March 12

Events

 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius
 * 1550 – Several hundred Spanish and indigenous troops under the command of Pedro de Valdivia defeat an army of 60,000 Mapuche at the Battle of Penco during the Arauco War in present-day Chile
 * 1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Society of Jesus, are canonized by the Roman Catholic Church
 * 1689 – The Williamite War in Ireland begins.
 * 1811 – Peninsular War: A day after a successful rearguard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delayed the pursuing Anglo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha
 * 1864 – American Civil War: The Red River Campaign begins as a US Navy fleet of 13 Ironclad s and 7 Gunboat s and other support ships enter the Red River
 * 1881 – Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain.
 * 1885 – Tonkin Campaign: France captures the citadel of Bắc Ninh.
 * 1894 – Coca-Cola is bottled and sold for the first time in Vicksburg, Mississippi, by local soda fountain operator Joseph A. Biedenharn.
 * 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 remains temporary capital until 1927 while the new capital is still under construction.)
 * 1918 – Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for 215 years.
 * 1920 – The Kapp Putsch begins when the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt is ordered to march on Berlin.
 * 1921 – İstiklâl Marşı is adopted in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
 * 1922 – Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan form the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic
 * 1928 – In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kills 431 people.
 * 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile 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".
 * 1934 – Konstantin Päts and General Johan Laidoner stage a coup in Estonia, and ban all political parties.
 * 1938 – Anschluss: German troops occupy and absorb 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.
 * 1942 – Pacific War: The Battle of Java ends with an ABDACOM surrender to the Japanese Empire in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies.
 * 1947 – The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
 * 1950 – The 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.
 * 1961 – First winter ascent of the North Face of the Eiger.
 * 1967 – Suharto take power from Sukarno when the MPRS inaugurated him as Acting President of Indonesia.
 * 1968 – Mauritius achieves independence from the United Kingdom.
 * 1971 – The March 12 Memorandum is sent to the Suleyman 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 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.
 * 1994 – The Church of England ordains its first female priest s.
 * 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 – WHO officially released global warning on pandemic SARS disease.
 * 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 Bernard Madoff pleads guilty in New York to scamming $18 billion, the largest in Wall Street's history.
 * 2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melts and explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after Japan's earthquake.
 * 2014 – A gas explosion in the New York City neighborhood of East Harlem kills eight and injures 70 others.

Births

 * 1270 – Charles, Count of Valois (d. 1325)
 * 1386 – Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (d. 1428)
 * 1475 – Luca Gaurico, Italian astrologer (d. 1558)
 * 1476 – Anna Jagiellon, Duchess of Pomerania, Polish princess (d. 1503)
 * 1479 – Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours (d. 1516)
 * 1500 – Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1558)
 * 1501 – Pietro Andrea Mattioli, Italian scientist (d. 1577)
 * 1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (d. 1676)
 * 1613 – André Le Nôtre, French gardener and architect (d. 1700)
 * 1620 – Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Swiss philologist and theologian (d. 1667)
 * 1626 – John Aubrey, English historian and philosopher (d. 1697)
 * 1647 – Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (d. 1727)
 * 1672 – Richard Steele, Irish-Welsh journalist and politician (d. 1729)
 * 1685 – George Berkeley, Irish bishop and philosopher (d. 1753)
 * 1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
 * 1781 – Frederica of Baden (d. 1826)
 * 1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Toronto (d. 1861)
 * 1806 – Jane Pierce, American wife of Franklin Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
 * 1821 – John Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
 * 1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, Russian-German physicist and academic (d. 1887)
 * 1831 – Clement Studebaker, American businessman, co-founded Studebaker (d. 1901)
 * 1832 – Charles Boycott, English farmer and agent (d. 1897)
 * 1832  – Charles Friedel, French chemist and mineralogist (d.1899)
 * 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 and academic (d. 1907)
