12 March

Events

Pre-1600

* 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
* 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Catholic Church. He is best known for initiating the Crusades.
*1158 – German city Munich (München) is first mentioned as ''forum apud Munichen'' in the Augsburg arbitration by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich I.
* 1579 – Start of the Siege of Maastricht, part of the Eighty Years' War.

1601–1900

*1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Society of Jesus, are canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
*1689 – James II of England landed at Kinsale, starting the Williamite War in Ireland.
*1811 – Peninsular War: A day after a successful rearguard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delays the pursuing Anglo- Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha.

1901–present

*1912 – The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.
*1913 – The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra.
*1918 – Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for most of the period since 1713.
*1920 – The Kapp Putsch begins when the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt is ordered to march on Berlin.
*1928 – In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kill 431 people.
* 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi begins the ''Salt March'', a 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".
*1938 – ''Anschluss:'' German troops occupy and annex Austria.
*1940 – Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia.
* 1940 – The most destructive train accident in Finnish history kills 39 and injures 69 people in Turenki, Janakkala.
*1942 – The Battle of Java ends with the surrender of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command to the Japanese Empire in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies.
*1947 – Cold War: The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
*1950 – The Llandow air disaster kills 80 people when the aircraft they are travelling in crashes near Sigingstone, Wales. At the time this was the world's deadliest air disaster.
*1967 – Suharto takes power from Sukarno when the People's Consultative Assembly inaugurate him as Acting President of Indonesia.
*1968 – Mauritius gains independence from the United Kingdom.
*1971 – The 1971 Turkish military memorandum is sent to the Süleyman Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.
*1989 – Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management system, which subsequently develops into the World Wide Web.
*1992 – Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
*1993 – Several bombs explode in Mumbai, India, killing about 300 people and injuring hundreds more.
* 1993 – North Korea announces that it will withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and refuses to allow inspectors access to its nuclear sites.
*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 – The World Health Organization officially release a global warning of outbreaks of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
*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 Bernie Madoff pleads guilty to one of the largest frauds in Wall Street's history.
*2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
*2014 – A gas explosion in the New York City neighborhood of East Harlem kills eight and injures 70 others.
*2018 – US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 crashes at Tribhuvan International Airport in Katmandu, killing 51 and injuring 20.
*2019 – In the House of Commons, the revised EU Withdrawal Bill was rejected by a margin of 149 votes.
*2020 – The United States suspends travel from Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Births

Pre-1600

* 1270 – Charles, Count of Valois (died 1325)
* 1515 – Caspar Othmayr, German Lutheran pastor and composer (died 1553)

