Discover the most famous people who died on March 12. The list includes people like Charlie Parker, Woody Hayes, Sun Yat Sen, Ragnar Granit, Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin. Famous personalities featured on this list, include political leaders, mathematicians, jazz musicians and composers and from other domains of life. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, Germany & Sweden and many more countries.

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Birthdate: June 12, 1929

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany

Died: 1945

One of the numerous Jewish victims of the Holocaust, Anne Frank gained recognition posthumously after her diary Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was published. The diary, which has been widely read and translated into numerous other languages, details the lives of Anne Frank and her family when they went into hiding for two years, after Germany occupied Netherlands.

 2 

Charlie Parker

(Jazz Saxophonist & Developer of the 'Bebop' Style of Jazz)

Birthdate: August 29, 1920

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Kansas City, Kansas, United States

Died: 1955

Charlie Parker was an American composer and jazz saxophonist. A highly influential soloist, Parker played a significant role in the development of a form of jazz called bebop. He is also credited with introducing harmonic ideas into jazz, such as chord substitutions and rapid passing chords. His contribution to jazz and bebop made him an icon of the hipster subculture.

Birthdate: August 12, 1935

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Revere, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 1978

John Cazale is best remembered for his memorable performance as Fredo Corleone in two The Godfather films. Fans also loved him in The Deer Hunter, The Conversation, and Dog Day Afternoon. He also performed in Broadway and off-Broadway plays. He met an untimely death at 42, due to lung cancer.

Birthdate: September 13, 1475

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Subiaco, Italy

Died: 1507

Italian politician and condottiero Cesare Borgia was an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI. He is said to have inspired The Prince by Machiavelli. He was also the first to resign a cardinalate, after his brother died in 1498. He was also the Duke of Valentinois from 1498 to 1507.

 5 

Terry Pratchett

(Humorist)

Birthdate: April 28, 1948

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Beaconsfield, England

Died: 2015

 6 

Sun Yat-Sen

(Provisional President of the Republic of China (January - March 1912))

Birthdate: November 12, 1866

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Cuiheng, Zhongshan, China

Died: 1925

Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen, also known as the "Father of the Nation" in China, ousted the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first leader of the Nationalist Party of China and laid down the Three Principles of the People, which included nationalism, democracy, and livelihood.

Birthdate: December 22, 1948

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Joliet, Illinois, United States

Died: 2003

 8 

George Westinghouse

(American Entrepreneur and Engineer Who Invented the ‘Railway Air Brake’)

Birthdate: October 6, 1846

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Central Bridge, New York, United States

Died: 1914

Inventor and entrepreneur George Westinghouse was mostly responsible for introducing the U.S. to alternating current (AC). Initially part of the army and the navy, the talented engineer began his journey of inventions with the rotary steam engine and went on to invent several products, such as air brakes.

Birthdate: February 14, 1913

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Clifton, Ohio, United States

Died: 1987

 10 

Robert Ludlum

(Author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series.)

Birthdate: May 25, 1927

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: New York City, United States

Died: 2001

 11 

Yehudi Menuhin

(American Violinist and Conductor Who is Considered One of the Great Violinists of the 20th Century)

Birthdate: April 22, 1916

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: 1999

Grammy Award-winning legendary 20th-century violinist Yehudi Menuhin was born to Lithuanian Jews in the US. Starting his training in the violin at age 4, he later studied music in Paris. He also experimented with fusion, collaborating with jazz and Indian classical musicians. He later launched the Yehudi Menuhin School.

Birthdate: December 30, 1851

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Villa Rica, Georgia, United States

Died: 1929

 13 

Robert Bosch

(Entrepreneur, Inventor, Artisan)

Birthdate: September 23, 1861

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Felkirchen

Died: 1942

The founder of the German engineering and technological MNC Bosch, Robert Bosch was born to a farmer in a south Germany village. He is also remembered as one of the first Germans to introduce 8-hour work days. He also invented the high-voltage spark plug and magneto for automobiles.