 * 1851 – Theodore Thurston Geer, American journalist and politician, 10th Governor of Oregon (d. 1924)
 * 1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (d. 1935)
 * 1859 – Abraham H. Cannon, American religious leader (d. 1896)
 * 1860 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian poet and author (d. 1895)
 * 1861 – József Konkolics, Hungarian-Slovene cantor and author (d. 1941)
 * 1863 – Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian soldier, journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1938)
 * 1863  – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and chemist (d. 1945)
 * 1864 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (d. 1922)
 * 1864  – Alice Tegnér, Swedish organist and composer (d. 1943)
 * 1864  – Charles Young, American colonel (d. 1922)
 * 1869 – George Forbes, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1947)
 * 1874 – Charles Weeghman, American businessman (d. 1938)
 * 1877 – Wilhelm Frick, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 1946)
 * 1878 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1903)
 * 1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, English-American chemist and academic (d. 1952)
 * 1880  – Jaan Soots, Estonian general and politician, 7th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1942)
 * 1881 – Gunnar Nordström, Finnish physicist and academic (d. 1923)
 * 1883 – Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian politician (d. 1959)
 * 1889 – Idris of Libya (d. 1983)
 * 1890 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1950)
 * 1890  – William Dudley Pelley, American screenwriter and politician, founded the Silver Legion of America (d. 1965)
 * 1890  – Evert Taube, Swedish singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1976)
 * 1891 – George W. Mason, American businessman (d. 1954)
 * 1895 – Otakar Batlička, Czech journalist and author (d. 1942)
 * 1895  – William C. Lee, American general (d. 1948)
 * 1896 – Jesse Fuller, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1976)
 * 1907 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (d. 2007)
 * 1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
 * 1908  – David Marshall, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Singapore (d. 1995)
 * 1910 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1980)
 * 1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 49th President of Mexico (d. 1979)
 * 1912 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (d. 2006)
 * 1912  – Edgar Tafel, American architect (d. 2011)
 * 1912  – Paul Weston, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1996)
 * 1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)
 * 1913  – Agathe von Trapp, Hungarian-American singer and author (d. 2010)
 * 1914 – Frank Soo, English footballer and manager (d. 1991)
 * 1915 – Willibald C. Bianchi, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1945)
 * 1915  – Alberto Burri, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1995)
 * 1917 – Leonard Chess, American record company executive, co-founder of Chess Records (d. 1969)
 * 1917  – Millard Kaufman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
 * 1917  – Googie Withers, Indian-Australian actress (d. 2011)
 * 1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (d. 1989)
 * 1919 – Mike Stepovich, American lawyer and politician, Governor of the Territory of Alaska (d. 2014)
 * 1920 – Roland Fraïssé, French mathematical logician (d. 2008)
 * 1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (d. 2003)
 * 1921  – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
 * 1922 – Jack Kerouac, American author and poet (d. 1969)
 * 1922  – Lane Kirkland, American sailor and union leader (d. 1999)
 * 1923 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater and cyclist (d. 2013)
 * 1923  – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
 * 1923  – Clara Fraser, American activist, co-founded Radical Women (d. 1998)
 * 1923  – Hanne Hiob, German actress and screenwriter (d. 2009)
 * 1923  – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2007)
 * 1923  – Joseph F. Weis, Jr., American lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
 * 1923  – Mae Young, American wrestler (d. 2014)
 * 1924 – Henri Rochon, Canadian tennis player (d. 2005)
 * 1924  – Mary Lee Woods, English mathematician and computer programmer
 * 1925 – Louison Bobet, French cyclist (d. 1983)
 * 1925  – Georges Delerue, French pianist and composer (d. 1992)
 * 1925  – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1925  – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
 * 1926 – George Ariyoshi, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Hawaii
 * 1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (d. 2009)
 * 1928 – Edward Albee, American director and playwright (d. 2016)
 * 1928  – Aldemaro Romero, Venezuelan pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2007)
 * 1930 – Bronco Horvath, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1930  – Vern Law, American baseball player, coach, and manager
