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 Jesuits, are canonized as saints by the 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.
• 1868 – Henry O'Farrell attempts to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
• 1868 – Basutoland, today called Lesotho, is annexed by the United Kingdom.
• 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 Biedenharn.
• 1910 – Greek cruiser Georgios Averof is launched at Livorno.
• 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 kill over 600 people.
• 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi leads a 200-mile march, known as the Salt March, to the sea in defiance of British opposition, to protest the British monopoly on salt
• 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 – Pacific War: The Battle of Java ends with an Allied surrender to the Japanese Empire.
• 1947 – 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 over from Sukarno to become Acting President of Indonesia.
• 1968 – Mauritius achieves independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1971 – The March 12 Memorandum is sent to the 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 Bombay (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 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and refuses to allow inspectors access to its nuclear sites.
• 1993 – The Blizzard of 1993: Snow begins to fall across the eastern portion of the US with tornadoes, thunder snow storms, high winds and record low temperatures. The storm lasts for 30 hours.
• 1993 – Janet Reno is sworn in as the United States' first female attorney general.
• 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.
• 2004 – The President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, is impeached by its National Assembly: The first such impeachment in the nation's history.
• 2005 – Karolos Papoulias becomes President of Greece.
• 2009 – Financier Bernard Madoff pleads guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street 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 – An explosion in the New York City neighborhood of East Harlem kills 8 and injures 70 others.

