Updated May 22, 2012, 2:28 pm
On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot to death in a police ambush as they were driving a stolen Ford Deluxe along a road in Bienville Parish, La.
Go to article »On May 23, 1875, Alfred Sloan, the American philanthropist who headed General Motors for more than a quarter of a century, was born. Following his death on Feb. 17, 1966, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1430 Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English. 1533 The marriage of England’s King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void. 1701 Captain William Kidd was hanged in London after being convicted of piracy and murder. 1788 South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. 1873 Canada’s North West Mounted Police force was established. 1915 Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary in World War I. 1937 Industrialist John D. Rockefeller died at age 97. 1945 Nazi official and SS chief Heinrich Himmler committed suicide while imprisoned in Luneburg, Germany. 1949 The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was established. 1960 Israel announced it had captured former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. 1997 Iranians elected a moderate president, Mohammad Khatami, over hard-liners in the ruling Muslim clergy. 2003 Congress sent President George W. Bush a $330 billion package of tax cuts – the third of his presidency. 2005 Actor Tom Cruise jumped on the couch while declaring his love for actress Katie Holmes on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” 2006 ABC named Charles Gibson to replace Elizabeth Vargas as anchor of its “World News Tonight” evening newscast. 2010 The final episode of the supernatural castaway drama “Lost” aired on ABC. 2011 The European Union imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad over the continuing crackdown on anti-government protesters. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Boxing Hall of Famer Marvin Hagler turns 60 years old today.
AP Photo/Nousha Salimi
Actress Joan Collins (“Dynasty”) turns 79 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg
1931 Barbara Barrie, Actress, turns 81 1936 Charles Kimbrough, Actor (“Murphy Brown”), turns 76 1944 John Newcombe, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 68 1945 Lauren Chapin, Actress (“Father Knows Best”), turns 67 1945 Misty Morgan, Country singer, turns 67 1958 Drew Carey, Actor,, game show host, turns 54 1968 Laurel Holloman, Actress (“The L Word”), turns 44 1973 Maxwell, R&B singer, turns 39 1974 Jewel, Singer, turns 38
Historic Birthdays
Alfred Sloan 5/23/1875 – 2/17/1966 American executive and philanthropist; headed General Motors.Go to obituary »
70 Carolus Linnaeus 5/23/1707 – 1/10/1778
Swedish botanist; created system for defining genera and species64 William Hunter 5/23/1718 – 3/30/1783
English obstetrician and educator80 Franz Anton Mesmer 5/23/1734 – 3/5/1815
German physician; developed use of hypnosis45 Thomas Hood 5/23/1799 – 5/3/1845
English poet66 James B. Eads 5/23/1820 – 3/8/1887
American engineer; built the triple-arch steel bridge over the Mississippi River57 Ambrose Burnside 5/23/1824 – 9/13/1881
American Union general83 Leo Baeck 5/23/1873 – 11/2/1956
German rabbi and theologian56 Douglas Fairbanks 5/23/1883 – 12/12/1939
American film actor and producer83 Par Lagerkvist 5/23/1891 – 7/11/1974
Swedish novelist, poet and dramatist; won Nobel Prize in 195182 John Bardeen 5/23/1908 – 1/30/1991
American physicist, co-winner of Nobel Prize in 1956 and 197242 Margaret Wise Brown 5/23/1910 – 11/13/1952
American writer of children’s books
