What happened on March 12? There are more than 292 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About March 12
March 12 is the 72nd day of the year 2024. There are 294 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday. This day falls under the 11th week of the year 2024.
On this day in New York, New York 10094 sunrise occured at 07:09 AM and sunset occured at 07:01 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Pisces. The modern birthstone for this month is Aquamarine while the mystical birthstone is Jade.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 323 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 22 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For March 12
- 538Vitiges, 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.
- 1622Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Jesuits, are canonized as saints by the Catholic Church.
- 1664New Jersey becomes a colony of England.
- 1689The Williamite War in Ireland begins.
- 1811Peninsular War: A day after a successful rear guard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delayed the pursuing Anglo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha.
- 1868Henry O'Farrell attempts to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
- 1881Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world’s first black international football player and captain.
- 1912The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.
- 1913Canberra Day: The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra. (Melbourne remained temporary capital until 1927 while the new capital is still under construction.)
- 1918Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for 215 years.
- 1921İstiklal Marşı was adopted in TBMM(Turkish grand national assembly).
- 1922Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan formed The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic
- 1928In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kill over 600 people.
- 1930Mahatma 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.
- 1933Great 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”.
- 1934Konstantin Päts and General Johan Laidoner stage a coup in Estonia, and ban all political parties.
- 1938Anschluss: German troops occupy Austria.
- 1940Winter 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.
- 1947The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
- 1950The 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.
- 1964New Hampshire Lottery: New Hampshire becomes the first U.S. state to legally sell lottery tickets in the 20th century.
- 1966Suharto takes over from Sukarno to become President of Indonesia.
- 1968Mauritius achieves independence.
- 1971The March 12 Memorandum is sent to the Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.
- 1992Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1993North 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.
- 1993Several bombs explode in Bombay (Mumbai), India, killing about 300 and injuring hundreds more.
- 1993The 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.
- 1994The Church of England ordains its first female priests.
- 1999Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
- 2003Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade.
- 2004The President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, is impeached by its national assembly: the first such impeachment in the nation’s history.
- 2009Financier Bernard Madoff plead guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street history.
- 2011A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan’s earthquake.
Who Were Born On March 12?
- 1270Charles of Valois, son of Philip III of France (d. 1325)
- 1478Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1516)
- 1607Paul Gerhardt, German hymnist (d. 1676)
- 1613André Le Nôtre, French landscape architect (d. 1700)
- 1620Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Swiss philologist and theologian (d. 1667)
- 1626John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer (d. 1697)
- 1637Anne Hyde, wife of James II of England (d. 1671)
- 1647Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (d. 1727)
- 1672Richard Steele, Irish writer and politician (d. 1729)
- 1685George Berkeley, Irish theologian (d. 1753)
- 1710Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
- 1718Joseph Damer, English politician (d. 1798)
- 1781Frederica of Baden, Queen of Sweden (d. 1826)
- 1806Jane Pierce, First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
- 1821Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, Canadian statesman (d. 1893)
