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 – Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius.
• 1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Jesuits, are canonized as saints by the Catholic Church.
• 1664 – New Jersey becomes a colony of England.
• 1689 – The Williamite war in Ireland begins.
• 1832 – The Filippo Taglioni ballet La Sylphide receives its première performance at the Paris Opéra's Salle Le Peletier.
• 1868 – Henry O'Farrell attempts to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
• 1881 – Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain.
• 1894 – In Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA, Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time.
• 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 remained temporary capital until 1927 while the new capital was still under construction.)
• 1918 – Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for 215 years.
• 1928 – In California, the St. Francis Dam fails, killing over 600 people.
• 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi leads a 200-mile march, known as the Dandi 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 was 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 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.
• 1947 – The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
• 1964 – New Hampshire Lottery: New Hampshire becomes the first U.S. state to legally sell lottery tickets in the 20th century.
• 1966 – Suharto takes over from Sukarno to become President of Indonesia.
• 1968 – Mauritius achieves independence.
• 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.
• 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 – Tung Chee Hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, steps down from his post after his resignation is approved by the Chinese central government.
• 2006 – In a One Day International cricket match between Australia and South Africa, the Australians set a world record with 434 runs, only to see South Africa successfully chase down their total with 438.

Births

• 1270 – Charles of Valois, son of Philip III of France (d. 1325)
• 1478 – Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1516)
• 1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German hymnist (d. 1676)
• 1613 – André Le Nôtre, French landscape architect (d. 1700)
• 1620 – Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Swiss philologist and theologian (d. 1667)
• 1626 – John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer (d. 1697)
• 1637 – Anne Hyde, wife of James II of England (d. 1671)
• 1647 – Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (d. 1727)
• 1672 – Richard Steele, Irish writer and politician (d. 1729)
• 1685 – George Berkeley, Irish theologian (d. 1753)
• 1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
• 1718 – Joseph Damer, English politician (d. 1798)
• 1781 – Frederica of Baden, Queen of Sweden (d. 1826)
• 1806 – Jane Pierce, First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
• 1821 – Sir John Abbott, third Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
• 1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (d. 1887)
• 1831 – Clement Studebaker, American automobile pioneer (d. 1901)
• 1832 – Charles Boycott, British land agent and source of the term to boycott (d. 1897)
• 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 (d. 1907)
• 1859 – Abraham H. Cannon, Mormon apostle (d. 1896)
• 1863 – Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer (d. 1938)
• 1863 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (d. 1945)
• 1864 – W. H. R. Rivers, British psychiatrist (d. 1922)
• 1864 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish composer and organist (d. 1943)
• 1878 – Gemma Galgani, Catholic saint and mystic (d. 1903)
• 1880 – Nikolaos Georgantas, Greek discus thrower (d. 1958)
• 1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, British-American biochemist, known for the Dakin-West reaction (d. 1952)
• 1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, first President of Turkey (d. 1938)
• 1881 – Gunnar Nordström, Finnish physicist (d. 1923)
• 1883 – Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian Nazi (d. 1959)
• 1889 – Þórbergur Þórðarson, Icelandic author (d. 1974)
• 1889 – Idris I, King of Libya (d. 1983)
• 1890 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish ballet dancer (d. 1950)
• 1890 – William Dudley Pelley, American leader of the Silver Legion (d. 1965)
• 1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish author, artist, composer and singer (d. 1976)
• 1891 – George W. Mason, American industrialist (d. 1954)
• 1895 – William C. Lee, U.S. Army general (d. 1948)
• 1898 – Nyleptha Roberts, American supercentenarian (d. 2010)
• 1907 – Arthur Hewlett, British actor (d. 1997)
• 1907 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer (d. 2007)
• 1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
• 1908 – David Saul Marshall Singapore's first Chief Minister(d. 1995)
• 1910 – Masayoshi Ohira, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1980)
• 1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, President of Mexico (d. 1979)
• 1912 – Irving Layton, Canadian poet (d. 2006)
• 1912 – Paul Weston, American pianist, arranger and conductor (d. 1996)
• 1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician (d. 1984)
• 1914 – Julia Lennon, John Lennon's mother (d. 1958)
• 1917 – Millard Kaufman, American screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1917 – Googie Withers, British actress
• 1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American artist (d. 1989)
• 1919 – Michael Anthony Stepovich, last surviving Governor of the Alaska Territory
• 1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Ülo Jõgi, Estonian freedom fighter (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (d. 1986)
• 1922 – Jack Kerouac, American writer (d. 1969)
• 1922 – Lane Kirkland, American labor leader (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater
• 1923 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Wally Schirra, American astronaut (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Mae Young, American professional wrestler
• 1925 – Louison Bobet, French cyclist (d. 1983)
