February 23, 2012 – Smriti "Simmi" D. Isaac

Updated February 22, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 23, 1954, the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.
Go to article »

On Feb. 23, 1868, W.E.B. DuBois, the American sociologist who co-founded the N.A.A.C.P., was born. Following his death on Aug. 27, 1963, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1685 Composer George Frideric Handel was born in Germany.

1822 Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.

1836 The siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas.

1847 U.S. troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican general Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico.

1848 John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, died at age 80 in Washington, D.C., two days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.

1861 President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office after an assassination plot was foiled in Baltimore.

1870 Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.

1954 The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began, in Pittsburgh.

1965 Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy died at age 74.

1991 President George H.W. Bush announced that the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun.

1997 Scientists in Scotland announced they had cloned an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly.

1999 A jury in Jasper, Texas, convicted white supremacist John William King of murder in the dragging death of an African-American man, James Byrd Jr.

2000 Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for his album “Supernatural,” tying the record set by Michael Jackson in 1983 for “Thriller.”

2003 Norah Jones won five Grammy Awards for the album “Come Away With Me.”

2011 The Obama administration said it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Emily Blunt turns 29 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Actress Dakota Fanning turns 18 years old today.

AP Photo/Peter Kramer

1940 Peter Fonda, Actor, director, turns 72

1943 Fred Biletnikoff, Football Hall of Famer, turns 69

1944 Johnny Winter, Rock singer, turns 68

1951 Patricia Richardson, Actress (“Home Improvement”), turns 61

1952 Brad Whitford, Rock musician (Aerosmith), turns 60

1954 Howard Jones, Rock singer, turns 58

1965 Kristin Davis, Actress (“Sex and the City”), turns 47

Historic Birthdays

W.E.B. DuBois 2/23/1868 – 8/27/1963 American sociologist who helped found the N.A.A.C.P.Go to obituary »

70 Samuel Pepys 2/23/1633 – 5/26/1703
English diarist and naval administrator

74 George Frideric Handel 2/23/1685 – 4/14/1759
German-bn. English composer

87 George Frederick Watts 2/23/1817 – 7/1/1904
English painter and sculptor

68 Cesar Ritz 2/23/1850 – 10/26/1918
French founder of the Ritz hotel in Paris

90 Norman Lindsay 2/23/1879 – 11/29/1969
Australian artist and novelist

88 Karl Jaspers 2/23/1881 – 2/26/1969
German Existentialist philosopher

65 Victor Fleming 2/23/1883 – 1/6/1949
American motion-picture director

89 William Shirer 2/23/1904 – 12/28/1993
American journalist, historian and novelist

74 Allan MacLeod Cormack 2/23/1924 – 5/7/1998
South African-bn. Am. Nobel Prize-winning physicist

1685	Composer George Frideric Handel was born in Germany.
1822	Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.
1836	The siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas.
1847	U.S. troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican general Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico.
1848	John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, died at age 80 in Washington, D.C., two days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.
1861	President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office after an assassination plot was foiled in Baltimore.
1870	Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.
1954	The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began, in Pittsburgh.
1965	Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy died at age 74.
1991	President George H.W. Bush announced that the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun.
1997	Scientists in Scotland announced they had cloned an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly.
1999	A jury in Jasper, Texas, convicted white supremacist John William King of murder in the dragging death of an African-American man, James Byrd Jr.
2000	Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for his album “Supernatural,” tying the record set by Michael Jackson in 1983 for “Thriller.”
2003	Norah Jones won five Grammy Awards for the album “Come Away With Me.”
2011	The Obama administration said it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage.

1940	Peter Fonda, Actor, director, turns 72
1943	Fred Biletnikoff, Football Hall of Famer, turns 69
1944	Johnny Winter, Rock singer, turns 68
1951	Patricia Richardson, Actress (“Home Improvement”), turns 61
1952	Brad Whitford, Rock musician (Aerosmith), turns 60
1954	Howard Jones, Rock singer, turns 58
1965	Kristin Davis, Actress (“Sex and the City”), turns 47

70	Samuel Pepys 2/23/1633 – 5/26/1703 English diarist and naval administrator
74	George Frideric Handel 2/23/1685 – 4/14/1759 German-bn. English composer
87	George Frederick Watts 2/23/1817 – 7/1/1904 English painter and sculptor
68	Cesar Ritz 2/23/1850 – 10/26/1918 French founder of the Ritz hotel in Paris
90	Norman Lindsay 2/23/1879 – 11/29/1969 Australian artist and novelist
88	Karl Jaspers 2/23/1881 – 2/26/1969 German Existentialist philosopher
65	Victor Fleming 2/23/1883 – 1/6/1949 American motion-picture director
89	William Shirer 2/23/1904 – 12/28/1993 American journalist, historian and novelist
74	Allan MacLeod Cormack 2/23/1924 – 5/7/1998 South African-bn. Am. Nobel Prize-winning physicist