Births on March 12

Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (d. 1676)

Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheran minister and hymnodist.

30 Jan

Bristol Channel floods, 1607
An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths.
24 Feb

Claudio Monteverdi
L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.
25 Apr

Battle of Gibraltar (1607)
Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
5 Oct

Paolo Sarpi
Assassins sent by Pope Paul V attempt to kill Venetian statesman and scientist Paolo Sarpi, who survives fifteen stiletto thrusts.