1. On March 12, 1803, the Tennessee General Assembly established Rutherford County. This county was named after Griffith Rutherford, an American Revolutionary War general who fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain.

2. In 1864, the Battle of Fort Anderson occurred in Wayne County, Tennessee. This battle was part of the American Civil War and resulted in a Confederate victory.

3. On March 12, 1909, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools. This law was known as the Butler Act and was eventually challenged in the famous Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925.

4. In 1941, the Cherokee National Forest was established in Tennessee. This protected area covers over 640,000 acres and includes parts of the Appalachian Mountains.

5. On March 12, 2011, a devastating tornado outbreak occurred in Tennessee and other states in the southeastern United States. This outbreak resulted in over 30 fatalities in Tennessee and caused significant damage to homes and businesses.