March 12
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March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). There are 294 days remaining.
Events
- 515 BCE - Construction is completed on the 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 - Kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart is found alive in Sandy, Utah after missing from her Salt Lake City home for nine months.
- 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.
Births
- 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, war hero, and politician (d. 1938)
- 1863 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (d. 1945)
- 1888 - Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish-born ballet dancer (d. 1950)
- 1890 - William Dudley Pelley, American t and 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 Prize 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, politician, and ambassador to the United Nations
- 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
- 1962 - Darryl Strawberry, baseball player
- 1963 - Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
- 1965 - Steve Finley, baseball player
- 1965 - Steve Levy, American sports journalist (ESPN)
- 1968 - Aaron Eckhart, American actor (Erin Brockavich)
- 1969 - Graham Coxon, English musician
- 1970 - Roy Khan, Norwegian singer (Kamelot)
- 1972 - Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian actor
- 1972 - James Maritato aka Nunzio, an Italian-American professional wrestler
- 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)
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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
Holidays and observances
- Roman Catholic Church - Feast day of:
- 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.
External links
March 11 - March 13 - February 12 - April 12 -- listing of all days