Births

• 1270 – Charles, Count of Valois (d. 1325)
• 1312 – John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford (d. 1360)
• 1479 – Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours (d. 1516)
• 1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (d. 1676)
• 1613 – André Le Nôtre, French gardener and architect (d. 1700)
• 1620 – Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Swiss philologist and theologian (d. 1667)
• 1626 – John Aubrey, English historian and philosopher (d. 1697)
• 1637 – Anne Hyde, English wife of James II of England (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)
• 1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
• 1718 – Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester, English politician (d. 1798)
• 1781 – Frederica of Baden (d. 1826)
• 1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Toronto (d. 1861)
• 1806 – Jane Pierce, American wife of Franklin Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
• 1821 – John Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
• 1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, Russian-German physicist and academic (d. 1887)
• 1831 – Clement Studebaker, American businessman, co-founded Studebaker (d. 1901)
• 1832 – Charles Boycott, English farmer and agent (d. 1897)
• 1832 – 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)
• 1851 – Theodore Thurston Geer, American journalist and politician, 10th Governor of Oregon (d. 1924)
• 1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (d. 1935)
• 1859 – Abraham H. Cannon, American religious leader (d. 1896)
• 1860 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian poet and author (d. 1895)
• 1861 – József Konkolics, Hungarian-Slovene cantor and author (d. 1941)
• 1863 – Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian soldier, journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1938)
• 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)
• 1864 – Charles Young, American colonel (d. 1922)
• 1874 – Charles Weeghman, American businessman (d. 1938)
• 1877 – Wilhelm Frick, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 1946)
• 1878 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1903)
• 1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, English-American chemist and academic (d. 1952)
• 1880 – Nikolaos Georgantas, Greek discus thrower (d. 1958)
• 1880 – Jaan Soots, Estonian general and politician, 7th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1942)
• 1881 – Gunnar Nordström, Finnish physicist and academic (d. 1923)
• 1883 – Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian politician (d. 1959)
• 1889 – Idris of Libya (d. 1983)
• 1890 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1950)
• 1890 – William Dudley Pelley, American politician, founded the Silver Legion of America (d. 1965)
• 1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1976)
• 1891 – George W. Mason, American businessman (d. 1954)
• 1895 – Otakar Batlička, Czech journalist and author (d. 1942)
• 1895 – William C. Lee, American general (d. 1948)
• 1907 – Arthur Hewlett, English actor (d. 1997)
• 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)
• 1910 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1980)
• 1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 49th President of Mexico (d. 1979)
• 1912 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (d. 2006)
• 1912 – Edgar Tafel, American architect (d. 2011)
• 1912 – Paul Weston, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1996)
• 1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)
• 1913 – Agathe von Trapp, Hungarian-American singer and author (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Julia Lennon, English mother of John Lennon (d. 1958)
• 1915 – Willibald C. Bianchi, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1945)
• 1917 – Millard Kaufman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1917 – Googie Withers, Indian-Australian actress (d. 2011)
• 1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (d. 1989)
• 1919 – Mike Stepovich, American lawyer and politician, Governor of the Territory of Alaska (d. 2014)
• 1920 – Ray Still, American oboe player and educator (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and activist (d. 2007)
• 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 (Amadeus Quartet) (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Clara Fraser, American activist, co-founded Radical Women (d. 1998)
• 1923 – Hanne Hiob, German actress and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Joseph F. Weis, Jr., American lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Mae Young, American wrestler (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Henri Rochon, Canadian tennis player (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Mary Lee Woods, English mathematician and computer programmer
• 1925 – Louison Bobet, French cyclist (d. 1983)
• 1925 – Georges Delerue, French 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 – Freddie Williams, Welsh motorcycle racer (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (d. 2009)
• 1928 – Edward Albee, American director and playwright
• 1928 – Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2007)
• 1930 – Bronco Horvath, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1930 – Vern Law, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1930 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Herb Kelleher, American businessman, co-founded Southwest Airlines
• 1931 – Robert B. Oakley, American soldier and diplomat, 19th United States Ambassador to Pakistan (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Billie Thomas, American actor (d. 1980)
• 1932 – Andrew Young, American pastor and politician, 14th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
• 1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
• 1934 – Virginia Hamilton, American author (d. 2002)
• 1934 – David Spenser, Sri Lankan-English actor and director (d. 2013)
• 1935 – John Doherty, English footballer (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Valentyna Shevchenko, Ukrainian politician
• 1936 – Lloyd Dobyns, American journalist and author
• 1936 – Patrick Procktor, Irish-English painter and academic (d. 2003)
• 1936 – Eddie Sutton, American basketball player and coach
• 1937 – Valentīna Eiduka, Latvian javelin thrower and coach
• 1938 – Lew DeWitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Statler Brothers) (d. 1990)
• 1938 – David Drew, English ballet dancer (d. 2015)
• 1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver
• 1938 – Dimitri Terzakis, Greek-German composer and educator
• 1939 – Lyndsie Holland, English actress and singer (d. 2014)
• 1939 – Jude Milhon, American hacker and author (d. 2003)
• 1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer
• 1940 – M. A. Numminen, Finnish singer-songwriter and producer (Suomen Talvisota)
• 1942 – Ratko Mladić, Serbian general
• 1942 – Shabnam Shakeel, Pakistani poet and author (d. 2013)
• 1942 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1945 – Sammy Gravano, American mobster
• 1945 – George Jackson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1946 – Liza Minnelli, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1946 – Frank Welker, American voice actor and singer
• 1946 – Serge Turgeon, Canadian actor and union leader (d. 2004)
• 1947 – Peter Harry Carstensen, German educator and politician
• 1947 – Mary Jean Harrold, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish painter (d. 1987)
• 1947 – Mitt Romney, American businessman and politician, 70th Governor of Massachusetts
• 1948 – Virginia Bottomley, Scottish 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 – Rob Cohen, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1949 – Moctesuma Esparza, American actor and producer
