March 12
is the
71st day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (72nd in
leap years). There are 294 days remaining.
*
515 BCE - Construction is completed on the Second
Temple in Jerusalem.
*
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.
*
1664 -
New Jersey becomes a colony of
Britain.
*
1868 -
Henry James O'Farrell attempts to assassinate
Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
*
1881 -
Andrew Watson made his
Scotland debut as the world's first
black international
football player and
captain.
*
1894 -
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
U.S..
*
1913 -
Canberra, future capital of
Australia, is officially named and construction of the new city begins (
Melbourne remained temporary capital until 1927).
*
1928 - In
California, the
St. Francis Dam fails, killing 400 people.
*
1930 -
Mahatma Gandhi leads a 200-mile march known as
Dandi March to the sea in defiance of
British opposition, to protest the
British monopoly on
salt.
*
1933 -
Great Depression:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as
President of the United States. This was also the first of his "
Fireside Chats."
*
1938 -
Anschluss: German troops occupy
Austria; annexation declared the following day.
*
1940 -
Winter War:
Finland signs a
harsh peace treaty with the
Soviet Union, ceding almost all of
Finnish Karelia.
Finnish troops and remaining population are immediately evacuated.
*
1947 - The
Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of
Communism.
*
1951 - The
Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in
newspapers across the
USA for the first time.
*
1956 - The
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 500 for the
first time (500.24)
*
1958 - In
Hilversum,
Netherlands,
André Claveau wins the third
Eurovision Song Contest for
France singing "
Dors, mon amour" (Sleep, my love).
*
1960 - A fire at a chemical plant in
Pusan,
Korea kills 68.
*
1967 -
Suharto takes over from
Sukarno to become
President of
Indonesia.
*
1968 -
Mauritius achieves independence.
*
1987 -
Les Misérables opens on
Broadway.
*
1992 -
Mauritius becomes a
republic while remaining a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations.
* 1992 - 13 are killed and several injured when a
tram-car crashes into a crowd of people at the tram-station at
Vasaplatsen in
Gothenburg,
Sweden.
*
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 nuclear sites.
*
1994 - A photo by
Marmaduke Wetherell, previously touted as 'proof' of the
Loch Ness monster, is confirmed to be a hoax.
* 1994 - The
Church of England ordains its first female priests.
*
1999 - Former
Warsaw Pact members the
Czech Republic,
Hungary and
Poland join
NATO.
*
2002 - In
Texas,
Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her five children on
June 20,
2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison. Her sentence would be overturned on appeal and she would end up being retried in
2006.
*
2003 -
Zoran Đinđić,
Prime Minister of
Serbia, assassinated in
Belgrade.
*
2004 -
Roh Moo-hyun,
President of South Korea is impeached by its
national assembly for the first time 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. New
SAT is administered.
*
2006 -
Australia scores a
world record 434 runs in a
One-day International cricket match against
South Africa. South Africa replies by beating the record again to score 438/9 to win.
*
1270 -
Charles of Valois, son of
Philip III of France (d.
1325)
*
1386 -
Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (d.
1428)
*
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)
*
1685 -
George Berkeley, Irish theologian (d.
1753)
*
1710 -
Thomas Augustine Arne, English composer (d.
1778)
*
1718 -
Joseph Damer, English politician (d.
1798)
*
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)
*
1863 -
Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer (d.
1938)
* 1863 -
Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (d.
1945)
*
1888 -
Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish-born ballet dancer (d.
1950)
*
1890 -
William Dudley Pelley, American leader of the
Silver Legion (d.
1965)
*
1895 -
William C. Lee, U.S. Army general (d.
1948)
*
1907 -
Arthur Hewlett, actor (d.
1997)
*
1908 -
Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d.
1970)
*
1912 -
Irving Layton, Canadian poet (d.
2006)
*
1918 -
Elaine de Kooning, American artist (d.
1989)
*
1921 -
Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (d.
2003)
* 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 -
Wally Schirra, astronaut
* 1923 -
Mae Young, professional wrestler
* 1923 -
Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d.
2005)
*
1925 -
Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist,
Nobel laureate* 1925 -
Harry Harrison, American author
* 1925 -
Louison Bobet, French cyclist (d.
1983)
*
1928 -
Edward Albee, American dramatist
*
1929 -
U Win Tin, jailed Burmese journalist
*
1931 -
Herbert Kelleher,
Southwest Airlines co-founder
*
1932 -
Barbara Feldon, American actress and model
* 1932 -
Andrew Young, American civil rights activist
*
1940 -
Al Jarreau, American singer
* 1940 -
M.A. Numminen, Finnish singer and writer
*
1942 -
Ratko Mladić, Republika Srpska leader
*
1945 -
Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, American gangster
*
1946 -
Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
*
1947 -
Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (d.
