A Day in the Past

On this day: 12 March

120 things happened on 12 March, from AD 417 to 2020. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 8

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 25

1918 108 years ago

Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for most of the period since 1713.

Find out more: Moscow (Wikipedia)
1933 93 years ago

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".

Find out more: Great Depression (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “Mahatma Gandhi began the Salt March, a 24-day nonviolent walk to defy the”?

    1. 2019
    2. 1952
    3. 1930
    Show the answer

    C: 1930. 1930 — that’s 96 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management”?

    1. 1989
    2. 1930
    3. 1689
    Show the answer

    A: 1989. 1989 — that’s 37 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Mahatma Gandhi began the Salt March, a 24-day nonviolent walk to defy the
    2. British diplomat Lord Ismay was appointed the first secretary general of NATO
    3. Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management
    Show the answer

    A: Mahatma Gandhi began the Salt March, a 24-day nonviolent walk to defy the. 1930: Mahatma Gandhi began the Salt March, a 24-day nonviolent walk to defy the · 1952: British diplomat Lord Ismay was appointed the first secretary general of NATO · 1989: Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management Find it on the page

  4. “British diplomat Lord Ismay was appointed the first secretary general of NATO” happened in 1952. How many years ago was that?

    1. 74 years
    2. 64 years
    3. 84 years
    Show the answer

    A: 74 years. 2026 − 1952 = 74. Find it on the page

Born on this day 39

Famous people whose birthday is 12 March.

Remembering 17

Well-known people who died on 12 March.

Special days 16

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 12 March somewhere in the world.

For older readers 15 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “March 12” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.