This Day in History: March 12
Featured Event
1947
Truman Doctrine pronounced
On this day in 1947, U.S. President Harry S. Truman articulated what became known as the Truman Doctrine when he asked Congress to appropriate aid for Greece and Turkey, both of which were facing communist threats.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-13033)
Featured Biography
Jane A. Delano
American nurse and educator
1948
James Taylor
American musician
1947
Mitt Romney
United States senator
1946
Liza Minnelli
American actress and singer
1942
Ratko Mladić
Bosnian Serb military leader
1922
Jack Kerouac
American writer
More Events On This Day
2015
American architect and designer Michael Graves, who was one of the principal figures of the postmodernist movement, died at age 80. Sort fact from fiction in our art and architecture quiz
© Peter Aaron/ESTO
2009
American hedge-fund investment manager Bernie Madoff pled guilty to various crimes related to his operation of a Ponzi scheme that was one of the largest in the world; he was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Test your knowledge of criminality and famous outlaws
Kathy Willens—AP/REX/Shutterstock.com
2003
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a worldwide health alert, one of the first in a decade, regarding an illness it later called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that struck hundreds of people in China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Take our viruses, bacteria, and diseases quiz
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1999
Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic became members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) shortly before the group's 50th anniversary. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about world organizations
NATO photos
1993
American lawyer and public official Janet Reno was sworn in as U.S. attorney general, becoming the first woman to hold the office. Test your knowledge of women's famous firsts
Barry Thumma/AP Images
1948
American singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Taylor was born. Take our quiz about songwriters
© Michael Putland/Retna Ltd.
1947
American businessman and politician Mitt Romney, a Republican who served as governor of Massachusetts (2002–06), was born. Take our quiz about Republicans and Democrats
Romney for President, Inc.
1940
Finland agreed to Soviet peace terms, including the cession of western Karelia and the construction of a Soviet naval base on the Hanko Peninsula, to end the Russo-Finnish War. How much do you know about the history of warfare?
1933
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first fireside chat; the radio addresses became a source of hope and security for Americans during the Great Depression and World War II. Test your knowledge of U.S. presidential history
Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum website; version date 2009
1930
Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian nationalist movement, began the Salt March, a nonviolent protest against British rule that brought him international attention. Sort fact from fiction in our Gandhi quiz
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1922
American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac—who was a leader of the Beat movement, perhaps best known for On the Road (1957)—was born. Test your knowledge of famous writers
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1912
Juliette Gordon Low formed the first troop of American Girl Guides (later Girl Scouts), in Savannah, Georgia.
Harris & Ewing Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-hec-09028)
1849
The Sikh army surrendered to the British at the end of the Second Sikh War, conceding to the annexation of the Punjab in northwestern India. Take our quiz about India
1831
American manufacturer Clement Studebaker, founder of the Studebaker automobile company, was born in Pinetown, Pennsylvania. Test your knowledge of American industry and innovation
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1804
Samuel Chase became the first (and, so far, only) U.S. Supreme Court justice to be impeached. Discover how much you know about U.S. political scandals
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1613
André Le Nôtre—one of the greatest French landscape architects, whose masterpiece is the gardens of Versailles—was born in Paris. Take our garden quiz
© air/Fotolia
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