Updated March 23, 2012, 2:28 pm
On March 23, 1965, America’s first two-person space flight began as Gemini 3 blasted off from Cape Kennedy with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young aboard.
Go to article »On March 23, 1908, Joan Crawford, the Academy Award-winning actress who epitomized the glamorous Hollywood movie star, was born. Following death on May 10, 1977, obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1743 George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” had its premiere, in London. 1775 Patrick Henry called for America’s independence from Britain, telling the Virginia Provincial Convention, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” 1919 Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy. 1933 The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers. 1956 Pakistan became an Islamic republic. 1981 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teenage girls seek abortions. 1983 President Ronald Reagan proposed the development of technology to intercept enemy nuclear missiles; the plan was dubbed “Star Wars” by its critics. 1994 Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings broke Gordie Howe’s National Hockey League career record with his 802nd goal. 1998 “Titanic” won 11 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best song, to tie the record set by 1959’s “Ben-Hur.” (The record was tied again by “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” in 2003.) 2001 Russia’s orbiting Mir space station ended its 15-year odyssey with a fiery plunge into the South Pacific. 2003 A U.S. Army maintenance convoy was ambushed in Iraq; 11 soldiers were killed and seven were captured, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch. 2010 President Barack Obama signed a $938 billion health care overhaul. 2011 Actress Elizabeth Taylor died at age 79. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
R&B singer Chaka Khan turns 59 years old today.
AP Photo/Charles Sykes
Actress Keri Russell turns 36 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
1949 Ric Ocasek, Rock musician (The Cars), turns 63 1955 Moses Malone, Basketball Hall of Famer, turns 57 1957 Amanda Plummer, Actress, turns 55 1959 Catherine Keener, Actress, turns 53 1964 Hope Davis, Actress, turns 48 1966 Marin Hinkle, Actress (“Two and a Half Men,” “Once and Again”), turns 46 1973 Jason Kidd, Basketball player, turns 39 1976 Michelle Monaghan, Actress, turns 36 1978 Perez Hilton, Gossip blogger, turns 34 1978 Nicholle Tom, Actress, turns 34 1985 Maurice Jones-Drew, Football player, turns 27
Historic Birthdays
Joan Crawford 3/23/1908 – 5/10/1977 American motion picture actress.Go to obituary »
52 Margaret of Anjou 3/23/1430 – 8/25/1482
French queen consort of England’s King Henry VI77 Pierre-Simon Laplace 3/23/1749 – 3/5/1827
French mathematician, astronomer and physicist70 William Smith 3/23/1769 – 8/28/1839
English engineer and geologist77 Roger Martin du Gard 3/23/1881 – 8/22/1958
French Nobel Prize-winning author40 Juan Gris 3/23/1887 – 5/11/1927
Spanish painter in the style of Synthetic Cubism59 Sidney Hillman 3/23/1887 – 7/10/1946
American labor leader and one of the founders of the C.I.O.67 Cedric Gibbons 3/23/1893 – 7/26/1960
Irish-born American art director for M.G.M. studios79 Erich Fromm 3/23/1900 – 3/18/1980
German-born American psychoanalyst and social philosopher45 Donald Malcolm Campbell 3/23/1921 – 1/4/1967
English motorboat and automobile driver
