Anniversaries 12 March

Birth

Paul Gerhardt1

German hymn writer 1607–1676

John Aubrey20

English writer and antiquarian 1626–1697

Richard Steele13

British politician 1672–1729

John Theophilus Desaguliers4

French-born British natural philosopher and clergyman 1683–1744

George Berkeley18

Anglo-Irish philosopher 1685–1753

William Buckland5

English clergyman, geologist and palaeontologist 1784–1856

Mary Howitt6

English poet, and author 1799–1888

Albert Mackey4

U.S. writer on freemasonry 1807–1881

Thomas Buchanan Read7

American artist 1822–1872

Gustav Kirchhoff2

German physicist 1824–1887

Simon Newcomb3

American astronomer 1835–1909

Charles D. B. King1

President of Liberia 1875–1961

Wilhelm Frick6

German Nazi official 1877–1946

Gemma Galgani1

ITALIANA 1878–1903

Geoffrey Hodson13

New Zealand occultist 1886–1983

Vaslav Nijinsky1

Russian ballet dancer and choreographer 1889–1950

Philip Guedalla2

British historical writer 1889–1944

Irving Layton5

Romanian-born Canadian poet 1912–2006

Tommy Farr1

British boxer 1913–1986

Elaine de Kooning18

American painter 1918–1989

Gianni Agnelli5

Italian businessman 1921–2003

Earl Nightingale15

American motivational speaker 1921–1989

Jack Kerouac266

American writer 1922–1969

Lane Kirkland2

American labor leader 1922–1999

Harry Harrison30

American science fiction author 1925–2012

Edward Albee32

American playwright 1928–2016

Janwillem van de Wetering1

Dutch writer 1931–2008

Jude Milhon4

American hacker & author 1939–2003

Ratko Mladić14

Commander of the Bosnian Serb military 1943

Frank Welker2

American actor 1946

Liza Minnelli9

American actress and singer 1946

Mitt Romney128

American businessman and politician 1947

Bruce Fein23

American lawyer 1947

James Taylor24

American singer-songwriter and guitarist 1948

Rob Cohen2

American film director, producer and writer 1949

David Mellor6

former British politician, non-practising barrister, broadc… 1949

Rhonda Byrne39

Australian writer and producer 1951

Rich Koz3

American actor and comedian 1952

André Comte-Sponville1

French philosopher 1952

Naomi Shihab Nye11

American writer 1952

Carl Hiaasen9

journalist, columnist and novelist from the United States 1953

Ron Jeremy1

Prolific American pornographic actor 1953

Clive Hamilton3

Australian economsit 1953

Anish Kapoor37

British contemporary artist of Indian birth 1954

Ruth Ozeki20

American writer 1956

Courtney B. Vance3

American actor 1960

Ian Holloway10

English association football player and manager 1963

Tammy Duckworth1

United States senator from Illinois 1968

Dave Eggers91

memoirist, novelist, short story writer, editor, publisher 1970

Ben Kenney1

American musician 1977

Pete Doherty86

English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist 1979

Shreya Ghoshal33

Indian playback singer 1984

Kai Cheng Thom7

writer 1991

Big Mori1

Iranian rapper and athlete 1996

Death

Pope Gregory I10

Pope from 590 to 604 540–604

Symeon the New Theologian1

Christian saint, monk, and theologian 949–1022

Cesare Borgia12

Duke of Romagna and former Catholic cardinal 1475–1507

Alessandro Piccolomini9

Italian writer and philosopher 1508–1579

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach81

Austrian writer 1830–1916

Carrie Chapman Catt5

American social reformer, suffragist (1859-1947) 1859–1947

Smith Wigglesworth12

British evangelist 1859–1947

Robert Bosch1

German industrialist, inventor, engineer 1861–1942

William Henry Bragg1

British scientist 1862–1942

Sun Yat-sen7

Chinese physician, politician and revolutionary 1866–1925

John Middleton Murry2

English writer (1889–1957) 1889–1957

Edwin C. Kemble1

American physicist 1889–1984

Arnold Ridley5

Playwright, actor 1896–1984

David Lack2

British ornithologist and biologist 1910–1973

Woody Hayes1

American football player and coach 1913–1987

Yehudi Menuhin41

American violinist and conductor 1916–1999

Charlie Parker6

American jazz saxophonist and composer 1920–1955

Robert Ludlum11

Novelist 1927–2001

Jiang Yanyong1

Chinese physician 1931–2023

Terry Pratchett796

English author 1948–2015

Zoran Đinđić13

Serbian politician 1952–2003

Kate Ross1

Novelist, lawyer 1956–1998