• 1912 – Ghazi of Iraq, King of The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq (d. 1939)
• 1912 – César Benavides, Chilean Army general (d. 2011)
• 1912 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (d. 2006)
• 1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)
• 1913 – Ace Gruenig, American basketball player (d. 1958)
• 1913 – Agathe von Trapp, Hungarian-American singer and author (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Julia Lennon, mother of John Lennon (d. 1958)
• 1914 – Frank Soo, English footballer and manager (d. 1991)
• 1915 – Saifuddin Azizi, first chairman of Xinjiang of the People's Republic of China
• 1915 – Alberto Burri, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Bruno Knežević, Croatian footballer (d. 1982)
• 1915 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist (d. 1991)
• 1915 – László Fejes Tóth, Hungarian mathematician (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Leonard Chess, American record company executive, co-founder of Chess Records (d. 1969)
• 1917 – Millard Kaufman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1917 – Googie Withers, Indian-Australian actress (d. 2011)
• 1918 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish Fianna Fáil politician (d. 2012)
• 1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (d. 1989)
• 1920 – Roland Fraïssé, French mathematical logician (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
• 1922 – Jack Kerouac, American author and poet (d. 1969)
• 1922 – Lane Kirkland, American sailor and union leader (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater and cyclist (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Mae Young, American wrestler (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Valerio Bacigalupo, Italian goalkeeper
• 1925 – Louison Bobet, French cyclist (d. 1983)
• 1925 – Georges Delerue, French pianist and composer (d. 1992)
• 1925 – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1925 – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
• 1926 – George Ariyoshi, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Hawaii
• 1926 – Arthur A. Hartman, American career diplomat (d. 2015)
• 1926 – John Clellon Holmes, American author nad professor (d. 1988)
• 1926 – David Nadien, American violinist (d. 2014)
• 1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (d. 2009)
• 1927 – Emmett Leith, professor of electrical engineering (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Gajo Petrović, Yugoslavian theorist (d. 1993)
• 1927 – Sudharmono, 5th Vice President of Indonesia
• 1928 – Edward Albee, American director and playwright (d. 2016)
• 1928 – Werner Krolikowski, former East German political official
• 1928 – Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2007)
• 1930 – Antony Acland, British former diplomat and Provost of Eton College
• 1930 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Józef Tischner, Polish priest and philosopher (d. 2000)
• 1932 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian basketball player
• 1932 – Andrew Young, American pastor and politician, 14th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
• 1933 – Myrna Fahey, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
• 1933 – Niède Guidon, Brazilian archeologist
• 1934 – Francisco J. Ayala, Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher
• 1934 – Virginia Hamilton, American author (d. 2002)
• 1935 – Valentyna Shevchenko, Ukrainian politician
• 1936 – Virginia Hamilton, American children's books author
• 1936 – Michał Heller, Polish professor of philosophy
• 1936 – Eddie Sutton, American basketball player and coach
• 1937 – Zoltán Horvath, Hungarian sabre fencer
• 1937 – Zurab Sotkilava, Georgian operatic tenor (d. 2017)
• 1938 – Vladimir Msryan, Armenian actor, (d. 2010)
• 1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1938 – Juan Horacio Suárez, Argentine bishop
• 1939 – Jude Milhon, American hacker and author (d. 2003)
• 1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer (d. 2017)
• 1940 – Grigori Gorin, Soviet/Russian playwright (d. 2000)
• 1941 – Josip Skoblar, former Croatian footballer
• 1943 – Stanislav Galić, Bosnian soldier and commander
• 1943 – Ratko Mladić, Serbian general
• 1944 – Erwin Mueller, former American basketball player
• 1946 – Dean Cundey, American cinematographer and film director
• 1946 – Ludo Martens, Belgian Communist political activist (d. 2011)
• 1946 – Liza Minnelli, American actress, singer and dancer
• 1946 – Frank Welker, American voice actor and singer