• 1925 – Georges Delerue, French film composer (d. 1992)
• 1925 – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1925 – Harry Harrison, American author
• 1926 – George Ariyoshi, 3rd Governor of Hawaii
• 1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, President of Argentina (d. 2009)
• 1928 – Edward Albee, American dramatist
• 1928 – Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, Quebec politician and senator
• 1928 – Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan musician (d. 2007)
• 1929 – Win Tin, jailed Burmese journalist
• 1930 – Vernon Law, American baseball player
• 1931 – Herbert Kelleher, Southwest Airlines co-founder
• 1931 – Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, American actor (d. 1980)
• 1932 – Barbara Feldon, American actress and model
• 1932 – Andrew Young, American civil rights activist and politician
• 1935 – John Doherty, English footballer (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Patrick Procktor, English artist (d. 2003)
• 1936 – Eddie Sutton, College basketball coach
• 1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American automobile racer
• 1938 – Dimitri Terzakis, Greek composer
• 1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer
• 1940 – M.A. Numminen, Finnish singer and writer
• 1942 – Ratko Mladić, Republika Srpska leader
• 1942 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player, 1963–1977
• 1945 – Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, American gangster
• 1946 – Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
• 1946 – Frank Welker, American voice actor
• 1946 – Peter Whalley, British television writer and author
• 1946 – Serge Turgeon, Quebec actor and union leader (d. 2004)
• 1947 – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (d. 1987)
• 1947 – Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, 2008 Presidential Candidate
• 1947 – Peter Harry Carstensen, German politician
• 1948 – James Taylor, American musician
• 1948 – Kent Conrad, Junior Senator of North Dakota
• 1948 – Virginia Bottomley, British politician
• 1949 – Rob Cohen, American film director, producer and writer
• 1949 – Moctesuma Esparza, Mexican-American producer and filmmaker
• 1949 – Natalia Kuchinskaya, Soviet gymnast
• 1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish football manager
• 1950 – Jon Provost, American actor
• 1950 – Wheeler Winston Dixon, American filmmaker, critic and author
• 1952 – Naomi Shihab Nye, American poet, songwriter, and novelist
• 1953 – Carl Hiaasen, American journalist and author
• 1953 – Ron Jeremy, American pornographic actor
• 1953 – Madhav Kumar Nepal, Nepalese politician
• 1956 – Steve Harris, founder/bassist of Iron Maiden
• 1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player
• 1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer
• 1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
• 1958 – Matt Millen, American football player
• 1960 – Kipp Lennon, American singer
• 1960 – Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer
• 1960 – Maki Nomiya, Japanese singer (Pizzicato Five)
• 1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor
• 1961 – Joseph Facal, Quebec politician
• 1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player
• 1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
• 1963 – Ian Holloway, English football manager
• 1963 – Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
• 1963 – Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi, Iranian Princess
• 1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
• 1965 – Shawn Gilbert, American baseball player
• 1965 – Steve Levy, American sports journalist
• 1965 – Coleen Nolan, British singer
• 1965 – Liza Umarova, Chechen torch singer
• 1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player
• 1966 – John Thompson III, American basketball coach
• 1967 – Julio Dely Valdes, Panamanian footballer
• 1968 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor
• 1968 – Tammy Duckworth, American politician, military aviator
• 1969 – Graham Coxon, English musician (Blur)
• 1969 – Jake Tapper, American journalist
• 1970 – Dave Eggers, American writer, editor, and publisher
• 1970 – Ray Prewitt, American actor
• 1970 – Roy Khan, Norwegian singer (Kamelot)
• 1970 – John Nemechek, American NASCAR driver (d. 1997)
• 1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player
• 1971 – Tony Eveready (Duane Moore), American adult film actor
• 1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player
• 1972 – Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor
• 1972 – James Maritato, American wrestler
• 1974 – Chris Parr, American basketball player
• 1974 – Steve Price, Australia rugby league player
• 1975 – Kelle Bryan, English singer
• 1975 – Todd Rock, American Politician, Pennsylvania House of Representitives
• 1975 – Herman Li, Cantonese guitarist
• 1975 – Annabel Port, English radio presenter
• 1976 – Zhao Wei, Chinese actress
• 1977 – Ramiro Corrales, American footballer
• 1978 – Masuimi Max, American model
• 1978 – Christianne Klein, American journalist and television personality
• 1978 – Casey Mears, American auto racer
• 1978 – Claudio Sanchez, American musician (Coheed and Cambria)
• 1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese mangaka
• 1979 – Rhys Coiro, American actor
• 1979 – Pete Doherty, English musician
• 1979 – Nidia Guenard, American wrestler
• 1979 – Shaun Rogers, American football player
• 1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1980 – Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1981 – Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler
• 1982 – Samm Levine, American actor
• 1982 – Zach Miner, American baseball player
• 1982 – Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
• 1983 – Atif Aslam, Pakistani singer
• 1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
• 1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
• 1985 – Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
• 1986 – Danny Jones, English singer (McFly)
• 1986 – Ben Offereins, Australian athlete
• 1987 – Chris Seitz, American footballer
• 1987 – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
• 1988 – Konstantinos Mitroglou, Greek footballer
• 1988 – La Roux, English singer
• 1989 – Tyler Clary, American swimmer
• 1994 – Tyler Patrick Jones, American actor