1601–1900

* 1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (died 1676)
* 1613 – André Le Nôtre, French gardener and architect (died 1700)
*1626 – John Aubrey, English historian and philosopher (died 1697)
* 1637 – Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and Albany (died 1671)
*1672 – Richard Steele, Irish-Welsh journalist and politician (died 1729)
* 1685 – George Berkeley, Irish bishop and philosopher (died 1753)
* 1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (died 1778)
* 1735 – François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest, French politician and diplomat (died 1821)
*1753 – Jean Denis, French politician, lawyer, jurist, journalist, and historian (died 1827)
*1766 – Claudius Buchanan, Scottish theologian (died 1815)
*1781 – Frederica of Baden, Queen consort to Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (died 1826)
* 1784 – William Buckland, English geologist and paleontologist; Dean of Westminster (died 1856)
*1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Toronto (died 1861)
* 1795 – George Tyler Wood, American military officer and politician (died 1858)
*1806 – Jane Pierce, American wife of Franklin Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (died 1863)
* 1807 – James Abbott, Indian Army officer (died 1896)
*1815 – Louis-Jules Trochu, French military leader and politician (died 1896)
* 1821 – John Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (died 1893)
* 1821 – Medo Pucić, Croatian writer and politician (died 1882)
* 1823 – Katsu Kaishū, Japanese statesman (died 1899)
*1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, Russian-German physicist and academic (died 1887)
* 1832 – Charles Boycott, English farmer and agent (died 1897)
*1834 – Hilary A. Herbert, American politician, Secretary of the Navy (died 1919)
* 1835 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (died 1909)
* 1835 – Sigismondo Savona, Maltese educator and politician (died 1908)
* 1837 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (died 1911)
* 1838 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (died 1907)
*1843 – Gabriel Tarde, French sociologist and criminologist (died 1904)
*1855 – Eduard Birnbaum, Polish-born German cantor (died 1920)
*1857 – William V. Ranous, American actor and director (died 1915)
* 1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (died 1935)
* 1859 – Ernesto Cesàro, Italian mathematician (died 1906)
*1860 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian poet and author (died 1895)
*1863 – Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian soldier, journalist, poet, and playwright (died 1938)
* 1863 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian and Ukrainian mineralogist and chemist (died 1945)
*1864 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (died 1922)
* 1864 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish organist, composer, and educator (died 1943)
* 1869 – George Forbes, New Zealand politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1947)
* 1874 – Edmund Eysler, Austrian composer (died 1949)
*1877 – Wilhelm Frick, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (died 1946)
*1878 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (died 1903)
*1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, English-American chemist and academic (died 1952)
* 1881 – Väinö Tanner, Finnish politician of Social Democratic Party of Finland; the Prime Minister of Finland (died 1966)
* 1882 – Carlos Blanco Galindo, Bolivian politician (died 1943)
* 1883 – Sándor Jávorka, Hungarian botanist (died 1961)
* 1888 – Walter Hermann Bucher, German-American geologist and paleontologist (died 1965)
* 1888 – Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor (died 1965)
*1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish singer-songwriter and lute player (died 1976)
* 1896 – Jesse Fuller, American singer-songwriter and musician (died 1976)
*1898 – Tian Han, Chinese playwright (died 1968)
* 1898 – Luitpold Steidle, German army officer and politician (died 1984)
*1899 – Ramón Muttis, Argentine footballer (died 1955)
*1900 – Rinus van den Berge, Dutch athlete (died 1972)
* 1900 – Sylvi Kekkonen, Finnish writer and wife of President of Finland Urho Kekkonen (died 1974)
* 1900 – Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, 19th President of Colombia (died 1975)