• 1949 – Charles Levin, American actor
• 1949 – David Mellor, English journalist, lawyer, and politician, Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• 1949 – Bill Payne, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (Little Feat and Phil Lesh and Friends)
• 1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1950 – Willie Duggan, Irish rugby player
• 1950 – Jon Provost, American actor
• 1950 – Wheeler Winston Dixon, American director, critic, and author
• 1952 – Benjamín Arellano Félix, Mexican drug trafficker
• 1952 – Boris Anatolyevich Gavrilov, Russian football player and manager
• 1952 – Pierre Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1952 – Naomi Shihab Nye, American poet, songwriter, and author
• 1952 – Randy Stonehill, American singer-songwriter
• 1953 – Carl Hiaasen, American journalist and author
• 1953 – Ron Jeremy, American porn actor and director
• 1954 – Anish Kapoor, Indian sculptor
• 1955 – Nicole Léger, Canadian politician
• 1956 – Steve Harris, English bass player and songwriter (Iron Maiden)
• 1956 – Lesley Manville, English actress
• 1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1956 – Ruth Ozeki, Canadian-American priest and author
• 1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer
• 1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer (The Jackson 5)
• 1957 – Jerry Levine, American actor and director
• 1958 – Phil Anderson, English-Australian cyclist
• 1958 – Matt Millen, American football player and manager
• 1959 – Mark Easton, Scottish journalist
• 1960 – Jason Beghe, American actor and critic
• 1960 – Kipp Lennon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Venice)
• 1960 – Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player (Loudness and Earthshaker)
• 1960 – Maki Nomiya, Japanese singer (Pizzicato Five)
• 1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor
• 1961 – Joseph Facal, Canadian journalist and politician
• 1961 – Titus Welliver, American actor
• 1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
• 1962 – Aleksandr Potashov, Belarusian race walker
• 1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player
• 1963 – Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
• 1963 – Ian Holloway, English footballer and manager
• 1963 – Farahnaz Pahlavi, Iranian-American daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
• 1963 – Paul Way, English golfer
• 1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
• 1965 – Shawn Gilbert, American baseball player and coach
• 1965 – Steve Levy, American journalist and sportscaster
• 1965 – Coleen Nolan, English singer and television host (The Nolans)
• 1965 – Ivari Padar, Estonian politician
• 1965 – Liza Umarova, Kazakh singer and actress
• 1965 – Liv Stoveland, Norwegian singer
• 1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1966 – Akemi Okamura, Japanese voice actress
• 1967 – Jorge Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
• 1967 – Julio Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
• 1968 – Dylan Carlson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Earth)
• 1968 – Tammy Duckworth, Thai-American colonel, pilot, and politician
• 1968 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor and producer
• 1969 – Graham Coxon, German-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Blur)
• 1969 – Beyazıt Öztürk, Turkish comedian, actor, and talk show host
• 1969 – Jake Tapper, American journalist and author
• 1970 – Dave Eggers, American author and screenwriter
• 1970 – Roy Khan, Norwegian singer-songwriter (Kamelot and Conception)
• 1970 – John Nemechek, American race car driver (d. 1997)
• 1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player and coach
• 1971 – Max Cortés, Spanish porn actor and director
• 1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player and rapper
• 1971 – Dragutin Topić, Serbian high jumper
• 1972 – Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1972 – James Maritato, American wrestler
• 1974 – Matt Barela, American wrestler and actor
• 1974 – Chris Carr, American basketball player and coach
• 1974 – Steve Price, Australia rugby player
• 1975 – Kéllé Bryan, English singer-songwriter and actress (Eternal)
• 1975 – Egidijus Juška, Lithuanian footballer
• 1975 – Annabel Port, English radio host
• 1976 – Zhao Wei, Chinese actress, singer, and director
• 1977 – Ramiro Corrales, American soccer player
• 1978 – Casey Mears, American race car driver
• 1978 – Neal Obermeyer, American cartoonist
• 1978 – Claudio Sanchez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Coheed and Cambria, Fire Deuce, and The Prize Fighter Inferno)
• 1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese author and illustrator
• 1979 – Rhys Coiro, Italian-American actor
• 1979 – Pete Doherty, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Libertines and Babyshambles)
• 1979 – Jamie Dwyer, Australian field hockey player and coach
• 1979 – Nidia Guenard, American wrestler and manager
• 1979 – Shaun Rogers, American football player
• 1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1980 – Ruth Hunt, Welsh activist and academic
• 1980 – John-Paul Lavoisier, American actor
• 1980 – Jens Mouris, Dutch cyclist
• 1980 – Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1981 – Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler and kick-boxer
• 1981 – Maurizio Lauro, Italian footballer
• 1981 – Sid Lucero, Filipino actor
• 1981 – Kristjan Makke, Estonian basketball player
• 1981 – Chiwa Saitō, Japanese voice actress
• 1981 – Peter Waterfield, English diver
• 1981 – Holly Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1982 – Samm Levine, American actor and producer
• 1982 – Zach Miner, American baseball player
• 1982 – Grete Püvi, Estonian dressage rider
• 1982 – Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
• 1982 – Erick Stevens, American wrestler
• 1983 – Nam Doh-hyeong, South Korean voice actor
• 1983 – Mikko Koivu, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
• 1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer and actress
• 1985 – Stromae, Belgian-Rwandan singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Binnaz Uslu, Turkish runner
• 1985 – Cissi Wallin, Swedish actress
• 1985 – Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
• 1986 – Danny Jones, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (McFly and McBusted)
• 1986 – Ben Offereins, Australian runner
• 1986 – Chihiro Otsuka, Japanese actress
• 1987 – Jessica Hardy, American swimmer
• 1987 – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
• 1987 – Chris Seitz, American soccer player
• 1987 – Chris Stark, English radio host
• 1987 – Rico Vonck, Dutch darts player
• 1987 – Hiroomi Tosaka, Japanese singer and actor (Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe)
• 1987 – Meg Turney, American webshow hostess.
• 1987 – Omar Abdulrazaq, Syrian footballer
• 1988 – Sebastian Brendel, German canoe racer
• 1988 – Konstantinos Mitroglou, Greek footballer
• 1988 – Tyler Ward, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1988 – Myles Weston, English footballer
• 1989 – Tyler Clary, American swimmer
• 1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
• 1989 – Siim Luts, Estonian footballer
• 1989 – Mark Sirõk, Estonian activist
• 1990 – Lawrence Clarke, English hurdler
• 1990 – Kai-Fabian Schulz, German footballer
• 1991 – Felix Kroos, German footballer
• 1992 – Cian Bolger, Irish footballer
• 1994 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1994 – Tyler Patrick Jones, American actor and producer
• 1995 – Kanon Fukuda, Japanese singer and voice actress (S/mileage, Minimoni, and Shugo Chara Egg!)
• 1996 – Robert Bartczak, Polish footballer
• 1996 – Aristo Sham, Hong Kong pianist
• 1999 – Sakura Oda, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
• 2003 – Andrea Brillantes, Filipino actress