- 1824Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (d. 1887)
- 1831Clement Studebaker, American automobile executive (d. 1901)
- 1832Charles Boycott, British land agent (d. 1897)
- 1835Simon Newcomb, Canadian-born American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1909)
- 1837Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (d. 1911)
- 1838William Henry Perkin, English chemist (d. 1907)
- 1859Abraham H. Cannon, American religious figure (d. 1896)
- 1863Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer (d. 1938)
- 1863Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (d. 1945)
- 1864Alice Tegnér, Swedish composer and organist (d. 1943)
- 1864William Halse Rivers Rivers, British psychiatrist (d. 1922)
- 1874Charles Weeghman, American restaurateur and owner of Chicago Cubs (d. 1938)
- 1878Gemma Galgani, Catholic saint and mystic (d. 1903)
- 1880Henry Drysdale Dakin, British-born American biochemist (d. 1952)
- 1880Nikolaos Georgantas, Greek discus thrower (d. 1958)
- 1881Gunnar Nordström, Finnish physicist (d. 1923)
- 1881Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, first President of Turkey (d. 1938)
- 1883Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian Nazi official (d. 1959)
- 1889Þórbergur Þórðarson, Icelandic author (d. 1974)
- 1889King Idris I of Libya (d. 1983)
- 1890Evert Taube, Swedish author and composer (d. 1976)
- 1890Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish ballet dancer (d. 1950)
- 1890William Dudley Pelley, American spiritualist and politician (d. 1965)
- 1891George W. Mason, American industrialist (d. 1954)
- 1895William C. Lee, American Army general (d. 1948)
- 1907Arthur Hewlett, British actor (d. 1997)
- 1907Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer (d. 2007)
- 1908David Saul Marshall Singaporean statesman (d. 1995)
- 1908Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
- 1910Masayoshi Ohira, Japanese statesman (d. 1980)
- 1911Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican statesman (d. 1979)
- 1912Irving Layton, Canadian poet (d. 2006)
- 1912Paul Weston, American pianist, arranger and conductor (d. 1996)
- 1913Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician (d. 1984)
- 1914Julia Lennon, mother of John Lennon (d. 1958)
- 1915Willibald C. Bianchi, American Army officer and Medal of Honor winner (d. 1945)
- 1917Googie Withers, British actress
- 1917Millard Kaufman, American screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1918Elaine de Kooning, American artist (d. 1989)
- 1919Mike Stepovich, American attorney and last territorial governor of Alaska
- 1921Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and anti-Soviet activist (d. 2007)
- 1921Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (d. 2003)
- 1921Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (d. 1986)
- 1922Jack Kerouac, American writer (d. 1969)
- 1922Lane Kirkland, American labor leader (d. 1999)
- 1923Clara Fraser, American feminist and activist (d. 1998)
- 1923Hanne Hiob, German actress (d. 2009)
- 1923Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater
- 1923Mae Young, American professional wrestler
- 1923Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
- 1923Wally Schirra, American astronaut (d. 2007)
- 1925Georges Delerue, French film composer (d. 1992)
- 1925Harry Harrison, American author
- 1925Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1925Louison Bobet, French cyclist (d. 1983)
- 1926DeLois Barrett Campbell, American gospel singer (d. 2011)
- 1926George Ariyoshi, American politician
- 1927Raúl Alfonsín, Argentine politician (d. 2009)
- 1928Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan musician (d. 2007)
- 1928Edward Albee, American dramatist
- 1928Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, Canadian politician and senator
- 1929Win Tin, Burmese journalist
- 1930Vernon Law, American baseball player
- 1931Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1931Herbert Kelleher, American airline executive
- 1932Andrew Young, American civil rights activist and politician
- 1933Barbara Feldon, American actress and model
- 1935John Doherty, English footballer (d. 2007)
- 1936Eddie Sutton, American college basketball coach
- 1936Patrick Procktor, English artist (d. 2003)
- 1938Dimitri Terzakis, Greek composer
- 1938Johnny Rutherford, American automobile racer
- 1940Al Jarreau, American singer
- 1940Joe Unger, American actor
- 1940M.A. Numminen, Finnish singer and writer
- 1942Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player
