From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in leap years). There are 283 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 625 - Battle of Uhud takes place between Muslims and Pagans in Arabia
- 752 - Stephen is elected Pope. He died three days later, before being ordained bishop, and is not considered a legitimate pope.
- 1568 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. Again Catherine de Medici and Charles IX of France make substantial concessions to the Huguenots.
- 1708 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his famous speech -"give me liberty or give me death" at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.
- 1801 - Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death in his bedroom at St. Michael's Castle.
- 1806 - After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their "Corps of Discovery" begin their arduous journey home.
- 1821 - Battle and fall of city of Kalamata, Greek War of Independence.
- 1839 - First recorded use of "OK" as an abbreviation for "oll korrect" in the Boston Morning Post.
- 1848 - The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
- 1857 - Elisha Otis's first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway, New York City.
- 1857 - Death of Emile L'Angelier in Glasgow, Scotland -- possibly by the hand of Madeleine Smith.
- 1868 - The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
- 1889 - Land run: President Benjamin Harrison opens Oklahoma to white settlement starting on April 22.
- 1889 - The free Woolwich Ferry officially opens in east London.
- 1889 - The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian India.
- 1896 - The Raines Law is passed by the New York State Legislature, restricting Sunday sale of alcohol to hotels
- 1903 - The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful airplanes after much hard work.
- 1909 - Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
- 1919 - In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
- 1931 - Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev embrace the gallows during the Indian struggle for independence. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.
- 1933 - The Reichstag passes the Enabling act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
- 1935 - Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
- 1940 - The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or the then Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All India Muslim League.
- 1942 - World War II: In the Indian Ocean, Japanese forces capture the Andaman Islands.
- 1956 - Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world.
- 1962 - NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, was launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace initiative.
- 1963 - In London, United Kingdom, Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann win the eighth Eurovision Song Contest for Denmark singing "Dansevise" (Dancing tune).
- 1965 - NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States' first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
- 1978 - The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
- 1980 - Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
- 1983 - Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
- 1983 - the Apatosaurus is made the official state dinosaur of Guam.
- 1989 - Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce cold fusion at the University of Utah.
- 1989 - A 1,000-foot diameter Near-Earth asteroid misses the Earth by 400,000 miles.
- 1994 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
- 1994 - Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Siberia when the pilot's fifteen-year old son accidentally disengages the autopilot, killing 75.
- 1996 - Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
- 1999 - Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis María Argaña.
- 2001 - The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
[edit] Births
- 1429 - Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI of England (d. 1482)
- 1638 - Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1731)
- 1699 - John Bartram, American botanist (d. 1777)
- 1723 - Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar, King of Iran (d. 1771)
- 1749 - Pierre Simon de Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
- 1754 - Baron Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician, physicist, and artillery officer (d. 1802)
- 1769 - William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)
- 1769 - Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (d. 1832)
- 1823 - Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
- 1831 - Eduard Schlagintweit, German writer (d. 1866)
- 1834 - Julius Reubke, German composer (d. 1858)
- 1858 - Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1941)
- 1868 - Dietrich Eckart, early supporter of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party and member of Thule Society (d. 1923)
- 1878 - Franz Schreker, Austrian composer (d. 1934)
- 1881 - Roger Martin du Gard, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1881 - Hermann Staudinger, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1882 - Emmy Noether, German mathematician (d. 1935)
- 1887 - Juan Gris, Spanish artist (d. 1927)
- 1887 - Prince Felix Yussupov, Russian assassin of Rasputin (d. 1967)
- 1899 - Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
- 1900 - Erich Fromm, German-born psychoanalyst (d. 1980)
- 1905 - Lale Andersen, German singer and cabaretist (d. 1972)
- 1905 - Joan Crawford, American actress (d. 1977)
- 1907 - Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1992)
- 1910 - Akira Kurosawa, Japanese film director (d. 1998)
- 1912 - Betty Astell, British actress (d. 2005)
- 1912 - Wernher von Braun, German-born physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
- 1915 - Vasily Zaitsev, Russian World War II hero (d. 1991)
- 1920 - Neal Smith (politician), former United States Congressman.
- 1925 - David Watkin, British cinematographer
- 1929 - Sir Roger Bannister, British runner
- 1931 - Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player
- 1931 - Yevgenij Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
- 1933 - Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist, known for the Stanford prison experiment
- 1934 - Mark Rydell, American film and television director
- 1934 - Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician
- 1937 - Craig Breedlove, American land speed record holder
- 1938 - Maynard Jackson, American politician (d. 2003)
- 1939 - Pepe Lienhard, Swiss band leader and entertainer
- 1941 - Jim Trelease, American educator and children's literature author
- 1942 - Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and political figure (d. 1980)
- 1944 - Michael Nyman, British minimalist composer
- 1948 - David Olney, American musician
- 1949 - Ric Ocasek, American musician (The Cars)
- 1950 - Anthony De Longis, American actor
- 1951 - Corinne Clery, French actress
- 1951 - Ron Jaworski, American NFL quarterback, ESPN analyst
- 1952 - Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
- 1953 - Bo Diaz, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1990)
- 1953 - Chaka Khan, American singer
- 1955 - Moses Malone, American basketball player
- 1955 - Petrea Burchard, American actress
- 1956 - José Manuel Durão Barroso, Portuguese politician, president of the European Commission
- 1956 - Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross-country skier
- 1957 - Amanda Plummer, American actress
- 1957 - Robbie James, Welsh footballer (d. 1998)
- 1960 - Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
- 1961 - Helmi Johannes, Indonesian television newscaster
- 1964 - Hope Davis, American actress
- 1964 - John Pinette, American comedian
- 1965 - Richard Grieco, American actor and singer
- 1965 - Marti Pellow, Scottish singer
- 1965 - Gary Whitehead, American poet
- 1968 - Damon Albarn, English musician (Blur and Gorillaz)
- 1968 - Mitch Cullin, American novelist
- 1968 - Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer
- 1971 - Yasmeen Ghauri, Canadian supermodel
- 1971 - Karen McDougal, American model
- 1971 - Gail Porter, British television presenter
- 1971 - Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1971 - Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1972 - Judith Godrèche, French actress and author
- 1973 - Jason Kidd, American basketball player
- 1973 - Jerzy Dudek, Polish football goalkeeper
- 1975 - Alydar, American racehorse (d. 1990)
- 1976 - Keri Russell, American actress
- 1976 - Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian racing car driver
- 1977 - Jean Carlos Gamarra, Peruvian Taekwondo Player
- 1978 - Nicholle Tom, American actress
- 1978 - Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer
- 1979 - Mark Buehrle, American baseball player
- 1979 - Misty Hyman, American swimmer
- 1981 - Luciana Carro, Canadian actress
- 1981 - Erin Crocker, Nascar driver
- 1982 - Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish football goalkeeper
- 1983 - Jerome Thomas, English footballer
- 1985 - Maurice Drew, American football player
- 1986 - Steven Strait, American actor
- 1990 - Princess Eugenie of York
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] Liturgical feasts
[edit] External links