Deaths

• 604 – Pope Gregory I
• 1289 – King Demetre II of Georgia (b. 1259)
• 1374 – Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan (b. 1336)
• 1447 – Shah Rukh, ruler of Persia and Transoxonia (b. 1377)
• 1507 – Cesare Borgia, Italian general and statesman (b. 1475)
• 1608 – Koriki Kiyonaga, Japanese warlord (b. 1530)
• 1628 – John Bull, English composer
• 1648 – Tirso de Molina, Spanish writer (b. 1571)
• 1681 – Frans van Mieris, Sr., Dutch painter (b. 1635)
• 1699 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish statesman (b. 1635)
• 1757 – Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/painter (b. 1696)
• 1790 – Andreas Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (b. 1710)
• 1832 – Friedrich Kuhlau, German composer (b. 1786)
• 1858 – William James Blacklock, British landscape painter (b. 1816)
• 1872 – Zeng Guofan, Chinese politician and general (b. 1811)
• 1894 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (b. 1840)
• 1898 – Zacharias Topelius, Finnish-Swedish writer (b. 1818)
• 1908 – Edmondo De Amicis, Italian children's writer (b. 1846)
• 1909 – Joe Petrosino, American police lieutenant (b. 1860)
• 1914 – George Westinghouse, American entrepreneur and engineer (b. 1846)
• 1916 – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer (b. 1830)
• 1925 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary and politician (b. 1866)
• 1929 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman (b. 1851)
• 1930 – Alois Jirásek, Czech writer (b. 1851)
• 1930 – William George Barker, Canadian fighter ace (b. 1894)
• 1937 – Jenő Hubay, Hungarian violinist (b. 1858)
• 1937 – Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b. 1844)
• 1942 – Robert Bosch, German industrialist (b. 1861)
• 1943 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
• 1944 – Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer (b. 1861)
• 1945 – Friedrich Fromm, German Army Officer (b. 1861)
• 1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian politician (executed) (b. 1897)
• 1947 – Winston Churchill, American novelist (b. 1871)
• 1955 – Charlie Parker, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1920)
• 1973 – Frankie Frisch, American baseball player (b. 1898)
• 1974 – George D. Sax, American entrepreneur (b. 1904)
• 1978 – John Cazale, American actor (b. 1935)
• 1978 – Gene Moore, American baseball player (b. 1909)
• 1980 – Arthur Charles Dobson, British racing driver (b. 1914)
• 1984 – Arnold Ridley, English playwright and actor (b. 1896)
• 1985 – Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian conductor (b. 1899)
• 1987 – Woody Hayes, American football coach (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Maurice Evans, English-born actor (b. 1901)
• 1990 – Wallace Breem, British author (b. 1926)
• 1991 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1900)
• 1991 – William Heinesen, Faroese writer, poet and artist (b. 1900)
• 1995 – Juanin Clay, American actress (b. 1949)
• 1998 – Judge Dread, English musician (b. 1945)
• 1998 – Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (b. 1924)
• 1998 – Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramist (b. 1893)
• 1999 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Morton Downey, Jr., American television talk show host (b. 1933)
• 2001 – Robert Ludlum, American author (b. 1927)
• 2002 – Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot politician (b. 1932)
• 2002 – Jean-Paul Riopelle, Quebec painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1952)
• 2003 – Howard Fast, American author (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Andrei Kivilev, Kazakh cyclist (b. 1973)
• 2003 – Lynne Thigpen, American actress (b. 1948)
• 2005 – Bill Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Stavros Koujioumtzis, Greek songwriter (b. 1932)
• 2006 – Victor Sokolov, Russian dissident journalist and priest (b. 1947)
• 2007 – Hege Nerland, Norwegian politician (b. 1966)
• 2008 – Jorge Guinzburg, Argentine journalist, producer and media host (b. 1949)
• 2008 – Lazare Ponticelli, French soldier (b. 1897)
• 2010 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish novelist (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

• Arbor Day (China and Taiwan)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Fina
  • Maximilian the martyr
  • Pope Gregory I (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church, and Episcopal Church in the United States)
  • Theophanes the Confessor
  • 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)
• Gregoru Diena (Ancient Latvia)
• National Day (Mauritius)
• World Day Against Cyber Censorship (requested by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International in 2009)

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