- 1942Ratko Mladić, Serbian military commander
- 1945Sammy Gravano, American organized crime figure
- 1946Frank Welker, American voice actor
- 1946Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
- 1946Peter Whalley, British television writer and author
- 1946Serge Turgeon, Canadian actor and union leader (d. 2004)
- 1947Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (d. 1987)
- 1947Mitt Romney, American politician
- 1947Peter Harry Carstensen, German politician
- 1948James Taylor, American musician
- 1948Kent Conrad, American politician
- 1948Virginia Bottomley, British politician
- 1949David Mellor, British QC, politician and broadcaster
- 1949Moctesuma Esparza, Mexican producer and filmmaker
- 1949Natalia Kuchinskaya, Soviet gymnast
- 1949Rob Cohen, American film director, producer and writer
- 1950Javier Clemente, Spanish football manager
- 1950Jon Provost, American actor
- 1950Wheeler Winston Dixon, American filmmaker, critic and author
- 1952Naomi Shihab Nye, American poet, songwriter, and novelist
- 1953Carl Hiaasen, American journalist and author
- 1953Ron Jeremy, American pornographic actor
- 1956Dale Murphy, American baseball player
- 1956Steve Harris, English musician
- 1957Marlon Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
- 1957Patrick Battiston, French footballer
- 1958Matt Millen, American football player
- 1960Courtney B. Vance, American actor
- 1960Kipp Lennon, American singer
- 1960Maki Nomiya, Japanese singer (Pizzicato Five)
- 1960Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer
- 1961Joseph Facal, Canadian politician
- 1962Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player
- 1962Julia Campbell, American actress
- 1963Ian Holloway, English football manager
- 1963Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
- 1963Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi of Iran
- 1965Coleen Nolan, British singer
- 1965Liza Umarova, Chechen torch singer
- 1965Shawn Gilbert, American baseball player
- 1965Steve Finley, American baseball player
- 1965Steve Levy, American sports journalist
- 1966Grant Long, American basketball player
- 1966John Thompson III, American basketball coach
- 1967Julio Dely Valdes, Panamanian footballer
- 1968Aaron Eckhart, American actor
- 1968Tammy Duckworth, American politician, military aviator
- 1969Graham Coxon, English musician (Blur)
- 1969Jake Tapper, American journalist
- 1970Dave Eggers, American writer, editor, and publisher
- 1970John Nemechek, American NASCAR driver (d. 1997)
- 1970Ray Prewitt, American actor
- 1970Rex Walters, American basketball player
- 1970Roy Khan, Norwegian singer (Kamelot)
- 1971Isaiah Rider, American basketball player
- 1971Tony Eveready, American adult film actor
- 1972Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor
- 1972James Maritato, American wrestler
- 1974Chris Parr, American basketball player
- 1974Steve Price, Australia rugby league player
- 1975Annabel Port, English radio presenter
- 1975Kelle Bryan, English singer
- 1975Todd Rock, American state legislator
- 1976Panagiotis Bahramis, Greek footballer
- 1976Zhao Wei, Chinese actress
- 1977Ramiro Corrales, American footballer
- 1978Arina Tanemura, Japanese manga artist
- 1978Casey Mears, American auto racer
- 1978Christianne Klein, American journalist and television personality
- 1978Claudio Sanchez, American musician (Coheed and Cambria)
- 1978Masuimi Max, American model
- 1979Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1979Jamie Dwyer, Australian hockey player
- 1979Nidia Guenard, American wrestler
- 1979Pete Doherty, English musician
- 1979Rhys Coiro, American actor
- 1979Shaun Rogers, American football player
- 1980Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1980John-Paul Lavoisier, American actor
- 1981Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler
- 1981Maurizio Lauro, Italian footballer
- 1982Samm Levine, American actor
- 1982Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
- 1982Zach Miner, American baseball player
- 1983Atif Aslam, Pakistani singer
- 1984Jaimie Alexander, American actress
- 1984Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
- 1985Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer
- 1986Ben Offereins, Australian athlete
- 1986Danny Jones, English singer (McFly)
- 1987Chris Seitz, American footballer
- 1987Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
- 1988Konstantinos Mitroglou, Greek footballer
- 1989Tyler Clary, American swimmer
- 1994Christina Grimmie, American singer, songwriter, pianist
- 1994Tyler Patrick Jones, American actor
- 1995Kanon Fukuda, Japanese singer
Who Died On March 12?
