- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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”.
- 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.
- 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 achieves 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 – Sir 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 Bernard 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.
- 2019 – In the House of Commons, the revised EU Withdrawal Bill was rejected by a margin of 149 votes.
Births on March 12
- 1270 – Charles, Count of Valois (d. 1325)
- 1515 – Caspar Othmayr, German Lutheran pastor and composer (d. 1553)
- 1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (d. 1676)
- 1613 – André Le Nôtre, French gardener and architect (d. 1700)
- 1626 – John Aubrey, English historian and philosopher (d. 1697)
- 1637 – Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and Albany (d. 1671)
- 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)
- 1735 – François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest, French politician and diplomat (d. 1821)
- 1753 – Jean Denis, French politician, lawyer, jurist, journalist, and historian (d. 1827)
- 1766 – Claudius Buchanan, Scottish theologian (d. 1815)
- 1781 – Frederica of Baden, Queen consort to Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (d. 1826)
- 1784 – William Buckland, English geologist and paleontologist; Dean of Westminster (d. 1856)
- 1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Toronto (d. 1861)
- 1795 – George Tyler Wood, American military officer and politician (d. 1858)
- 1806 – Jane Pierce, American wife of Franklin Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
- 1807 – James Abbott, Indian Army officer (d. 1896)
- 1815 – Louis-Jules Trochu, French military leader and politician (d. 1896)
- 1821 – John Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
- 1821 – Medo Pucić, Croatian writer and politician (d. 1882)
- 1823 – Katsu Kaishū, Japanese statesman (d. 1899)
- 1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, Russian-German physicist and academic (d. 1887)
- 1832 – Charles Boycott, English farmer and agent (d. 1897)
- 1834 – Hilary A. Herbert, Secretary of the Navy (d. 1919)
- 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)
- 1843 – Gabriel Tarde, French sociologist and criminologist (d. 1904)
- 1855 – Eduard Birnbaum, Polish-born German cantor (d. 1920)
- 1857 – William V. Ranous, American actor and director (d. 1915)
- 1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (d. 1935)
- 1859 – Ernesto Cesàro, Italian mathematician (d. 1906)
- 1860 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian poet and author (d. 1895)
- 1863 – Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian soldier, journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1938)
- 1863 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian and Ukrainian mineralogist and chemist (d. 1945)
- 1864 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (d. 1922)
- 1874 – Edmund Eysler, Austrian composer (d. 1949)
- 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)
- 1881 – Väinö Tanner, Finnish politician of Social Democratic Party of Finland (d. 1966)
- 1882 – Carlos Blanco Galindo, Bolivian politician (d. 1943)
- 1883 – Sándor Jávorka, Hungarian botanist (d. 1961)
- 1888 – Walter Hermann Bucher, German-American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1965)
- 1888 – Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor (d. 1965)
- 1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1976)
- 1896 – Jesse Fuller, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1976)
- 1898 – Tian Han, Chinese playwright (d. 1968)
- 1898 – Luitpold Steidle, German army officer and politician (d. 1984)
- 1899 – Ramón Muttis, Argentine footballer (d. 1955)
- 1900 – Rinus van den Berge, Dutch athlete (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, 19th President of Colombia (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Lyudmila Keldysh, Russian mathematician (d. 1976)
- 1905 – Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor (d. 1982)
- 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)
- 1909 – Petras Cvirka, Lithuanian author (d. 1947)
- 1910 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1980)
- 1910 – László Lékai, Archbishop of Esztergom and Cardinal (d. 1986)
- 1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 49th President of Mexico (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Willie Hall, English international footballer (d. 1967)
- 1912 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (d. 2006)
- 1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)
- 1913 – Agathe von Trapp, Hungarian-American singer and author (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Alberto Burri, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist (d. 1991)
- 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 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish Fianna Fáil politician (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (d. 1989)
- 1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (d. 2001)
- 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 – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2007)
- 1923 – Mae Young, American wrestler (d. 2014)
- 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
- 1926 – Arthur A. Hartman, American career diplomat (d. 2015)
- 1926 – John Clellon Holmes, American author and professor (d. 1988)
- 1926 – David Nadien, American violinist (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Emmett Leith, professor of electrical engineering and co-inventor of three-dimensional holography (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Sudharmono, 5th Vice President of Indonesia (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Edward Albee, American director and playwright (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Antony Acland, British former diplomat and Provost of Eton College
- 1931 – Józef Tischner, Polish priest and philosopher (d. 2000)
- 1932 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian basketball player (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Andrew Young, American pastor and politician, 14th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
- 1933 – Myrna Fahey, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
- 1934 – Francisco J. Ayala, Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher
- 1936 – Virginia Hamilton, American children’s books author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Michał Heller, Polish professor of philosophy
- 1936 – Eddie Sutton, American basketball player and coach
- 1937 – Zoltán Horvath, Hungarian sabre fencer
- 1937 – Zurab Sotkilava, Georgian operatic tenor (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Vladimir Msryan, Armenian actor, (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver and sportscaster
