What happened on March 12 ?

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)

1908 - Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)

1911 - William Patrick Hitler, nephew of Adolf Hitler (d. 1987)

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, former professional wrestler

1923 - Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)

1925 - Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

1925 - Harry Harrison, American author

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 Mladi?, 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

1985 - Bradley Wright-Phillips, English footballer

1985 - Tosh Townend, American skateboarder

1986 - Danny Jones, British singer (McFly)