• 1947 – Peter Harry Carstensen, German educator and politician
• 1947 – Jan-Erik Enestam, Finland-Swedish politician
• 1947 – David Rigert, Soviet Olympic weightlifter
• 1947 – Mitt Romney, American businessman and politician, 70th Governor of Massachusetts
• 1948 – Virginia Bottomley, Scottish social worker and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• 1948 – Sandra Brown, American author
• 1948 – Kent Conrad, American politician
• 1948 – James Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1949 – Yuri Balashov, Russian chess grandmaster
• 1949 – Rob Cohen, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1952 – Boris Anatolyevich Gavrilov, Russian football player and manager
• 1952 – Julius Carry, American actor (d. 2008)
• 1952 – André Comte-Sponville, French philosopher
• 1952 – Yasuhiko Okudera, former Japanese footballer
• 1953 – Ron Jeremy, American pornographic actor
• 1953 – Pavel Pinigin, former Soviet wrestler and Olympic champion
• 1954 – Inese Galante, Latvian soprano
• 1954 – Anish Kapoor, Indian-English sculptor
• 1955 – Wang Yang, Chinese politician
• 1956 – Ove Aunli, former Norwegian cross-country skier
• 1956 – Stanisław Bobak, Polish ski jumper (d. 2010)
• 1956 – Jost Gippert, German linguist, Caucasiologist and author
• 1956 – Steve Harris, English bass player and songwriter
• 1956 – László Kiss, Hungarian football player and coach
• 1956 – Lesley Manville, English actress
• 1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1956 – Pim Verbeek, Dutch football manager
• 1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer and coach
• 1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
• 1957 – Andrey Lopatov, Soviet basketball player
• 1958 – Phil Anderson, English-Australian cyclist
• 1959 – Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb politician and president of Republika Srpska
• 1959 – Kenji Fukaya, Japanese mathematician
• 1959 – Luenell, American comedian and actress
• 1959 – Hermann Parzinger, German historian
• 1959 – Michael Walter, German luger (d. 2016)
• 1960 – Jason Beghe, American actor
• 1960 – Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor and painter
• 1961 – Titus Welliver, American actor
• 1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
• 1962 – Andreas Köpke, former German footballer
• 1962 – Chris Sanders, American illustrator and voice actor
• 1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player and minister
• 1963 – John Andretti, American race car driver
• 1963 – Candy Costie, American swimmer
• 1963 – Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner and coach
• 1963 – Reiner Gies, German boxer
• 1963 – Ian Holloway, English footballer and manager
• 1963 – Farahnaz Pahlavi, eldest daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
• 1963 – Paul Way, English golfer
• 1964 – Dieter Eckstein, retired German footballer
• 1964 – Umirzak Shukeyev, Kazakh chairman of Samruk-Kazyna
• 1965 – Rolands Bulders, Latvian footballer
• 1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
• 1965 – Ivari Padar, former Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture of the Estonian Social Democratic Party
• 1965 – Liza Umarova, Chechen singer and actress
• 1966 – David Daniels, American countertenor
• 1966 – Suleyman Kerimov, Russian businessman, investor, philanthropist and politician
• 1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1967 – Jenny Erpenbeck, German writer and opera director
• 1967 – Julio Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
• 1968 – Dylan Carlson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Tammy Duckworth, Thai-American colonel, pilot, and politician
• 1968 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor and producer
• 1968 – Jason Lively, former American actor
• 1969 – Graham Coxon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1969 – Aleksandr Shmarko, Russian footballer
• 1969 – Jake Tapper, American journalist and author
• 1970 – Karen Bradley, British politician
• 1970 – Dave Eggers, American author and screenwriter
• 1970 – Mathias Gronberg, Swedish golfer
• 1970 – Roy Khan, Norwegian singer-songwriter
• 1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player and coach
• 1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player and rapper
• 1971 – Ogün Sanlısoy, Turkish rock musician
• 1971 – Dragutin Topić, Serbian high jumper
• 1972 – Doron Sheffer, Israeli basketball player
• 1974 – María Adánez, Spanish actress
• 1974 – Charles Akonnor, former Ghanaian footballer