 * 1930  – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (d. 2014)
 * 1931 – Herb Kelleher, American lawyer and businessman, co-founded Southwest Airlines
 * 1931  – Robert B. Oakley, American soldier and diplomat, 19th United States Ambassador to Pakistan (d. 2014)
 * 1932 – Andrew Young, American pastor and politician, 14th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
 * 1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
 * 1934 – Virginia Hamilton, American author (d. 2002)
 * 1934  – David Spenser, Sri Lankan-English actor and director (d. 2013)
 * 1936 – Lloyd Dobyns, American journalist and author
 * 1936  – Patrick Procktor, Irish-English painter and academic (d. 2003)
 * 1936  – Eddie Sutton, American basketball player and coach
 * 1937 – Valentīna Eiduka, Latvian javelin thrower and coach
 * 1938 – Lew DeWitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1990)
 * 1938  – Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver and sportscaster
 * 1938  – Dimitri Terzakis, Greek-German composer and educator
 * 1939 – Lyndsie Holland, English actress and singer (d. 2014)
 * 1939  – Jude Milhon, American hacker and author (d. 2003)
 * 1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer (d. 2017)
 * 1942 – Ratko Mladić, Serbian general
 * 1942  – Shabnam Shakeel, Pakistani poet and author (d. 2013)
 * 1942  – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1945 – George Jackson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
 * 1946 – Liza Minnelli, American actress, singer, and dancer
 * 1946  – Frank Welker, American voice actor and singer
 * 1946 – Serge Turgeon, Canadian actor and union leader (d. 2004)
 * 1947 – Peter Harry Carstensen, German educator and politician
 * 1947  – Mary Jean Harrold, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
 * 1947  – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish painter (d. 1987)
 * 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 – Mike Gibbins, Welsh drummer, singer, and songwriter (Badfinger) (d. 2005)
 * 1949  – Rob Cohen, American director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1949  – David Mellor, English journalist, lawyer, and politician, Chief Secretary to the Treasury
 * 1949  – Bill Payne, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
 * 1949  – Fergus Slattery, Irish rugby player
 * 1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish footballer and manager
 * 1952 – Boris Anatolyevich Gavrilov, Russian football player and manager
 * 1953 – Ron Jeremy, American pornographic actor
 * 1954 – Anish Kapoor, Indian-English sculptor
 * 1954  – Hajime Meshiai, Japanese golfer
 * 1955 – Nicole Léger, Canadian educator and politician
 * 1956 – Steve Harris, English bass player and songwriter
 * 1956  – Lesley Manville, English actress
 * 1956  – Dale Murphy, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
 * 1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer and coach
 * 1957  – Marlon Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
 * 1958 – Phil Anderson, English-Australian cyclist
 * 1958  – Matt Millen, American football player, executive, and sportscaster
 * 1958  – Minoru Niihara, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1960  – Courtney B. Vance, American actor and painter
 * 1961 – Joseph Facal, Canadian journalist and politician
 * 1961  – Titus Welliver, American actor
 * 1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player and minister
 * 1963 – Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner and coach
 * 1963  – Ian Holloway, English footballer and manager
 * 1963  – Paul Way, English golfer
 * 1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
 * 1965  – Shawn Gilbert, American baseball player and coach
 * 1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player and sportscaster
 * 1967 – Jorge Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
 * 1967  – Julio Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
 * 1968 – Dylan Carlson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 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 – Dave Eggers, American author and screenwriter
 * 1970  – Mathias Gronberg, Swedish golfer
 * 1970  – John Nemechek, American race car driver (d. 1997)
 * 1970  – Rex Walters, American basketball player and coach
 * 1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player and rapper
 * 1971  – Dragutin Topić, Serbian high jumper
 * 1972 – Hector Luis Bustamante, Colombian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1974 – Matt Barela, American wrestler and actor
 * 1974  – Chris Carr, American basketball player and coach
 * 1974  – Steve Price, Australian rugby league player
 * 1975 – Kéllé Bryan, English singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1977 – Ramiro Corrales, American soccer player
 * 1978 – Casey Mears, American race car driver
 * 1978  – Neal Obermeyer, American cartoonist
 * 1978  – Claudio Sanchez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1978  – Arina Tanemura, Japanese author and illustrator
 * 1979 – Jamie Dwyer, Australian field hockey player and coach
