March 12

Humphrey de Bohun (1276–1322), 4th Earl of Hereford, was a prominent English noble and soldier during the reigns of Edward I and Edward II. He held the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of England and commanded royal armies in campaigns against Welsh princes and Scots. As a political figure, he opposed King Edward II’s favorites, leading to baronial conflicts of the period. Captured after the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, he died resisting royal authority. His leadership in both military and political arenas made him a central figure in early 14th-century England. Bohun’s career illustrates the tensions between crown and nobility in medieval governance.

Born in 1897 in Kobersdorf (then Austria-Hungary), Szálasi served as a cavalry officer in World War I and entered politics with a radical nationalist movement. He founded the Arrow Cross Party and, with Nazi backing, assumed power as Prime Minister and head of state in October 1944. Szálasi's government collaborated with German forces and oversaw brutal reprisals against Jews and political opponents, resulting in mass deportations and executions. After the war, he was captured, tried for war crimes, and executed in 1946. Szálasi's rule is remembered as one of Hungary's darkest chapters under a fascist regime.

Lazare Ponticelli was born in Italy in 1897 and moved to France as a teenager. In 1914, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and later served with distinction in the 4th Marching Regiment of the Zouaves. Ponticelli received the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille Militaire for his bravery under fire. After the war, he became a successful plumber and co-founded the Ponticelli Frères company, which grew into a major construction firm. Ponticelli was celebrated for his longevity, living to the age of 110 and becoming France's oldest man. He passed away on March 12, 2008, just months after being honored as the last living French veteran of World War I.