 14 

Goodwill Zwelithini

(King of the Zulus)

Birthdate: July 27, 1948

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Nongoma, South Africa

Died: 2021

Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu was a descendant of King Cetshwayo, who led the Zulu struggle for independence against the British. His 50-year rule had witnessed his efforts in preserving the Zulu culture and traditions such as the Reed Dance ceremony. However, his comments were blamed for attacks against foreigners.

 15 

Maurice Evans

(Actor)

Birthdate: June 3, 1901

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Dorchester, England

Died: 1989

Birthdate: October 9, 1858

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Serbia

Died: 1935

Physicist Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin developed what is now known as pupinization, a mechanism which extended the range of long-distance telephonic communication with the use of loading coils. Born to illiterate parents, he was a Serbian immigrant in the U.S. and later wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, From Immigrant to Inventor.

 17 

Beatrice Wood

(American Artist and Studio Potter)

Birthdate: March 3, 1893

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States

Died: 1998

Beatrice Wood was an American studio potter and artist best remembered for her association with the Avant-Garde movement. Wood is credited with founding Rongwrong and The Blind Man magazines along with Henri-Pierre Roché and Marcel Duchamp. Beatrice Wood's autobiography inspired the creation of Rose DeWitt Bukater's character in the 1997 epic romance and disaster film Titanic. 

Birthdate: July 2, 1862

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Wigton, England, United Kingdom

Died: 1942

William Henry Bragg was an English physicist, chemist, and mathematician. He is best known for sharing the  1915 Nobel Prize in Physics with his son Lawrence Bragg for their work in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays. William Henry Bragg had an illustrious academic career and was elected president of the Royal Society in 1935. 

 19 

Craig Mack

(Rapper)

Birthdate: May 10, 1970

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: North Trenton, New Jersey, USA

Died: 2018

 20 

Joe Morello

(Jazz Drummer Best Known for Playing with Pianist ‘Dave Brubeck Quartet’)

Birthdate: July 17, 1928

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Springfield, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 2011

 21 

Howard Fast

(Novelist)

Birthdate: November 11, 1914

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: New York City, New York

Died: 2003

 22 

Jean-Paul Riopelle

(Canadian Painter, Sculptor and Printmaker)

Birthdate: October 7, 1923

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Died: 2002

Jean-Paul Riopelle was a Canadian sculptor and painter best remembered for his abstract painting style. During the 1950s, Riopelle famously abandoned the paintbrush and switched to a palette knife to create paintings with a distinctive sculptural quality. Jean-Paul Riopelle went on to become the first Canadian painter to achieve international recognition since James Wilson Morrice.

 23 

Eugene Ormandy

(American Conductor and Violinist Best Known for His Association with the 'Philadelphia Orchestra', as Its Music Director)

Birthdate: November 18, 1899

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary

Died: 1985

Born in Hungary, Eugene Ormandy was inspired by his amateur violinist father to take up violin lessons as a child. By age 17, he was himself a professor of violin. After moving to the US, he would initially compose for silent films. He later received 2 Grammy Awards and was also knighted.

 24 

Gustav Vigeland

(Norwegian Sculptor)

Birthdate: April 11, 1869

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Mandal Municipality, Norway

Died: 1943

Gustav Vigeland was a Norwegian sculptor best remembered for his productivity and creative imagination. Apart from designing popular sculptures such as the Vigeland installation in Frogner Park, Vigeland is also credited with designing the Nobel Peace Prize medal. The Vigeland Museum, which is located outside Frogner Park, Oslo, is dedicated to Gustav Vigeland.

