Calendar date · March

What happened on March 12

On March 12, 538: Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths, ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.

Events

40

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Pisces

Featured moment · 538

Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths, ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.

Vitiges was king of Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540. Known as a veteran of King Theodoric’s campaigns, he was a seasoned commander and therefore after the fall of the Amal dynasty he succeeded to the throne of Italy just after the Roman capture of Naples. This was because Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and was in southern Italy at the head of the forces of Justinian I, the Eastern Roman Emperor.

People

Born on March 12

Emma Kok 2008– Dutch singer (born 2008)
DannyLux 2004– American singer
Andrea Brillantes 2003– Filipino actress (born 2003)
Malina Weissman 2003– American actress
Max Duggan 2001– American football player (born 2001)
Kim Min-kyu 2001– South Korean actor (born 2001)
Carsen Edwards 1998– American basketball player (born 1998)
Mecole Hardman 1998– American football player (born 1998)
Daniel Samohin 1998– Israeli figure skater
Show 9 more — notable births on March 12
Elizaveta Ukolova 1998– Сzech figure skater
Dean Henderson 1997– English footballer (born 1997)
Allan Saint-Maximin 1997– French footballer (born 1997)
Felipe Vizeu 1997– Brazilian footballer (born 1997)
Serhou Guirassy 1996– Footballer (born 1996)
Karim Hafez 1996– Egyptian footballer (born 1996)
Robert Murić 1996– Croatian footballer
Cene Prevc 1996– Slovenian ski jumper (born 1996)
Katie Archibald 1994– Scottish racing cyclist

People

Died on March 12

Ronald DeFeo Jr. American mass murderer (1951–2021)
Rafiq Azad Bangladeshi poet, editor and writer
Felix Ibru Nigerian politician
Lloyd Shapley American mathematician (1923–2016)
Willie Barrow American civil rights activist and minister
Michael Graves American architect, designer, and educator (1934–2015)
Ada Jafri Pakistani poet (1924–2015)
Terry Pratchett English fantasy author (1948–2015)
Věra Chytilová Czech film director (1929–2014)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on March 12
Paul C. Donnelly American aerospace pioneer (1923–2014)
José Policarpo Portuguese Catholic prelate (1936–2014)
Michael Grigsby British filmmaker
Ganesh Pyne Indian painter (1937–2013)
Dick Harter American basketball coach
Michael Hossack American drummer (1946–2012)
Friedhelm Konietzka German football player and manager (1938–2012)
Nilla Pizzi Italian singer
Miguel Delibes Spanish writer, journalist and novelist

Timeline

Every March 12 on record

  1. 538 Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths, ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.

    6th-century king of the Italian Ostrogoths

    Vitiges was king of Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540. Known as a veteran of King Theodoric’s campaigns, he was a seasoned commander and therefore after the fall of the Amal dynasty he succeeded to the throne of Italy just after the Roman capture of Naples. This was because Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and was in southern Italy at the head of the forces of Justinian I, the Eastern Roman Emperor.

  2. 1088 Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Catholic Church. He is best known for initiating the Crusades.

    The 1088 papal election subsequent to the death of Pope Victor III in 1087 was held on 12 March 1088. Six cardinal-bishops, assisted by two lower-ranking cardinals, elected Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia Odon de Lagery as the new Pope. He assumed the name Urban II.

  3. 1158 German city Munich (München) is first mentioned as forum apud Munichen in the Augsburg arbitration by Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich I.

    Capital of Bavaria, Germany

    Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is not a state of its own, and it ranks as the 11th-largest city in the European Union (EU).

  4. 1391 Konrad von Wallenrode is elected the 24th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (date is O.S.).

    24th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (1391 to 1393)

    Konrad von Wallenrode was the 24th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1391 to 1393. Modern sources are friendly towards Konrad, although they claim he was hot-blooded, proud, and had tendencies to be cruel.

  5. 1579 Start of the Siege of Maastricht, part of the Eighty Years' War.

    Part of the Eighty Years' War

    The siege of Maastricht was a battle of the Eighty Years' War which lasted from March 12 to July 1, 1579. The Spanish were victorious.

  6. 1622 Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Society of Jesus, are canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
  7. 1689 James II of England lands at Kinsale, starting the Williamite War in Ireland.
  8. 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.
  9. 1862 Paddle steamer Brother Jonathan docks in Fort Victoria (now Victoria, British Columbia), carrying smallpox-infected passengers from San Francisco. The ensuing epidemic killed an estimated two-thirds of First Nations in the province of British Columbia.
  10. 1912 The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.
  11. 1913 The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra.
  12. 1918 Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for most of the period since 1713.
  13. 1920 The Kapp Putsch begins when the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt is ordered to march on Berlin.
  14. 1928 In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kill 431 people.
  15. 1930 Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile (320 km) march to the sea to protest the British monopoly on salt in India.
Show 15 earlier entries from March 12
  1. 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".
  2. 1938 Anschluss: German troops occupy and annex Austria.
  3. 1940 Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia.
  4. 1940 The most destructive train accident in Finnish history kills 39 and injures 69 people in Turenki, Janakkala.
  5. 1942 The Battle of Java ends with the surrender of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command to the Empire of Japan in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies.
  6. 1947 Cold War: The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
  7. 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.
  8. 1967 Suharto takes power from Sukarno when the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly inaugurate him as Acting President of Indonesia.
  9. 1968 Mauritius gains independence from the United Kingdom.
  10. 1971 The 1971 Turkish military memorandum is sent to the Süleyman Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.
  11. 1989 Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management system, which subsequently develops into the World Wide Web.
  12. 1992 Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
  13. 1993 Several bombs explode in Mumbai, India, killing about 300 people and injuring hundreds more.
  14. 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.
  15. 1999 Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.

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