• 1974 – Walid Badir, former Israeli footballer
• 1974 – Matt Barela, American wrestler and actor
• 1974 – Scarlet Ortiz, Venezuelan actress
• 1974 – Lisa Werlinder, Swedish actress and jazz musician/singer
• 1975 – Nicolae Grigore, former Romanian footballer
• 1975 – Edgaras Jankauskas, former Lithuanian footballer
• 1975 – Srđan Pecelj, Bosnian footballer
• 1976 – Deron Quint, American ice hockey defenseman
• 1976 – Zhao Wei, Chinese actress, film director, producer and pop singer
• 1977 – Michelle Burgher, track and field athlete
• 1977 – Ramiro Corrales, American soccer player
• 1977 – Amdy Faye, former Senegalese footballer
• 1977 – Brent Johnson, American ice hockey player
• 1978 – Casey Mears, American race car driver
• 1978 – Marco Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
• 1978 – Claudio Sanchez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese author and illustrator
• 1979 – Rhys Coiro, American actor
• 1979 – Pete Doherty, English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist
• 1979 – Jamie Dwyer, Australian field hockey player and coach
• 1979 – Gerard López, former Spanish footballer
• 1979 – Mike Mago, Dutch DJ, music producer and record label owner
• 1979 – Ben Sandford, New Zealand skeleton racer
• 1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1979 – Tim Wieskötter, German sprint canoer
• 1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian goalkeeper
• 1979 – Liu Xuan, Chinese gymnast
• 1980 – Césinha, Brazilian footballer
• 1980 – Becky Holliday, American pole vaulter
• 1980 – Jens Mouris, Dutch cyclist
• 1980 – Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1981 – Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler and kick-boxer
• 1981 – Chiwa Saitō, Japanese voice actress
• 1981 – Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
• 1981 – Holly Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1982 – Lili Bordán, Hungarian-American actress
• 1982 – Samm Levine, American actor and comedian
• 1982 – Ilya Nikulin, Russian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Hisato Satō, Japanese footballer
• 1982 – Yūto Satō, Japanese footballer
• 1982 – Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
• 1983 – Atif Aslam, Pakistani singer and actor
• 1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
• 1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
• 1985 – Macarena Aguilar, Spanish handballer
• 1985 – Marco Bonanomi, Italian racing driver
• 1985 – Aleksandr Bukharov, Russian footballer
• 1985 – Choi Cheol-han, South Korean Go player
• 1985 – Ed Clancy, English track and road cyclist
• 1985 – Andriy Tovt, Ukrainian footballer
• 1986 – Martynas Andriuškevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1986 – Campbell Best, Cook Islands footballer
• 1986 – Oleh Dopilka, Ukrainian footballer
• 1986 – Danny Jones, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1986 – Ben Offereins, Australian runner
• 1986 – František Rajtoral, Czech footballer (d. 2017)
• 1987 – Manuele Boaro, Italian cyclist
• 1987 – Jessica Hardy, American swimmer
• 1987 – Maxwell Holt, American volleyball player
• 1987 – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
• 1987 – Chris Seitz, American soccer player
• 1987 – Vadim Shipachyov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Pablo Velázquez, Paraguayan footballer
• 1988 – Sebastian Brendel, German canoe racer
• 1988 – Konstantinos Mitroglou, Greek footballer
• 1988 – Cristian Chagas Tarouco, Brazilian footballer
• 1989 – Jordan Adéoti, French footballer
• 1989 – Vytautas Černiauskas, Lithuanian footballer
• 1989 – Tyler Clary, former American swimmer
• 1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
• 1989 – Nathan Haas, Australian cyclist
• 1989 – Chen Jianghua, Chinese basketball player
• 1989 – Siim Luts, Estonian footballer
• 1990 – Lawrence Clarke, English hurdler
• 1990 – Alexander Kröckel, German skeleton racer
• 1990 – Irakli Kvekveskiri, Georgian footballer
• 1990 – Dawid Kubacki, Polish ski jumper
• 1990 – Matias Myttynen, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1990 – Ilija Nestorovski, Macedonian footballer
• 1990 – Milena Raičević, Montenegrin handballer
• 1990 – Mikko Sumusalo, Finnish footballer
• 1991 – Felix Kroos, German footballer
• 1991 – Niclas Heimann, German footballer
• 1991 – Hanna Pysmenska, Ukrainian diver
• 1991 – Leandro Fernandez, Argentine footballer
• 1992 – Daniele Baselli, Italian footballer
• 1992 – Jordan Ferri, French footballer
• 1992 – Ciara Mageean, Irish middle-distance runner
• 1992 – Jiří Skalák, Czech footballer