 25 

Fatima Meer

(Writer)

Birthdate: August 12, 1928

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Durban, South Africa

Died: 2010

 26 

William George Barker

(Fighter pilot)

Birthdate: November 3, 1894

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Dauphin, Canada

Died: 1930

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

 27 

Frankie Frisch

(Baseball Player)

Birthdate: September 9, 1898

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, United States

Died: 1973

 28 

Zeng Guofan

(Chinese Military General of the Late Qing Dynasty and Viceroy of Liangjiang (1870 - 1872))

Birthdate: November 26, 1811

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Shuangfeng, China

Died: 1872

Chinese military general and Confucian scholar Zeng Guofan is best remembered for his efforts in crushing the Taiping Rebellion. Apart from being a court scholar of the Qing rulers, he also served on various prominent boards. His writings have been preserved as a collection of 156 books.

Birthdate: 0540 AD

Birthplace: Rome, Italy

Died: 0604

Pope Gregory I served as the bishop of Rome from 590 until his death in 604. He is best remembered for sending the Gregorian Mission to Britain, which was successful in converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. He is also credited with developing the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and is widely regarded as its de facto author.

 30 

Rosamond Lehmann

(Novelist)

Birthdate: February 3, 1901

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Bourne End, Wooburn Green,England

Died: 1990

 31 

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

(Author)

Birthdate: September 13, 1830

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Zdislavice (Troubky-Zdislavice), Troubky-Zdislavice, Czechia

Died: 1916

Best known for her psychological novels which depicted the lives of both the affluent and the poor, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach was the daughter of an Austrian baron. One of the finest German authors ever, she experimented with the bildungsroman and penned works such as The Child of the Parish.

 32 

Oleg Tabakov

(Russian Actor Who Worked in Both Theatre and Films)

Birthdate: August 17, 1935

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Saratov, Russia

Died: 2018

Oleg Tabakov was a Soviet and Russian actor who had a prolific career in both theatre and films. He is credited with founding the Sovremennik Theatre in Moscow. An influential and popular figure, Tabakov was honored with many prestigious awards such as the Golden Mask Award and USSR State Prize. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1988.

 33 

E. W. Scripps

(Publisher)

Birthdate: June 18, 1854

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Rushville, Illinois, United States

Died: 1926

 34 

John Archibald Campbell

(Associate Justice of the Supreme Court)

Birthdate: June 24, 1811

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Washington, Georgia, United States

Died: 1889

 35 

John Middleton Murry

(British Writer Best Known as the Editor of 'The Athenaeum (1919-21)' And 'The Adelphi (1923-48)')

Birthdate: August 6, 1889

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Peckham, London, England

Died: 1957

Author and essayist John Middleton Murry had penned countless essays and about 40 books in his lifetime. Better known as the husband of author Katherine Mansfield and a friend of D.H. Lawrence, he was inspired by both. He had also been an editor of Rhythm and had co-launched The Adelphi.

 36 

Fatima Aziz

(Afghan Physician and Politician)

Birthdate: 1973 AD

Birthplace: Kunduz, Kingdom of Afghanistan Afghanistan

Died: 2021

Afghan physician and politician Fatima Aziz was elected as a Member of the Afghanistan Parliament for Kunduz province during the 2005 Afghan parliamentary election, the first free parliamentary election that was held in Afghanistan after over three-decades. She got re-elected in subsequent elections in 2010 and 2018 and held office as an MP till she died of cancer in 2021.

Birthdate: October 8, 1888

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Berlin, Germany

Died: 1945

Friedrich Fromm was a German Army officer who served as the Replacement Army's Commander in Chief during the Second World War. He is best remembered for his decision not to act against the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, for which he was executed on 12 March 1945. In the 2008 thriller movie Valkyrie, Friedrich Fromm was played by Tom Wilkinson.

 38 

Ragnar Granit

(Finnish-Swedish Scientist Who Shared the 1967 Nobel Prize in Medicine)

Birthdate: October 30, 1900

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Riihimäki, Finland

Died: 1991

Ragnar Granit was a Finnish-Swedish scientist best remembered for winning the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with George Wald and Haldan Keffer Hartline for their discoveries concerning the chemical and physiological visual processes in the eye. From 1946 to 1967, Ragnar Granit also served as a professor at the Karolinska Institute.

 39 

Morton Downey Jr.

(Actor)

Birthdate: December 9, 1933

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA

Died: 2001

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

 40 

Wang Zhen

(Chinese Political Figure and 4th Vice President of the People’s Republic of China)

Birthdate: April 11, 1908

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Liuyang, Changsha, China

Died: 1993

Wang Zhen was a Chinese political figure who served as the fourth Vice President of China. Counted among the Eight Elders of the Communist Party of China, Wang Zhen played an important role in the development of the party, which is currently the sole governing political party of China.

 41 

Symeon the New Theologian

(Byzantine Monk Who Belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Church)

Birthdate: 0949 AD

Birthplace: Ankara, Turkey

Died: 1022

Byzantine monk Symeon the New Theologian belonged to the Eastern Orthodox church. A significant figure of Christian mysticism and Hesychasm, he propagated the idea of Theoria, or the concept of gaining a direct experience of God. His writings are mostly composed of catecheses and sermons.

 42 

Owsley Stanley

(Audio Engineer and Key Figure in the San Francisco Bay Area 'Hippie Movement' During the 1960s)

Birthdate: January 19, 1935

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Kentucky, United States

Died: 2011

Owsley Stanley was an American clandestine chemist and audio engineer. During the 1960s Stanley played an important role in the Bay Area hippie movement and the counterculture of the decade. As the sound engineer of the Grateful Dead, Stanley developed the band's famous Wall of Sound, one of the largest transportable public address systems ever built.

Birthdate: November 29, 1952

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: San Diego, California, United States

Died: 2002

Height: 5'4" (163 cm)

 44 

Zaida Catalán

(Member of the Green Party and leader of the Young Greens of Sweden)

Birthdate: October 6, 1980

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden

Died: 2017

Zaida Catalán was a Swedish politician best remembered for leading Young Greens, the youth wing of the Swedish Green Party, between 2001 and 2005. Catalán was also renowned as an activist and dealt with issues concerning environment, human rights, and animal rights. In 2017, Catalán visited the Congo as part of a UN mission where she was kidnapped and murdered.

 45 

Habib Jalib

(Poet)

Birthdate: March 24, 1928

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Hoshiarpur

Died: 1993

A hardcore Marxist-Leninist, Habib Jalib was not just a poet but also a pro-democracy political activist. Part of the Progressive Writers' Movement, he was known as the poet of the masses and penned revolutionary poems such as Dartay hain bandookon walay aik nihatti ladki say, in support of Benazir Bhutto.

Birthdate: September 9, 1839

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Wadsworth, Ohio, United States

Died: 1915

 47 

Zachris Topelius

(Finnish Writer, Poet and Historian Best Known for Writing Finnish Historical Novels in Swedish)

Birthdate: January 14, 1818

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Nykarleby, Finland

Died: 1898

Finnish writer, poet, historian, and journalist Zachris Topelius is best remembered for writing Finnish historical novels in Swedish language, which were later translated into Finnish. His notable works include the fairy tales The Tomten in Åbo Castle and Sampo Lappelill., and the poem Sov du lilla videung. Topelius served as professor and later as rector of the University of Helsinki.

Birthdate: August 11, 1929

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Glamorgan

Died: 2008

One of the greatest Welsh composers of the 20th century, Alun Hoddinott first gained international fame with his Clarinet Concerto. He has written and composed for renowned artists such as John Ogdon and Barry Tuckwell. He also had a 20-year stint as a music professor at Cardiff University.

 49 

John Peter Altgeld

(Governor)

Birthdate: December 30, 1847

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Selters (Westerwald), Germany

Died: 1902

 50 

Ignatius Cardinal Kung

(Religious leader)

Birthdate: August 2, 1901

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Shanghai, China

Died: 2000

Ignatius Cardinal Kung, the Catholic Bishop of Shanghai, spent 30 years imprisoned by Chinese authorities for opposing state control of religion. He was released only after international human rights and religious groups pressurized the government. He died of cancer while undergoing treatment in the U.S.