1987)
* 1947 -
Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts
*
1948 -
James Taylor, American musician
*
1949 -
Natalia Kuchinskaya, Soviet gymnast
*
1953 -
Carl Hiaasen, American journalist and author
* 1953 -
Ron Jeremy, American actor
*
1956 -
Steve Harris, English musician (
Iron Maiden)
* 1956 -
Dale Murphy, baseball player
*
1960 -
Maki Nomiya, Japanese singer (
Pizzicato Five)
*
1962 -
Darryl Strawberry, baseball player
*
1963 -
Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
*
1965 -
Steve Finley, baseball player
* 1965 -
Steve Levy, American sports journalist
* 1965 -
Shawn Gilbert, baseball player
*
1968 -
Aaron Eckhart, American actor
*
1969 -
Graham Coxon, English musician
*
1970 -
Roy Khan, Norwegian singer (
Kamelot)
*
1972 -
Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor
* 1972 -
James Maritato, American professional wrestler
*
1975 -
Kelle Bryan, female singer in band named Eternal
*
1976 -
Simon Young, British music journalist
*
1977 -
Marcus 40 (Mark Hendry), New Zealand actor
*
1978 -
Masuimi Max, American model
* 1978 -
Casey Mears, American auto racer
* 1978 -
Claudio Sanchez, musician (
Coheed and Cambria)
*
1979 -
Pete Doherty, musician (
The Libertines and
Babyshambles)
* 1979 -
Nidia Guenard, former WWE Diva
* 1979 -
Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
*
1985 -
Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
* 1985 -
Tosh Townend, American skateboarder
*
1986 -
Danny Jones, British singer (
McFly)
*
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)
*
1790 -
Andreas Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (b.
1710)
*
1832 -
Frederich Kuhlau, German composer (b.
1786)
*
1872 -
Zeng Guofan, Chinese politician and general (b.
1811)
*
1889 - Emperor
Yohannes IV of Ethiopia*
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, NYPD lieutenant (b.
1860)
*
1916 -
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer (b.
1830)
*
1925 -
Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary, politician (b.
1866)
*
1930 -
Alois Jirásek, Czech writer (b.
1851)
*
1937 -
Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b.
1844)
* 1937 -
Jenő Hubay, Hungarian violinist (b.
1858)
*
1943 -
Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b.
1869)
*
1944 -
Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer (b.
1861)
*
1947 -
Winston Churchill, American novelist (b.
1871)
*
1955 -
Charlie Parker, American jazz saxophonist (b.
1920)
*
1973 -
Frankie Frisch, baseball player (b.
1898)
*
1974 -
George D. Sax, Drive-in bank and instant loan innovator. Owner of the Saxony Hotel. (b.
1904)
*
1978 -
John Cazale, American actor (b.
1935)
* 1978 -
Gene Moore, baseball player (b.
1909)
*
1984 -
Arnold Ridley, British playwright and actor (b.
1896)
*
1985 -
Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian conductor (b.
1899)
*
1987 -
Woody Hayes, American football coach (b.
1913)
*
1989 -
Maurice Evans, British actor (b.
1901)
*
1990 -
Wallace Breem, British author (b.
1926)
*
1991 -
Ragnar Granit, Finnish neuroscientist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b.
1900)
*
1995 -
Juanin Clay, American actress (b.
1949)
*
1998 -
Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramist (b.
1893)
*
1999 - Sir
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)
*
2003 -
Zoran Đinđić,
Prime Minister of Serbia (b.
1952)
* 2003 -
Howard Fast, American author (b.
1914)
* 2003 -
Lynne Thigpen, American actress (b.
1948)
* 2003 -
Andrei Kivilev, Kazakh cyclist (b.
1973)
*
2005 -
Bill Cameron, Canadian journalist (b.
1943)
*
2006 -
István Gyulai, Hungarian athletic official (b.
1943)
* 2006 -
Victor Sokolov, Russian dissident journalist and priest (b.
1947)
*
Roman Catholic Church -
Feast day of:
**
St. Theophanes the Confessor**
St. Maximilian**
St. Jozefina**
St. Justina**
St. Fina*
Mauritius -
National Day.
*
Sweden - Namesday of
Crown Princess Victoria, an
Official Flag Day.
*"National Day" of the
Republic of Jamtland*
Flag Day in
Venezuela.
*Ancient
Latvia -
Gregoru Diena observed.
*
Arbor Day in
China.
*
On this day in Canada*
NY Times: On this day*
BBC: On This Day*
Today in History: March 12March 11 -
March 13 -
February 12 -
April 12 --
listing of all days