• 1993 – Shehu Abdullahi, Nigerian footballer
• 1993 – Amjad Attwan, Iraqi footballer
• 1993 – Alex Bellemare, Canadian skier
• 1993 – Anton Shramchenko, Belarusian footballer
• 1994 – Jerami Grant, American basketball player
• 1994 – Katie Archibald, Scottish track cyclist
• 1994 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
• 1996 – Sehrou Guirassy, French footballer
• 1996 – Karim Hafez, Egyptian footballer
• 1996 – Robert Murić, Croatian footballer
• 1997 – Dean Henderson, English footballer
• 1997 – Allan Saint-Maximin, French footballer
• 1997 – Felipe Vizeu, Brazilian footballer
• 1998 – Alina Müller, Swiss ice hockey player
• 1998 – Daniel Samohin, Israeli figure skater
• 1998 – Elizaveta Ukolova, Czech figure skater
• 1999 – Sakura Oda, Japanese pop singer
• 2003 – Malina Weissman, American child actress and model

Deaths

• 417 – Innocent I, pope of the Catholic Church
• 604 – Gregory I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 540)
• 951 – Ælfheah the Bald, bishop of Winchester
• 969 – Mu Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (b. 931)
• 1022 – Symeon the New Theologian, Byzantine monk (b. 949)
• 1289 – Demetrius II, king of Georgia (b. 1259)
• 1316 – Stefan Dragutin, king of Serbia (b. 1253)
• 1374 – Go-Kōgon, Japanese emperor (b. 1338)
• 1496 – Johann Heynlin, German humanist scholar (b. c. 1425)
• 1507 – Cesare Borgia, Italian cardinal (b. 1475)
• 1539 – Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English diplomat and politician (b.1477)
• 1608 – Kōriki Kiyonaga, Japanese daimyo (b. 1530)
• 1628 – John Bull, English organist and composer (b. 1562)
• 1648 – Tirso de Molina, Spanish monk and poet (b. 1571)
• 1681 – Frans van Mieris the Elder, Dutch painter (b. 1635)
• 1699 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish politician (b. 1635)
• 1703 – Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, English jurist and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1627)
• 1731 – Ernest August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (b. 1660)
• 1790 – András Hadik, Hungarian field marshal (b. 1710)
• 1820 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish explorer and politician (b. 1764)
• 1832 – Friedrich Kuhlau, German-Danish pianist and composer (b. 1786)
• 1858 – William James Blacklock, English-Scottish painter (b. 1816)
• 1872 – Zeng Guofan, Chinese general and politician, Viceroy of Liangjiang (b. 1811)
• 1894 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (b. 1840)
• 1898 – Zachris Topelius, Finnish-Swedish journalist, historian, and author (b. 1818)
• 1909 – Joseph Petrosino, American police officer (b. 1860)
• 1914 – George Westinghouse, American engineer and businessman (b. 1846)
• 1916 – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian author (b. 1830)
• 1925 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese physician and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1866)
• 1929 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (b. 1851)
• 1929 – William Turner Dannat, American painter (b. 1853)
• 1930 – William George Barker, Canadian colonel and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1894)
• 1930 – Alois Jirásek, Czech author and playwright (b. 1851)
• 1935 – Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and chemist (b. 1858)
• 1937 – Jenő Hubay, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1858)
• 1937 – Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b. 1844)
• 1942 – Robert Bosch, German engineer and businessman, founded Robert Bosch GmbH (b. 1861)
• 1942 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
• 1943 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
• 1945 – Friedrich Fromm, German general (b. 1888)
• 1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian soldier and politician, Head of State of Hungary (b. 1897)
• 1947 – Winston Churchill, American author and playwright (b. 1871)
• 1949 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (b. 1879)
• 1954 – Marianne Weber, German sociologist and suffragist (b. 1870)
• 1955 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1920)
• 1955 – Theodor Plievier, German author best known for his anti-war novel (b. 1892)
• 1956 – Bolesław Bierut, Polish Communist leader (b. 1892)
• 1957 – Josephine Hull, American actress (b. 1877)
• 1960 – Kshitimohan Sen, Indian historian, author, and academic (b. 1880)
• 1963 – Arthur Grimsdell, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1894)
• 1964 – Abbās al-Aqqād, Egyptian journalist, poet and literary critic (b. 1889)
