March 23

March 23 is the 82nd day of the year (83rd every 4 years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 283 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

752 – Stephen II becomes Pope.
1400 – The Tran Dynasty of Vietnam is deposed after 175 years in power, by Ho Quy Ly, a court official.
1568 – Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. Again Catherine of 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 Palace.
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 – Greek War of Independence: Battle of Kalamata and fall of the city of Kalamata.
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.
1848 – Venice declares independence from Austria. This leads to the creation of the Republic of San Marco, under Prime Minister Daniele Manin, which lasts until August 23, 1849.
1857 – Elisha Otis's first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway, New York City.
1862 – American Civil War: First Battle of Kernstown – start of Stonewall Jackson's valley campaign.
1868 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
1879 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topater, the first major battle of the war, is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Peru and Bolivia.
1888 – In England, the Football League first meets.
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.

1901 – 2000

1901 – President of the Philippines Emilio Aguinaldo is captured by US forces.
1903 – The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful airplanes after much hard work.
1905 – Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete's union with Greece.
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.
1918 – World War I: Third day of the German Spring Offensive – the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is heavily defeated, with many being taken prisoner.
1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
1931 – Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt are hanged during the Indian struggle for independence. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.
1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
1935 – Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Republican forces have their last major victory of the war in the Battle of Guadalajara.
1939 – The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of the Slovakian air force in the city of Spisska Nova Ves, killing 13 people.
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.
1950 – World Meteorological Organization is founded.
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).
1972 – The United Tasmania Front is founded in Hobart, Tasmania, led by Richard Jones, as the world's first "Green Party".
1978 – The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
1982 – Guatemala's government, led by Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia is overthrown in a military coup by right–wing General Efrain Rios Montt.
1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative: US President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
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.
1991 – The 11–year Sierra Leone Civil War begins.
1994 – At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martinez.
1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Siberia, when the pilot's 15–year–old son accidentally disengages the autopilot, killing all 75 people on board.
1996 – Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
1998 – James Cameron's movie Titanic wins several Academy Awards on one night, making it one of Hollywood's most successful movies ever.
1999 – Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis María Argaña.

From 2001

2001 – The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
2001 – The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (now World Wrestling Entertainment) purchases rival organization World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for an estimated $5 million.
2003 – In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2003 – In Slovenia, referendums are held on memberships of the EU and NATO, with a majority in favor of both proposals.
2004 – Andhra Pradesh Federation of Trade Unions holds its first conference in Hyderabad, India.
2005 – The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2–1 decision, refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
2013 – Pope Francis meets former Pope Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, making it the first such meeting between a Pope and a former Pope.
2015 – A multi–vehicle pile–up, including a bus crash, kills 36 people in Harmey, 320 kilometers north of Lima.

Births

Up to 1900

1429 – Margaret of Anjou, Queen Consort of England (d. 1482)
1501 – Pietro Andrea Mattioli, Italian physician and botanist (d. 1577)
1599 – Thomas Selle, German composer (d. 1663)
1638 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1731)
1643 – Mary of Jesus de Leon y Delgado, Spanish saint (d. 1731)
1645 – William Kidd, Scottish sailor (d. 1701)
1723 – Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar, King of Persia (d. 1771)
1732 – Marie Adelaide of France (d. 1800)
1749 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
1754 – Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (d. 1802)
1769 – William Smith, English geologist (d. 1839)
1795 – Bernt Michael Holmboe, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1850)
1799 – Joshua Baker, Governor of Louisiana (d. 1885)
1814 – Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, Cuban writer, poet and activist (d. 1873)
1823 – Schuyler Colfax, 17th Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
1826 – Ludwig Minkus, Austrian ballet composer, violin virtuoso and teacher (d. 1917)
1829 – N. R. Pogson, English astronomer and mathematician (d. 1891)
1831 – Eduard Schlagintweit, German writer (d. 1866)
1854 – Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, British politician (d. 1925)
1858 – Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, Nobel Peace Prize winner (d. 1941)
1862 – Nathaniel Reed, American outlaw–turned–evangelist (d. 1950)
1869 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
1871 – Heinrich Schroth, German actor (d. 1945)
1872 – Michael Joseph Savage, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1940)
1876 – Ziya Gökalp, Turkish sociologist, poet and activist (d. 1924)
1876 – Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Burmese poet, writer and politician (d. 1964)
1880 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish politician (d. 1922)
1881 – Roger Martin du Gard, French writer (d. 1958)
1881 – Hermann Staudinger, German chemist (d. 1965)
1881 – Lacey Hearn, American athlete and sprinter (d. 1969)
1882 – Emmy Noether, German mathematician (d. 1935)
1887 – Juan Gris, Spanish Cubist painter (d. 1927)
1887 – Felix Yusupov, Russian, assassin of Grigori Rasputin (d. 1967)
1893 – G. D. Naidu, Indian inventor and engineer (d. 1974)
1895 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (d. 2001)
1895 – Dane Rudhyar, French–American astrologer, writer and composer (d. 1985)
1899 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
1900 – Erich Fromm, German–born psychoanalyst (d. 1980)