- 1938 – Juan Horacio Suárez, Argentine bishop
- 1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer (d. 2017)
- 1941 – Josip Skoblar, former Croatian footballer
- 1942 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player (d. 2020)
- 1943 – Ratko Mladić, Serbian general
- 1944 – Erwin Mueller, former American basketball player (d. 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 – Yasuhiko Okudera, former Japanese footballer
- 1952 – John Mitchell, English footballer, forward
- 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 (d. 2010)
- 1956 – Steve Harris, English bass player and songwriter
- 1956 – Lesley Manville, English actress
- 1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1956 – Pim Verbeek, Dutch football manager (d. 2019)
- 1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer and coach
- 1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1957 – Andrey Lopatov, Soviet basketball player
- 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 (d. 2016)
- 1960 – Jason Beghe, American actor
- 1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor and painter
- 1961 – Titus Welliver, American actor
- 1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
- 1962 – Andreas Köpke, former German footballer
- 1962 – Chris Sanders, American illustrator and voice actor
- 1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player and minister
- 1963 – John Andretti, American race car driver (d. 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
- 1964 – Dieter Eckstein, retired 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, British politician
- 1970 – Dave Eggers, American author and screenwriter
- 1970 – Mathias Grönberg, Swedish golfer
- 1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player and coach
- 1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player and rapper
- 1971 – Dragutin Topić, Serbian high jumper
- 1972 – Doron Sheffer, Israeli basketball player
- 1974 – Charles Akonnor, former Ghanaian footballer
- 1974 – Walid Badir, former Israeli footballer
- 1975 – Nicolae Grigore, former Romanian footballer
- 1975 – Edgaras Jankauskas, former Lithuanian footballer
- 1975 – Srđan Pecelj, Bosnian footballer
- 1976 – Deron Quint, American ice hockey defenseman
- 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, former Senegalese footballer
- 1977 – Brent Johnson, American ice hockey player
- 1978 – Casey Mears, American race car driver
- 1978 – Marco Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
- 1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese author and illustrator
- 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, former Spanish footballer
- 1979 – Ben Sandford, New Zealand skeleton racer
- 1979 – Tim Wieskötter, German sprint canoer
- 1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian goalkeeper
- 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
- 1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
- 1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
- 1985 – Marco Bonanomi, Italian racing driver
- 1985 – Aleksandr Bukharov, Russian footballer
- 1985 – Ed Clancy, English track and road cyclist
- 1985 – Andriy Tovt, Ukrainian footballer
- 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 (d. 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 – Cristian Chagas Tarouco, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Jordan Adéoti, French footballer
- 1989 – Vytautas Černiauskas, Lithuanian footballer
- 1989 – Tyler Clary, former American swimmer
- 1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
- 1989 – Chen Jianghua, Chinese basketball player
- 1989 – Siim Luts, Estonian footballer
- 1990 – Alexander Kröckel, German skeleton racer
- 1990 – Irakli Kvekveskiri, Georgian footballer
- 1990 – Dawid Kubacki, Polish ski jumper
- 1990 – Matias Myttynen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1990 – Ilija Nestorovski, Macedonian footballer
- 1990 – Milena Raičević, Montenegrin handballer
- 1990 – Mikko Sumusalo, Finnish footballer
- 1991 – Felix Kroos, German footballer
- 1991 – Niclas Heimann, German footballer
- 1991 – Leandro Fernandez, Argentine 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
- 1993 – Anton Shramchenko, Belarusian footballer
- 1994 – Katie Archibald, Scottish track cyclist
- 1994 – Jerami Grant, American basketball player
- 1994 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1996 – Sehrou Guirassy, French footballer
- 1996 – Karim Hafez, Egyptian footballer
- 1996 – Robert Murić, Croatian footballer
- 1997 – Dean Henderson, English footballer
- 1997 – Allan Saint-Maximin, French footballer
- 1997 – Felipe Vizeu, Brazilian footballer
- 1998 – Mecole Hardman, American football player
- 1998 – Daniel Samohin, Israeli figure skater
- 1998 – Elizaveta Ukolova, Czech figure skater
Deaths on March 12
- 417 – Innocent I, pope of the Catholic Church
- 604 – Gregory I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 540)
- 1022 – Symeon the New Theologian (b. 949)
- 1316 – Stefan Dragutin (b. c. 1244)
- 1539 – Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English diplomat and politician (b.1477)
- 1648 – Tirso de Molina, Spanish monk and poet (b. 1571)
- 1699 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish politician (b. 1635)
- 1898 – Zachris Topelius, Finnish-Swedish journalist, historian, and author (b. 1818)
- 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)
- 1935 – Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and chemist (b. 1858)
- 1942 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1943 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
- 1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian soldier and politician, Head of State of Hungary (b. 1897)
- 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)
- 1957 – Josephine Hull, American actress (b. 1877)
- 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)
- 1985 – Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian-American violinist and conductor (b. 1899)
- 1989 – Maurice Evans, English-American actor (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish-Swedish neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
- 1991 – William Heinesen, Faroese author, poet, and author (b. 1900)
- 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)
- 1999 – Bidu Sayão, Brazilian-American soprano (b. 1902)
- 2000 – Aleksandar Nikolić, Yugoslav basketball coach (b. 1924)
- 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)
- 2006 – Victor Sokolov, Russian-American priest and journalist (b. 1947)
- 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 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (b. 1919)
- 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 – 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 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
- 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 on March 12
- 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)