1901–present

* 1904 – Lyudmila Keldysh, Russian mathematician (died 1976)
* 1905 – Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor (died 1982)
*1907 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (died 2007)
* 1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (died 1970)
* 1908 – David Marshall, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Singapore (died 1995)
* 1909 – Petras Cvirka, Lithuanian author (died 1947)
* 1910 – László Lékai, Archbishop of Esztergom and Cardinal (died 1986)
* 1910 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1980)
*1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 49th President of Mexico (died 1979)
*1912 – Willie Hall, English footballer (died 1967)
* 1912 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (died 2006)
*1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (died 1984)
* 1913 – Agathe von Trapp, Hungarian-American singer and author (died 2010)
* 1915 – Alberto Burri, Italian painter and sculptor (died 1995)
* 1915 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist (died 1991)
*1917 – Leonard Chess, American record company executive, co-founder of Chess Records (died 1969)
* 1917 – Millard Kaufman, American author and screenwriter (died 2009)
* 1917 – Googie Withers, Indian-Australian actress (died 2011)
*1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (died 1989)
* 1918 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish Fianna Fáil politician (died 2012)
*1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (died 2001)
* 1921 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (died 1986)
* 1922 – Jack Kerouac, American author and poet (died 1969)
* 1922 – Lane Kirkland, American sailor and union leader (died 1999)
*1923 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater and cyclist (died 2013)
* 1923 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (died 2005)
* 1923 – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (died 2007)
* 1923 – Mae Young, American wrestler (died 2014)
*1925 – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1925 – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (died 2012)
*1926 – George Ariyoshi, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Hawaii
* 1926 – Arthur A. Hartman, American career diplomat (died 2015)
* 1926 – John Clellon Holmes, American author and professor (died 1988)
* 1926 – David Nadien, American violinist (died 2014)
*1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentine lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (died 2009)
* 1927 – Emmett Leith, American professor of electrical engineering and co-inventor of three-dimensional holography (died 2005)
* 1927 – Sudharmono, Indonesian politician, 5th Vice President of Indonesia (died 2006)
*1928 – Edward Albee, American director and playwright (died 2016)
* 1929 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (died 2014)
* 1930 – Antony Acland, English former diplomat and Provost of Eton College (died 2021)
* 1930 – Vern Law, American baseball player and manager
*1931 – Józef Tischner, Polish priest and philosopher (died 2000)
*1932 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian basketball player (died 2014)
* 1932 – Andrew Young, American pastor and politician, 14th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
*1933 – Myrna Fahey, American actress (died 1973)
* 1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
*1934 – Francisco J. Ayala, Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher (died 2023)
*1935 – Chiam See Tong, Singaporean lawyer and politician
*1936 – Virginia Hamilton, American children's books author (died 2002)
* 1936 – Michał Heller, Polish professor of philosophy
* 1936 – Eddie Sutton, American basketball player and coach (died 2020)
*1937 – Zoltán Horvath, Hungarian sabre fencer
* 1937 – Zurab Sotkilava, Georgian operatic tenor (died 2017)
*1938 – Vladimir Msryan, Armenian actor (died 2010)
* 1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver and sportscaster
* 1938 – Ken Spears, American writer (died 2020)
* 1938 – Juan Horacio Suárez, Argentine bishop
* 1938 – Ron Tutt, American drummer (died 2021)
*1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer (died 2017)
*1941 – Josip Skoblar, former Croatian footballer
*1942 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player (died 2020)
*1943 – Ratko Mladić, Serbian general
*1944 – Erwin Mueller, former American basketball player (died 2018)
*1945 – Anne Summers, Australian feminist writer, editor, publisher and public servant
*1946 – Dean Cundey, American cinematographer and film director
* 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 – Kent Conrad, American politician
* 1948 – James Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1949 – Rob Cohen, American director, producer, and screenwriter
* 1949 – David Mellor, British politician
*1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish footballer and manager
*1952 – André Comte-Sponville, French philosopher
* 1952 – John Mitchell, English footballer
* 1952 – Yasuhiko Okudera, former Japanese footballer
*1953 – Pavel Pinigin, former Soviet wrestler and Olympic champion
*1954 – Anish Kapoor, Indian-English sculptor
*1956 – Ove Aunli, former Norwegian cross-country skier
* 1956 – Stanisław Bobak, Polish ski jumper (died 2010)
* 1956 – Steve Harris, English bass player and songwriter
* 1956 – Lesley Manville, English actress
* 1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player
* 1956 – Pim Verbeek, Dutch football manager (died 2019)
*1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer and coach
* 1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
* 1957 – Andrey Lopatov, Soviet basketball player (died 2022)