 * 1979  – Nidia Guenard, American wrestler and manager
 * 1979  – Shaun Rogers, American football player
 * 1979  – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian footballer
 * 1980 – Jens Mouris, Dutch cyclist
 * 1980  – Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
 * 1981 – Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler and kick-boxer
 * 1981  – Maurizio Lauro, Italian footballer
 * 1981  – Kristjan Makke, Estonian basketball player
 * 1981  – Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
 * 1981  – Holly Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1982 – Zach Miner, American baseball player
 * 1982  – Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
 * 1982  – Erick Stevens, American wrestler
 * 1985 – Ed Clancy, English track and road cyclist
 * 1986 – Danny Jones, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
 * 1986  – Ben Offereins, Australian runner
 * 1987 – Jessica Hardy, American swimmer
 * 1987  – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
 * 1987  – Chris Seitz, American soccer player
 * 1987  – Omar Abdulrazaq, Syrian footballer
 * 1988 – Sebastian Brendel, German canoe racer
 * 1988  – Konstantinos Mitroglou, Greek footballer
 * 1988  – Tyler Ward, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1988  – Myles Weston, English footballer
 * 1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
 * 1989  – Siim Luts, Estonian footballer
 * 1989  – Mark Sirõk, Estonian activist
 * 1989  – Gareth Widdop, English rugby league player
 * 1990 – Lawrence Clarke, English hurdler
 * 1991 – Felix Kroos, German footballer
 * 1992 – Cian Bolger, Irish footballer
 * 1993 – Anton Shramchenko, Belarusian footballer
 * 1993  – Jeppe Tverskov, Danish professional footballer
 * 1993  – Nikolai Alho, Finnish football player
 * 1994 – Katie Archibald, Scottish track cyclist
 * 1994  – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2016)
 * 1995 – Will Pearsall, Australian rugby league player
 * 1996 – Robert Bartczak, Polish footballer
 * 1996  – Aristo Sham, Hong Kong pianist

Deaths

 * 417 – Innocent I, pope of the Catholic Church
 * 604 – Gregory I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 540)
 * 951 – Ælfheah the Bald, bishop of Winchester
 * 969 – Mu Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (b. 931)
 * 1289 – Demetrius II, king of Georgia (b. 1259)
 * 1316 – Stefan Dragutin, king of Serbia (b. 1253)
 * 1374 – Go-Kōgon, Japanese emperor (b. 1338)
 * 1496 – Johann Heynlin, German humanist scholar (b. c. 1425)
 * 1507 – Cesare Borgia, Italian cardinal (b. 1475)
 * 1539 – Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English diplomat and politician (b.1477)
 * 1608 – Kōriki Kiyonaga, Japanese daimyo (b. 1530)
 * 1628 – John Bull, English organist and composer (b. 1562)
 * 1648 – Tirso de Molina, Spanish monk and poet (b. 1571)
 * 1681 – Frans van Mieris the Elder, Dutch painter (b. 1635)
 * 1699 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish politician (b. 1635)
 * 1703 – Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, English jurist and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1627)
 * 1731 – Ernest August, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (b. 1660)
 * 1790 – András Hadik, Hungarian field marshal (b. 1710)
 * 1820 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish explorer and politician (b. 1764)
 * 1832 – Friedrich Kuhlau, German-Danish pianist and composer (b. 1786)
 * 1858 – William James Blacklock, English-Scottish painter (b. 1816)
 * 1872 – Zeng Guofan, Chinese general and politician, Viceroy of Liangjiang (b. 1811)
 * 1894 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (b. 1840)
 * 1898 – Zachris Topelius, Finnish-Swedish journalist, historian, and author (b. 1818)
 * 1909 – Joseph Petrosino, American police officer (b. 1860)
 * 1914 – George Westinghouse, American engineer and businessman (b. 1846)
 * 1916 – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian author (b. 1830)
 * 1925 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese physician and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1866)
 * 1929 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (b. 1851)
 * 1929  – William Turner Dannat, American painter (b. 1853)
 * 1930 – William George Barker, Canadian colonel and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1894)
 * 1930  – Alois Jirásek, Czech author and playwright (b. 1851)
 * 1935  – Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and chemist (b. 1858)
 * 1937 – Jenő Hubay, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1858)
 * 1937  – Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b. 1844)
 * 1942 – Robert Bosch, German engineer and businessman, founded Robert Bosch GmbH (b. 1861)
 * 1942  – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
 * 1943 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
 * 1945 – Friedrich Fromm, German general (b. 1888)
 * 1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian soldier and politician, Head of State of Hungary (b. 1897)