1901 – 1950

1904 – German Busch, President of Bolivia (d. 1939)
1905 – Lale Andersen, German singer and actress (d. 1972)
1905 – Joan Crawford, American actress (d. 1977)
1906 – José Della Torre, Argentine footballer (d. 1979)
1907 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss scientist (d. 1992)
1910 – Akira Kurosawa, Japanese movie director (d. 1998)
1912 – Wernher von Braun, German physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
1915 – Vasily Zaytsev, Soviet World War II figure (d. 1991)
1915 – Thomas Pashby, Canadian advocate for safety in ice hockey (d. 2005)
1918 – Stanley Armour Dunham, Barack Obama's grandfather (d. 1992)
1918 – Emile Derlin Zinsou, former President of Benin
1920 – Tetsuharu Kawakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
1921 – Donald Campbell, British car and motorboat racer (d. 1967)
1922 – Marty Allen, American comedian and actor
1922 – Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
1923 – Martha Wright, American actress (d. 2016)
1924 – Bette Nesmith Graham, American inventor (d. 1980)
1925 – David Watkin, British cinematographer (d. 2008)
1929 – Roger Bannister, British runner
1931 – Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
1931 – Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player
1931 – Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Russian skier (d. 2013)
1932 – Louisiana Red, American blues musician (d. 2012)
1934 – Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician and physicist
1934 – Mark Rydell, American director
1935 – Barry Cryer, British writer and comedian
1937 – Ibrahim Abouleish, Egyptian chemist and businessman
1937 – Craig Breedlove, American land speed record holder
1937 – Tony Burton, American actor (d. 2016)
1937 – Robert Gallo, American virologist
1938 – Dave Pike, American jazz musician
1940 – Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian writer, playwright and academic
1942 – Michael Haneke, Austrian movie maker and writer
1942 – Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and politician
1944 – Tony McPhee, British singer and guitarist
1944 – Michael Nyman, British composer
1945 – Franco Battiato, Italian singer, songwriter and movie maker
1945 – David Grisman, American bluegrass musician
1945 – Erik De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist (d. 2015)
1950 – Valgerdur Sverrisdottir, Icelandic politician
1950 – Mike Easley, American politician, former Governor of North Carolina
1950 – Corinne Cléry, French actress

1951 – 1975

1952 – Francesco Clemente, Italian artist
1952 – Pola Kinski, German actress
1952 – Kim Stanley Robinson, American writer
1952 – Rex Tillerson, 69th United States Secretary of State and former Chief Executive of ExxonMobil
1953 – Chaka Khan, American singer
1955 – Moses Malone, American basketball player (d. 2015)
1956 – José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese politician, former President of the European Commission
1956 – Andrew Mitchell, British politician
1957 – Lucio Gutiérrez, former President of Ecuador
1957 – Amanda Plummer, American actress
1958 – Bengt-Ake Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
1958 – Serena Grandi, Italian actress
1958 – Eldon Hoke, American singer and drummer (d. 1997)
1960 – Nicol Stephen, Scottish politician
1961 – Colin Pitchfork, English murderer
1962 – Bassel al-Assad, Syrian engineer, colonel and politician (d. 1994)
1962 – Steve Redgrave, English rower, five–time Olympic champion
1963 – Michel, Spanish footballer
1964 – Hope Davis, American actress
1964 – John Pinette, American comedian and actor (d. 2014)
1965 – Jonathan Dow, British actor
1965 – Marti Pellow, Scottish singer
1965 – Richard Grieco, American actor
1965 – Steve Turner, American rock musician
1966 – Alfred Nijhuis, Dutch footballer
1968 – Damon Albarn, British singer (Blur)
1968 – Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer
1968 – Mike Atherton, English cricketer
1970 – Melissa Errico, American actress and singer
1970 – Gianni Infantino, 9th President of FIFA
1971 – Gail Porter, Scottish television presenter
1971 – Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
1971 – Karen McDougal, American model and actress
1972 – Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
1972 – Jonas Bjorkman, Swedish tennis player
1973 – Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
1973 – Jason Kidd, American basketball player

From 1976

1976 – Chris Hoy, Scottish cyclist, six–time Olympic champion
1976 – Michelle Monaghan, American actress
1976 – Keri Russell, American actress
1978 – Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer
1978 – Perez Hilton, American blogger
1978 – Nicholle Tom, American actress
1980 – Russell Howard, English comedian
1980 – Ryan Day, Welsh snooker player
1981 – Shelley Rudman, English skeleton bobsledder
1982 – José Raul Contreras, Chilean footballer
1983 – Mo Farah, British track–and–field athlete, four–time Olympic gold medallist
1983 – Sascha Riether, German footballer
1983 – Jerome Thomas, English footballer
1983 – Hakan Balta, Turkish footballer
1986 – Andrea Dovizioso, Italian motorcycle racer
1985 – Stevie McCrorie, Scottish singer
1987 – Kangna Ranaut, Indian actress
1988 – Jason Kenny, English cyclist, Olympic champion
1989 – Mai Nishida, Japanese model, entertainer and actress
1990 – Princess Eugenie of York, member of the British royal family
1991 – Gregg Wylde, Scottish footballer
1992 – Kyrie Irving, Australian–American basketball player
1992 – Vanessa Morgan, Canadian actress and singer
1994 – Nick Powell, English footballer