Deaths

• 417 – Pope Innocent I
• 604 – Pope Gregory I (b. 540)
• 1289 – Demetrius II of Georgia (b. 1259)
• 1316 – Stefan Dragutin of Serbia (b. 1253)
• 1374 – Emperor Go-Kōgon of Japan (b. 1336)
• 1507 – Cesare Borgia, Italian cardinal (b. 1475)
• 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 (b. 1627)
• 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 – Gergely Luthár, Slovenian-Hungarian author (b. 1841)
• 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. 1861)
• 1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian soldier and politician, Head of State of Hungary (b. 1897)
• 1947 – Winston Churchill, American author and playwright (b. 1871)
• 1955 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1920)
• 1960 – Kshitimohan Sen, Indian historian, author, and academic (b. 1880)
• 1963 – Arthur Grimsdell, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1894)
• 1971 – August Torma, Estonian soldier and diplomat (b. 1895)
• 1973 – Frankie Frisch, American baseball player and manager (b. 1898)
• 1974 – George D. Sax, American banker and businessman (b. 1904)
• 1975 – Olga Hepnarová, Czech murderer (b. 1951)
• 1978 – John Cazale, American actor (b. 1935)
• 1978 – Gene Moore, American baseball player (b. 1909)
• 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)
• 1988 – Romare Bearden, American painter (b. 1911)
• 1989 – Maurice Evans, English actor and producer (b. 1901)
• 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, Acoma Pueblo (Native American) potter (b. ca. 1890)
• 1995 – Juanin Clay, American actress (b. 1949)
• 1998 – Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (b. 1924)
• 1998 – Beatrice Wood, American painter and potter (b. 1893)
• 1999 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Morton Downey, Jr., American singer-songwriter 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 author (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Andrey Kivilev, Kazakh cyclist (b. 1973)
• 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 (b. 1897)
• 2010 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Olive Dickason, Canadian historian and journalist (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Joe Morello, American drummer (Dave Brubeck Quartet) (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Hasan Gafoor, Indian police officer (b. 1949)
• 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 (The Doobie Brothers) (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 (Iron Maiden, Samson, and Trust) (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Stanley Cole, American architect (b. 1924)
• 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 – Richard Coogan, American actor (b. 1914)
• 2014 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Jackie Gaughan, American businessman (b. 1920)
• 2014 – Shawn Kuykendall, American soccer player (b. 1982)
• 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 – Erol Büyükburç, Turkish singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Michael Graves, American architect, 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)
• 2015 – Carl, Prince of Wied (b. 1961)

Holidays and observances

• Arbor Day (China and Taiwan)
• Christian feast day:
  • Fina
  • Luigi Orione
  • Maximilian the martyr
  • Pope Gregory I (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church, and Anglican Communion)
  • Theophanes the Confessor
  • Zhang Dapeng (one of Martyr Saints of China)
  • March 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Girl Scout Birthday (United States)
• Grækarismessa (Mass of St. Gregory). According to tradition, the oystercatcher, the Faroes' national bird returns this day. This event is celebrated in the capital, Tórshavn (Faroe Islands)
• National Day (Mauritius)
• World Day Against Cyber Censorship (requested by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International in 2009)
• Youth Day (Zambia)

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