 * 1947 – Winston Churchill, American author and playwright (b. 1871)
 * 1949 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (b. 1879)
 * 1954 – Marianne Weber, German sociologist and suffragist (b. 1870)
 * 1955 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1920)
 * 1955  – Theodor Plievier, German author best known for his anti-war novel (b. 1892)
 * 1956 – Bolesław Bierut, Polish Communist leader (b. 1892)
 * 1957 – Josephine Hull, American actress (b. 1877)
 * 1960 – Kshitimohan Sen, Indian historian, author, and academic (b. 1880)
 * 1963 – Arthur Grimsdell, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1894)
 * 1964 – Abbās al-Aqqād, Egyptian journalist, poet and literary critic (b. 1889)
 * 1971 – Eugene Lindsay Opie, American physician and pathologist (b. 1873)
 * 1973 – Frankie Frisch, American baseball player and manager (b. 1898)
 * 1974 – George D. Sax, American banker and businessman (b. 1904)
 * 1979 – Nader Jahanbani, Iranian general and pilot (b. 1928)
 * 1984 – Arnold Ridley, English actor and playwright (b. 1896)
 * 1985 – Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian-American violinist and conductor (b. 1899)
 * 1987 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
 * 1989 – Maurice Evans, English-American actor (b. 1901)
 * 1989 – Jakob Gimpel, Polish concert pianist and educator (b. 1906)
 * 1991 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish-Swedish neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
 * 1991  – William Heinesen, Faroese author, poet, and author (b. 1900)
 * 1992 – Hans G. Kresse, Dutch cartoonist (b. 1921)
 * 1992  – Lucy M. Lewis, American potter (b. 1890)
 * 1998 – Beatrice Wood, American painter and potter (b. 1893)
 * 1999 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1916)
 * 2001 – Morton Downey, Jr., American singer-songwriter, actor, and talk show host (b. 1933)
 * 2001  – Robert Ludlum, American author (b. 1927)
 * 2001  – Victor Westhoff, Dutch botanist and academic (b. 1916)
 * 2002 – Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Cyprus (b. 1932)
 * 2002  – Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
 * 2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1952)
 * 2003  – Howard Fast, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1914)
 * 2003  – Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
 * 2004 – Milton Resnick, Russian-American painter (b. 1917)
 * 2005 – Bill Cameron, Canadian journalist and producer (b. 1943)
 * 2005  – Stavros Kouyioumtzis, Greek composer (b. 1932)
 * 2006 – Victor Sokolov, Russian-American priest and journalist (b. 1947)
 * 2007 – Arnold Drake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
 * 2008 – Jorge Guinzburg, Argentinian journalist and producer (b. 1949)
 * 2008  – Lazare Ponticelli, Italian-French soldier and supercentenarian (b. 1897)
 * 2010 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1920)
 * 2011 – Olive Dickason, Canadian historian and journalist (b. 1920)
 * 2011  – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (b. 1919)
 * 2012 – Samuel Glazer, American businessman, co-founded Mr. Coffee (b. 1923)
 * 2012  – Dick Harter, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
 * 2012  – Michael Hossack, American drummer (b. 1946)
 * 2012  – Friedhelm Konietzka, German-Swiss footballer and manager (b. 1938)
 * 2013 – George Burditt, American lawyer and politician (b. 1921)
 * 2013  – Clive Burr, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1957)
 * 2013  – Michael Grigsby, English director and producer (b. 1936)
 * 2013  – Ganesh Pyne, Indian painter and illustrator (b. 1937)
 * 2014 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
 * 2014  – George Donaldson, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1968)
 * 2014  – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
 * 2014  – Ola L. Mize, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1931)
 * 2014  – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (b. 1936)
 * 2015 – Willie Barrow, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
 * 2015  – Michael Graves, American architect and academic, designed the Portland Building and the Humana Building (b. 1934)
 * 2015  – Ada Jafri, Pakistani poet and author (b. 1924)
 * 2015  – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
 * 2016 – Rafiq Azad, Bangladeshi poet and author (b. 1942)
 * 2016  – Felix Ibru, Nigerian architect and politician, Governor of Delta State (b. 1935)
 * 2016  – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

 * Arbor Day (China)
 * Arbor Day (Taiwan)
 * Aztec New Year
 * Christian feast day:
 * Fina
 * Luigi Orione
 * Maximilian of Tebessa
 * Pope Gregory I (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church, and Anglican Communion)
 * Theophanes the Confessor
 * March 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Girl Scout Birthday (United States)
 * National Day (Mauritius)
 * World Day Against Cyber Censorship (requested by Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International in 2009)
 * Tree Day (Republic of Macedonia)
 * Youth Day (Zambia)