Deaths

Up to 1900

851 – Zhou Chi, Chinese historian and politician (b. 713)
1103 – Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
1361 – Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1310)
1369 – King Peter of Castile (b. 1334)
1555 – Pope Julius III (b. 1489)
1559 – Emperor Gelawdewos of Ethiopia
1606 – Justus Lipsius, Flemish humanist (b. 1547)
1675 – Antoni van Goordt, Dutch composer and organist (b. 1619)
1680 – Nicolas Fouquet, French statesman (b. 1615)
1742 – Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French writer (b. 1670)
1748 – Johann Gottfried Walther, German music theorist, organist and composer (b. 1684)
1783 – Charles Carroll of Carrollton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1723)
1801 – Tsar Paul I of Russia (b. 1754)
1819 – August von Kotzebue, German dramatist and writer (b. 1761)
1842 – Stendhal, French writer (b. 1783)
1881 – Nikolai Rubinstein, Russian composer (b. 1835)

1901 – 2000

1923 – Hovhannes Tumanyan Armenian poet and writer (b. 1869)
1927 – Paul César Helleu, French painter (b. 1859)
1931 – Bhagat Singh, Indian freedom writer (b. 1907)
1931 – Rajguru, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1908)
1931 – Sukhdev, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1907)
1935 – Florence Moore, American actress (b. 1886)
1938 – Thomas Walter Scott, Premier of Saskatchewan (b. 1867)
1945 – Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Japanese commander (b. 1891)
1947 – Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (b. 1870)
1948 – Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher (b. 1874)
1953 – Raoul Dufy, French painter (b. 1877)
1955 – Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (b. 1875)
1960 – Raoul Paoli, French athlete, boxer and rower (b. 1887)
1964 – Peter Lorre, Hungarian–born actor (b. 1904)
1965 – Mae Murray, American actress, dancer, producer and screenwriter (b. 1885)
1971 – Simon Vestdijk, Dutch writer (b. 1898)
1972 – Cristobal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer (b. 1895)
1978 – Haim Ernst Wertheimer, Israeli biochemist (b. 1893)
1979 – Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)
1981 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1941)
1985 – Richard Beeching, British physicist and engineer (b. 1913)
1985 – Zoot Sims, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1925)
1990 – John Dexter, English stage and movie director (b. 1925)
1992 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist (b. 1899)
1994 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (b. 1950)
1994 – Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (b. 1921)
1994 – Donald Swann, British composer, musician and entertainer (b. 1923)

From 2001

2002 – Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (b. 1977)
2003 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian–born journalist (b. 1926)
2004 – Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (b. 1916)
2006 – Cindy Walker, American singer, songwriter and dancer (b. 1918)
2008 – Rafael Azcona, Spanish screenwriter (b. 1926)
2009 – Ghukas Chubaryan, Armenian sculptor (b. 1923)
2011 – Elizabeth Taylor, British–American actress (b. 1932)
2012 – Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, former President of Somalia (b. 1934)
2012 – Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, writer, comedian and composer (b. 1931)
2013 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian businessman and oligarch (b. 1946)
2013 – Joe Weider, American bodybuilder (b. 1920)
2013 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player (b. 1917)
2014 – Adolfo Suarez, former Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1932)
2014 – Dave Brockie, Canadian–American musician (b. 1963)
2014 – Peter Oakley, British internet vlogger (b. 1927)
2014 – Jürg Neuenschwander, Swiss organist and composer (b. 1947)
2014 – David Henshaw, New Zealand cartoonist (b. 1939)
2015 – Lee Kuan Yew, first Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1923)
2015 – Lil' Chris, English singer and television personality (b. 1990)
2015 – Herberto Hélder, Portuguese poet and writer (b. 1930)
2015 – Bobby Lowther, American basketball player (b. 1923)
2016 – Ken Howard, American actor (b. 1944)
2016 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player (b. 1926)
2016 – Jimmy Riley, Jamaican reggae musician (b. 1954)
2017 – Lola Albright, American actress (b. 1924)
2017 – Ashokamitran, Indian writer (b. 1931)
2017 – Meir Einstein, Israeli sports broadcaster (b. 1951)
2017 – William H. Keeler, American cardinal (b. 1931)
2017 – Cino Tortorella, Italian television presenter and comedian (b. 1927)
2017 – Denis Voronenkov, Russian politician (b. 1971)
2025 – Mia Love, American politician (b. 1975)

Observances

Republic Day/Pakistan Day (Pakistan)
Polish–Hungarian friendship day
Day of the Sea (Bolivia)
World Meteorological Day
Family Day (South Africa)
Western Christianity – Earliest possible date for Easter Monday (April 26 is the latest)
Western Christianity – Second–earliest possible date for Easter, last occurred on this date in 2008, next in 2160.