* 1958 – Phil Anderson, English-Australian cyclist
*1959 – Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb politician and president of Republika Srpska
* 1959 – Luenell, American comedian and actress
* 1959 – Michael Walter, German luger (died 2016)
* 1960 – Jason Beghe, American actor
* 1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor and painter
*1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
* 1962 – Andreas Köpke, German footballer
* 1962 – Chris Sanders, American illustrator and voice actor
* 1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player and minister
* 1962 – Titus Welliver, American actor
*1963 – John Andretti, American race car driver (died 2020)
* 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 – Paul Way, English golfer
* 1963 – Jake Weber, English actor
*1964 – Dieter Eckstein, German footballer
* 1964 – Umirzak Shukeyev, Kazakh chairman of Samruk-Kazyna
*1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
* 1965 – Ivari Padar, former Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture of the Estonian Social Democratic Party
*1966 – David Daniels, American countertenor
* 1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player and sportscaster
*1967 – Julio Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
*1968 – Tammy Duckworth, Thai-American colonel, pilot, and politician
* 1968 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor and producer
* 1969 – Graham Coxon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1969 – Jake Tapper, American journalist and author
*1970 – Karen Bradley, English politician
* 1970 – Dave Eggers, American author and screenwriter
* 1970 – Mathias Grönberg, Swedish golfer
* 1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player and coach
*1971 – Raúl Mondesí, Dominican baseball player and politician
* 1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player and rapper
* 1971 – Dragutin Topić, Serbian high jumper
*1972 – Doron Sheffer, Israeli basketball player
* 1974 – Charles Akonnor, Ghanaian footballer
* 1974 – Walid Badir, Israeli footballer
*1975 – Nicolae Grigore, Romanian footballer
* 1975 – Edgaras Jankauskas, Lithuanian footballer
* 1975 – Valérie Nicolas, French handball player
* 1975 – Srđan Pecelj, Bosnian footballer
*1976 – Deron Quint, American ice hockey player
* 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, Senegalese footballer
* 1977 – Brent Johnson, American ice hockey player
*1978 – Marco Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
* 1978 – Casey Mears, American race car driver
* 1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese author and illustrator
*1979 – Charlie Bell, American basketball player and coach
* 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, Spanish footballer
* 1979 – Ben Sandford, New Zealand skeleton racer
* 1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
* 1979 – Tim Wieskötter, German sprint canoer
*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 – 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
* 1983 – Mikko Koivu, Finnish ice hockey player
*1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
* 1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
*1985 – Marco Bonanomi, Italian racing driver
* 1985 – Aleksandr Bukharov, Russian footballer
* 1985 – Ed Clancy, English track and road cyclist
* 1986 – Martynas Andriuškevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
* 1986 – Oleh Dopilka, Ukrainian footballer
* 1986 – Danny Jones, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
* 1986 – Ben Offereins, Australian runner
* 1986 – František Rajtoral, Czech footballer (died 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 – Kostas Mitroglou, Greek footballer
* 1988 – Titi, Brazilian footballer
*1989 – Jordan Adéoti, French footballer
* 1989 – Vytautas Černiauskas, Lithuanian footballer
* 1989 – Tyler Clary, American swimmer
* 1989 – Evgenii Dadonov, Russian ice hockey player
* 1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
* 1989 – Chen Jianghua, Chinese basketball player
* 1989 – Dmitry Korobov, Belarusian ice hockey player
* 1989 – Siim Luts, Estonian footballer
*1990 – Dont'a Hightower, American football coach and former player
* 1990 – Marvin Jones, American football player
* 1990 – Alexander Kröckel, German skeleton racer
* 1990 – Dawid Kubacki, Polish ski jumper
* 1990 – Irakli Kvekveskiri, Georgian footballer
* 1990 – Matias Myttynen, Finnish ice hockey player
* 1990 – Ilija Nestorovski, Macedonian footballer
* 1990 – Milena Raičević, Montenegrin handballer
* 1990 – Mikko Sumusalo, Finnish footballer
*1991 – Leandro Fernandez, Argentine footballer
* 1991 – Felix Kroos, German 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
*1994 – Katie Archibald, Scottish track cyclist
* 1994 – Jerami Grant, American basketball player
* 1994 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (died 2016)
* 1994 – Tyler Patrick Jones, American actor
*1996 – Serhou Guirassy, French footballer
* 1996 – Karim Hafez, Egyptian footballer
* 1996 – Robert Murić, Croatian footballer
* 1996 – Cene Prevc, Slovenian ski jumper
*1997 – Dean Henderson, English footballer
* 1997 – Allan Saint-Maximin, French footballer
* 1997 – Felipe Vizeu, Brazilian footballer
*1998 – Carsen Edwards, American basketball player
* 1998 – Mecole Hardman, American football player
* 1998 – Daniel Samohin, Israeli figure skater
* 1998 – Elizaveta Ukolova, Czech figure skater
*2001 – Max Duggan, American football player
* 2001 – Kim Min-kyu, South Korean singer and actor
*2003 – Andrea Brillantes, Filipino actress and model
* 2003 – Malina Weissman, American actress and model
*2004 – DannyLux, American singer-songwriter
*2008 – Emma Kok, Dutch singer