• 1971 – Eugene Lindsay Opie, American physician and pathologist (b. 1873)
• 1973 – Frankie Frisch, American baseball player and manager (b. 1898)
• 1974 – George D. Sax, American banker and businessman (b. 1904)
• 1979 – Nader Jahanbani, Iranian general and pilot (b. 1928)
• 1984 – Arnold Ridley, English actor and playwright (b. 1896)
• 1985 – Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian-American violinist and conductor (b. 1899)
• 1987 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Maurice Evans, English-American actor (b. 1901)
• 1989 – Jakob Gimpel, Polish concert pianist and educator (b. 1906)
• 1991 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish-Swedish neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
• 1991 – William Heinesen, Faroese author, poet, and author (b. 1900)
• 1992 – Hans G. Kresse, Dutch cartoonist (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Lucy M. Lewis, American potter (b. 1890)
• 1998 – Beatrice Wood, American painter and potter (b. 1893)
• 1999 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1916)
• 2000 – Aleksandar Nikolić, Yugoslav basketball coach (b. 1924)
• 2001 – Morton Downey Jr., American singer-songwriter, actor, and talk show host (b. 1933)
• 2001 – Robert Ludlum, American author (b. 1927)
• 2001 – Victor Westhoff, Dutch botanist and academic (b. 1916)
• 2002 – Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Cyprus (b. 1932)
• 2002 – Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1952)
• 2003 – Howard Fast, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
• 2004 – Milton Resnick, Russian-American painter (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Bill Cameron, Canadian journalist and producer (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Stavros Kouyioumtzis, Greek composer (b. 1932)
• 2006 – Victor Sokolov, Russian-American priest and journalist (b. 1947)
• 2007 – Arnold Drake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
• 2008 – Jorge Guinzburg, Argentinian journalist and producer (b. 1949)
• 2008 – Lazare Ponticelli, Italian-French soldier and supercentenarian (b. 1897)
• 2010 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Olive Dickason, Canadian historian and journalist (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Samuel Glazer, American businessman, co-founded Mr. Coffee (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Dick Harter, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Friedhelm Konietzka, German-Swiss footballer and manager (b. 1938)
• 2013 – George Burditt, American lawyer and politician (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Clive Burr, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Michael Grigsby, English director and producer (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Ganesh Pyne, Indian painter and illustrator (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 2014 – George Donaldson, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1968)
• 2014 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Ola L. Mize, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1931)
• 2014 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Willie Barrow, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Michael Graves, American architect and academic, designed the Portland Building and the Humana Building (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Ada Jafri, Pakistani poet and author (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
• 2016 – Rafiq Azad, Bangladeshi poet and author (b. 1942)
• 2016 – Felix Ibru, Nigerian architect and politician, Governor of Delta State (b. 1935)
• 2016 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
• 2018 –Craig Mack American Rapper

Holidays and observances

• Arbor Day (China)
• Arbor Day (Taiwan)
• Aztec New Year
• Christian feast day:
  • Alphege
  • Nicodemus of Mammola
  • Fina
  • Luigi Orione
  • Maximilian of Tebessa
  • Nicodemus of Mammola
  • Paul Aurelian
  • Pope Gregory I (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church, and Anglican Communion)
  • Theophanes the Confessor
  • March 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Girl Scout Birthday (United States)
• National Day (Mauritius)
• World Day Against Cyber Censorship (requested by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International in 2009)
• Tree Day (Republic of Macedonia)
• Youth Day (Zambia)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to March 12.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada