On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 71 of the year.

Thursday, March 12th

Today is World Kidney Day, International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths, World Glaucoma Day and Alfred Hitchcock Day. Your star sign is Pisces and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1941 – Islanders on the Hebrides hid thousands of bottles of shipwrecked whisky from government officials. The episode was celebrated in the film “Whisky Galore.”
Islanders on the Hebrides hid thousands of bottles of shipwrecked whisky from government officials. The episode was celebrated in the film "Whisky Galore."
Today’s birthdays
1946 – Liza Minnelli (80), American actress (Cabaret), singer, dancer and choreographer known for her commanding stage presence, born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
1951 – Tim Wonnacott (75), English chartered auctioneer and television presenter (Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road Trip), born in Barnstaple, Devon.

1956 – Steve Harris (70), English musician, backing vocalist, songwriter and cofounder of heavy metal band Iron Maiden (“The Number of the Beast”), born in Leytonstone, London.

1965 – Coleen Nolan (61), English-Irish singer (“I’m in the Mood for Dancing”) and television personality (Loose Women), born in Blackpool, Lancashire.
1968 – Aaron Eckhart (58), American actor (The Dark Knight, Olympus Has Fallen, Battle Los Angeles), born in Cupertino, California, United States.
1969 – Graham Coxon (57), English musician, singer-songwriter and founding member of Blur (“Parklife”, “Song 2”, “Charmless Man”), born in Rinteln, Germany.
1975 – Kéllé Bryan (51), English singer and former member of girl group, Eternal (“I Wanna Be The Only One”, “Just a Step From Heaven”), born in Plaistow, London.
1979 – Pete Doherty (47), English musician and frontman of indie bands The Libertines and Babyshambles, born in Hexham, Northumberland.
1986 – Danny Jones (40), English musician and singer with McFly (“Obviously”, “All About You”, “Five Colours in Her Hair”), born in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
Famous deaths
2013 – Clive Burr (b. 1956), English drummer and member of Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982.
2015 – Terry Pratchett (b. 1948), English journalist, author best known for his 41 comic fantasy novels set on the Discworld.
The day today
1930 – Mahatma Gandhi began his 300-mile march to the sea in protest against the British tax law securing a monopoly for salt. Joined by thousands of protesters, Gandhi and his followers eventually reached the Arabian Sea, where they made their own salt by evaporating sea water. The march, which resulted in the arrest of Gandhi and 60,000 others, earned new international respect and support for the leader and his movement.
1941 – Islanders on the Hebrides hid thousands of bottles of shipwrecked whisky from government officials. The episode was celebrated in the film “Whisky Galore.”
1944 – Britain banned all travel to and from Ireland and Ulster in an effort to prevent German spies operating in neutral Eire from learning of the Allied invasion preparations taking place in Britain.
1950 – The Llandow air disaster occurred near Sigingstone in Wales. 80 people died when their aircraft crashed, making it the world’s deadliest air disaster at the time.
1980 – The infamous killer clown, John Wayne Gacy, was convicted for the murder of 33 men and boys. The day after his conviction, he was sentenced to death, with the execution taking place in May 1994.
1984 – By the end of 12th March more than half of the country’s 187,000 mineworkers were on strike over job cuts.
1992 – Mauritius became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations ending its status as a constitutional monarchy under Queen Elizabeth II. The last Governor-General, Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, became the first President, acting as a ceremonial head of state with the Prime Minister retaining executive power.
1994 – The Church of England ordained its first 32 female priests at Bristol Cathedral, a historic milestone officiated by the Right Reverend Barry Rogerson. This watershed moment followed a 1992 General Synod vote, allowing women to become priests after previously being ordained as deacons in 1987.
1999 – The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland formally joined NATO. It was said that the entry of the three former members of the Eastern Bloc into NATO signified the beginning of a unified Europe. With their admission, they were finally given a level of military and political security that had been severely lacking in the region for much of the 20th Century.
2003 – The World Health Organization officially release a global warning of outbreaks of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami that overwhelmed the plant’s seawalls, disabling backup generators and cooling systems.
2012 – The dystopian science fiction-adventure movie The Hunger Games starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, premiered at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles (released in the UK on March 23, 2012).
2012 – Hundreds of mourners, including figures from the legal, political and sporting world attended the funeral of the top Scottish QC, 44 year old Paul McBride. He became Scotland’s youngest QC at the age of 35. McBride died in his sleep on March 4 while in Pakistan on business.
2013 – The people of the Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory. Of 1,517 votes cast in the two-day referendum – on a turnout of more than 90% – 1,513 were in favour, while just three votes were against.
2015 – Two of Blackpool’s historic piers (Blackpool Central and Blackpool South), together with Llandudno pier, the longest pier in Wales at almost 2,300 feet long, were put up for sale by Cuerden Leisure. Guide prices were £4.8M, £3.3M and £4.5M respectively.
2018 – British Prime Minister Theresa May says Russia was “highly likely” to have poisoned a Russian spy and his daughter on March 4 with nerve a agent.

2019 – Theresa May’s British government suffers a second defeat on a Brexit deal with the EU, 391 votes to 242.

2020 – The US announced the suspension of travel from almost all EU nations due to COVID-19 (UK and Ireland added a day later).
2022 – Saudi Arabia executes 81 convicted criminals, the country’s largest known mass execution in modern times.
2023 – Cyclone Freddy makes landfall for a second time in central Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi, killing around 200 people and setting records as the longest-lasting cyclone in the southern hemisphere which originall formed on February 6.
2024 – A Romanian court rules that Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan can be extradited to the UK only after the conclusion of their separate trial in Romania on human trafficking charges, a judge ruled. According to the brothers’ legal representatives the allegations date back to 2012-2015.
Today in music
1968 – The Rolling Stones started recording their next single ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ with new producer Jimmy Miller at Olympic studios in London. Keith Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards’ country house, where they were awakened one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded, “Oh, that’s Jack – that’s jumpin’ Jack.”
1969 – The Temptations became the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award – for ‘Cloud Nine’ for the Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance.

1977 – The Sex Pistols were involved in a fight at London’s Speakeasy Club with Bob Harris, presenter of BBC 2’s The Old Grey Whistle Test, resulting in one of the shows engineers needing 14 stitches in his head.

1975 – ABBA recorded ‘Mamma Mia’ at Metronome Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. It was the last track recorded for their self-titled third album and was never intended for release as a single. ABBA’s Australian record company, RCA, asked that ‘Mamma Mia’ be released as a single but Polar Music at first refused. The song went on to become a No.1 hit around the world.
1983 – Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler had her only UK No.1 single with a song written by Meat Loaf’s producer, Jim Steinman, ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’. Also No.1 in the US, (the only Welsh artist to score a US No.1), Canada and Australia, the single sold over 5 million copies world wide.
1983 – U2 scored their first UK No.1 album with ‘War’, which went on to spend a total of 147 weeks on the chart. The album featured the singles ‘New Years Day’ and ‘Two Hearts Beat As One’.
1988 – Rick Astley started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, also a No.1 in the UK.
1994 – Swedish group Ace Of Base started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with “The Sign”, a No.2 hit in the UK.
2001 – Judy Garland’s ‘Over The Rainbow’ was voted the Song Of The Century in a poll published in America. Musicians, critics and fans compiled the list by the RIA. The highest placed UK act was The Rolling Stones ’(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ in 16th place. The Beatles had I Want to Hold Your Hand at No. 28.
2007 – Amy Winehouse made her US television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman performing ‘Rehab’. The song went on to win three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and also won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.
2009 – Hundreds of fans queued at the O2 arena in London as Michael Jackson tickets went on sale to the public. The 50-year-old pop veteran had confirmed he would be playing a 50-date residency at the venue, beginning on 8 July 2009. Some 360,000 pre-sale tickets had already sold. Organisers said the This Is It tour had become the fastest-selling in history, with 33 seats sold each minute. Prices ranged from £170 to £10,000, but tickets bought directly from the singer’s website cost up to £75. Jackson had said this would be the last time he would perform in the UK.
2012 – Taylor Swift beat Adele and Lady Gaga to be named the highest-earning pop artist of 2011. The 22-year-old earned $35,719,902 (£22.7m) in 2011 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring. U2 took second place with $32m (£20m) thanks to their 360 tour, seen by more than seven million people while Adele came 10th.
2022 – Stereophonics scored their eighth UK No.1 with their 25th anniversary album Oochya! The achievement made them one of the most successful chart acts of all time, tying with Taylor Swift, Oasis, Kylie Minogue and R.E.M. – who also have had eight chart toppers. The Beatles have the most, with 15, followed by Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams, both of whom have 13.
Today in history
1470 – War of the Roses – The Battle of Losecoat Field (also known as the Battle of Empingham). The outcome was a victory for Yorkists Forces over Lancastrian Forces.
1664 – King Charles II of England gave a land grant to James Duke of York, which meant that New Jersey became a British colony.
1689 – The start of the Williamite War in Ireland; a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland. The War was to have a lasting effect on Ireland, confirming British and Protestant rule over the country for over a century. The iconic Williamite victories of the Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne are still celebrated by the Unionist community in Northern Ireland today.
1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer of Rule Britannia, was born. He also wrote a version of God Save the King, which was to become the British national anthem.
1868 – Henry O’Farrell from Dublin, attempted to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria whilst he was on a tour of Australia. The attack caused great embarrassment in the colony, and led to a wave of anti-Irish sentiment, directed at all Irish people, including Protestant Loyalists.
1881 – Andrew Watson made his Scotland debut as the world’s first black, international football player and captain.
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