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 417 – Innocent I, pope of the Catholic Church
* 604 – Gregory I, pope of the Catholic Church (born 540)
* 1022 – Symeon the New Theologian (born 949)
* 1160 – Al-Muqtafi, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (born 1096)
* 1316 – Stefan Dragutin (born c. 1244)
* 1322 – Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, English general and politician, Lord High Constable of England (born 1276)
*1539 – Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English diplomat and politician (born 1477)

1601–1900

* 1699 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish politician (born 1635)
*1898 – Zachris Topelius, Finnish-Swedish journalist, historian, and author (born 1818)

1901–present

* 1916 – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian author (born 1830)
*1925 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese physician and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (born 1866)
* 1929 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (born 1851)
*1935 – Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and chemist (born 1858)
*1942 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1862)
*1943 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (born 1869)
*1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian soldier and politician, Head of State of Hungary (born 1897)
*1949 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (born 1879)
*1954 – Marianne Weber, German sociologist and suffragist (born 1870)
* 1955 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (born 1920)
* 1955 – Theodor Plievier, German author best known for his anti-war novel (born 1892)
*1957 – Josephine Hull, American actress (born 1877)
*1971 – Eugene Lindsay Opie, American physician and pathologist (born 1873)
*1973 – Frankie Frisch, American baseball player and manager (born 1898)
* 1974 – George D. Sax, American banker and businessman (born 1904)
*1985 – Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian-American violinist and conductor (born 1899)
*1989 – Maurice Evans, English-American actor (born 1901)
*1991 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish-Swedish neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1900)
* 1991 – William Heinesen, Faroese author, poet, and author (born 1900)
*1992 – Lucy M. Lewis, American potter (born 1890)
*1998 – Beatrice Wood, American painter and potter (born 1893)
*1999 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (born 1916)
* 1999 – Bidu Sayão, Brazilian-American soprano (born 1902)
*2000 – Aleksandar Nikolić, Yugoslav basketball coach (born 1924)
*2001 – Morton Downey Jr., American singer-songwriter, actor, and talk show host (born 1933)
* 2001 – Robert Ludlum, American author (born 1927)
* 2001 – Victor Westhoff, Dutch botanist and academic (born 1916)
*2002 – Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Cyprus (born 1932)
* 2002 – Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (born 1923)
*2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (born 1952)
* 2003 – Howard Fast, American novelist and screenwriter (born 1914)
* 2003 – Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (born 1948)
*2004 – Milton Resnick, Russian-American painter (born 1917)
*2006 – Victor Sokolov, Russian-American priest and journalist (born 1947)
*2008 – Jorge Guinzburg, Argentinian journalist and producer (born 1949)
* 2008 – Lazare Ponticelli, Italian-French soldier and supercentenarian (born 1897)
*2010 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (born 1920)
*2011 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (born 1919)
*2012 – Dick Harter, American basketball player and coach (born 1930)
* 2012 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (born 1946)
* 2012 – Friedhelm Konietzka, German-Swiss footballer and manager (born 1938)
* 2013 – Michael Grigsby, English director and producer (born 1936)
* 2013 – Ganesh Pyne, Indian painter and illustrator (born 1937)
*2014 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (born 1929)
* 2014 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (born 1923)
* 2014 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (born 1936)
*2015 – Willie Barrow, American minister and activist (born 1924)
* 2015 – Michael Graves, American architect and academic, designed the Portland Building and the Humana Building (born 1934)
* 2015 – Ada Jafri, Pakistani poet and author (born 1924)
* 2015 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (born 1948)
*2016 – Rafiq Azad, Bangladeshi poet and author (born 1942)
* 2016 – Felix Ibru, Nigerian architect and politician, Governor of Delta State (born 1935)
* 2016 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1923)
*2021 – Ronald DeFeo Jr., American criminal (born 1951)

Holidays and observances

* Arbor Day (China)
* Arbor Day (Taiwan)
* Aztec New Year
*Christian feast day:
** Alphege
** Bernard of Carinola (or of Capua)
** Gorgonius, Peter Cubicularius and Dorotheus of Nicomedia
** Mura (McFeredach)
**Fina
** Maximilian of Tebessa
** Paul Aurelian
**Pope Gregory I (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church, and Anglican Communion)
** Theophanes the Confessor
** March 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* National Day (Mauritius)
*World Day Against Cyber Censorship
* Youth Day (Zambia)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on March 12

{{months

Days of March