Updated October 22, 2012, 2:28 pm
On Oct. 23, 1983, a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon killed 220 U.S. Marines, 18 sailors and 3 Army soldiers; a near-simultaneous attack on French forces killed 58 paratroopers.
On Oct. 23, 1869, John William Heisman, the coach who revolutionized the game of college football, was born. Following his death on Oct. 3, 1936, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1707 The Parliament of Great Britain, created by the Acts of Union between England and Scotland, held its first meeting. 1925 Comedian and talk show host Johnny Carson was born in Corning, Iowa. 1942 Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein in Egypt during World War II. 1956 An anti-Stalinist revolt began in Hungary. 1973 President Richard M. Nixon agreed to turn White House tape recordings requested by the Watergate special prosecutor over to Judge John J. Sirica. 1987 The U.S. Senate rejected the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork, 58-42. 1993 Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter became the second player to end a World Series with a home run in an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6. 1998 Dr. Barnett Slepian, a doctor who performed abortions, was killed at his home in suburban Buffalo, N.Y., when a sniper fired through his kitchen window. 1998 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed a land-for-peace agreement at the White House, following nine days of talks at Wye River, Md. 2001 Apple Computer Inc. introduced the iPod portable digital music player. 2002 Gunmen seized a crowded Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage and threatening to kill them unless the Russian army pulled out of Chechnya. 2003 Madame Chiang Kai-shek, widow of the Chinese nationalist leader, died in New York at age 105. 2006 Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for his role in the company’s collapse. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Ryan Reynolds turns 36 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Soccer player Pele turns 72 years old today.
AP Photo/Andre Penner
1931 Jim Bunning, Baseball Hall of Famer, former U.S. senator, R-Ky., turns 81 1936 Philip Kaufman, Director (“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”), turns 76 1946 Mel Martinez, Former U.S. senator, R-Fla., turns 66 1954 Ang Lee, Director, turns 58 1956 Dwight Yoakam, Country singer, turns 56 1959 Weird Al Yankovic, Musical parodist, turns 53 1962 Doug Flutie, Football player, turns 50 1965 Al Leiter, Baseball player, sportscaster, turns 47 1969 Chris Weitz, Director, turns 43 1976 Cat Deeley, TV host (“So You Think You Can Dance”), turns 36 1978 John Lackey, Baseball player, turns 34 1986 Jessica Stroup, Actress (“90210”), turns 26 Historic Birthdays
John William Heisman 10/23/1869 – 10/3/1936 American collegiate football coach.Go to obituary »
14 Peter II 10/23/1715 – 1/29/1730
Emperor of Russia (1727-30)57 Pierre Larousse 10/23/1817 – 1/3/1875
French encyclopaedist78 Adlai Ewing Stevenson 10/23/1835 – 6/14/1914
American lawyer and U.S. vice president (1893-7)77 Frederick Lanchester 10/23/1868 – 3/8/1946
English engineer101 William Coolidge 10/23/1873 – 2/3/1975
American inventor and engineer77 Felix Bloch 10/23/1905 – 9/10/1983
Swiss-born American physicist70 Frank Rizzo 10/23/1920 – 7/16/1991
American politician; mayor of Philadelphia (1972-80)