- 417Pope Innocent I
- 604Pope Gregory I
- 1289King Demetre II of Georgia (b. 1259)
- 1316King Stephen Dragutin of Serbia (b. 1253)
- 1374Emperor Go-Kōgon of Japan (b. 1336)
- 1447Shah Rukh, ruler of Persia and Transoxonia (b. 1377)
- 1507Cesare Borgia, Italian general and statesman (b. 1475)
- 1608Koriki Kiyonaga, Japanese warlord (b. 1530)
- 1628John Bull, English composer
- 1648Tirso de Molina, Spanish writer (b. 1571)
- 1681Frans van Mieris, Sr., Dutch painter (b. 1635)
- 1699Peder Griffenfeld, Danish statesman (b. 1635)
- 1757Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/painter (b. 1696)
- 1790Andreas Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (b. 1710)
- 1832Friedrich Kuhlau, German composer (b. 1786)
- 1858William James Blacklock, British landscape painter (b. 1816)
- 1872Zeng Guofan, Chinese politician and general (b. 1811)
- 1894Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (b. 1840)
- 1898Zacharias Topelius, Finnish-Swedish writer (b. 1818)
- 1908Edmondo De Amicis, Italian children’s writer (b. 1846)
- 1909Joe Petrosino, American police lieutenant (b. 1860)
- 1914George Westinghouse, American entrepreneur and engineer (b. 1846)
- 1916Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer (b. 1830)
- 1925Gergely Luthár, Hungarian Slovene writer (b. 1841)
- 1925Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary and politician (b. 1866)
- 1929Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman (b. 1851)
- 1930Alois Jirásek, Czech writer (b. 1851)
- 1930William George Barker, Canadian fighter ace (b. 1894)
- 1937Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b. 1844)
- 1937Jenő Hubay, Hungarian violinist (b. 1858)
- 1942Robert Bosch, German industrialist (b. 1861)
- 1943Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
- 1944Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer (b. 1861)
- 1945Friedrich Fromm, German Army Officer (b. 1861)
- 1946Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian politician (executed) (b. 1897)
- 1947Winston Churchill, American novelist (b. 1871)
- 1955Charlie Parker, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1920)
- 1973Frankie Frisch, American baseball player (b. 1898)
- 1974George D. Sax, American entrepreneur (b. 1904)
- 1975Olga Hepnarová, Czech mass murderer (b. 1951)
- 1978Gene Moore, American baseball player (b. 1909)
- 1978John Cazale, American actor (b. 1935)
- 1984Arnold Ridley, English playwright and actor (b. 1896)
- 1985Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian conductor (b. 1899)
- 1987Woody Hayes, American football coach (b. 1913)
- 1989Maurice Evans, English-born actor (b. 1901)
- 1990Wallace Breem, British author (b. 1926)
- 1991Ragnar Granit, Finnish neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1900)
- 1991William Heinesen, Faroese writer, poet and artist (b. 1900)
- 1995Juanin Clay, American actress (b. 1949)
- 1998Beatrice Wood, American artist and ceramist (b. 1893)
- 1998Jozef Kroner, Slovak actor (b. 1924)
- 1998Judge Dread, English musician (b. 1945)
- 1999Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist (b. 1916)
- 2001Morton Downey, Jr., American television talk show host (b. 1933)
- 2001Robert Ludlum, American author (b. 1927)
- 2002Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
- 2002Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot politician (b. 1932)
- 2003Andrei Kivilev, Kazakh cyclist (b. 1973)
- 2003Howard Fast, American author (b. 1914)
- 2003Lynne Thigpen, American actress (b. 1948)
- 2003Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1952)
- 2005Bill Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1943)
- 2005Stavros Koujioumtzis, Greek songwriter (b. 1932)
- 2006Victor Sokolov, Russian dissident journalist and priest (b. 1947)
- 2007Hege Nerland, Norwegian politician (b. 1966)
- 2008Jorge Guinzburg, Argentine journalist, producer and media host (b. 1949)
- 2008Lazare Ponticelli, French soldier (b. 1897)
- 2010Miguel Delibes, Spanish novelist (b. 1920)
- 2011Joe Morello, American jazz drummer (Dave Brubeck Quartet; b. 1923)
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