The March 23 reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

March 23

March 23 is the 82ndnd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). There are 283 days remaining.

Feb - March - Apr
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31
2004 day arrangement All days

Table of contents

1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths 4 Holidays and observances

Events

• 752 - Stephen II becomes Pope.
• 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" in Williamsburg, Virginia.
• 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.
• 1839 - First recorded use of "OK" as an abbreviation for "oll korrect" (Boston Morning Post).
• 1857 - Elisha Otis' first elevator is installed (at 488 Broadway, New York City).
• 1868 - The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
• 1889 - Land run: President Benjamin Harrison opens Oklahoma to white settlement starting on April 22.
• 1889 - free Woolwich Ferry officially opened in east London.
• 1903 - The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of the first successful airplane after much hard work.
• 1909 - Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
• 1919 - In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
• 1933 - The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act, giving Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers over German legislation.
• 1935 - Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
• 1942 - World War II: In the Indian Ocean, Japanese forces capture the Anadaman Islands.
• 1956 - Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic.
• 1965 - NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States' first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
• 1983 - Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles. The media dub this plan "Star Wars."
• 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.
• 1994 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated. Mario Aburto Martínez is arrested for the crime and confesses on the same day.
• 1996 - The Republic of China on Taiwan holds its first direct elections for president
• 1999 - Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis Maria Argana.

Births

• 1699 - John Bartram, American botanist (d. 1777)
• 1749 - Pierre Simon de Laplace, mathematician and astronomer, (d. 1827)
• 1754 - Baron Jurij Vega, Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (d. 1802)
• 1769 - William Smith, geologist/cartographer, (d. 1839)
• 1823 - Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States, (d. 1885)
• 1834 - Julius Reubke, composer, (d. 1858)
• 1882 - Emmy Noether, mathematician, (d. 1935)
• 1887 - Juan Gris, painter and graphic artist, (d. 1927)
• 1889 - Yukichi Chuganji, oldest man alive on, (d. 2003)
• 1900 - Erich Fromm, psychoanalyst, (d. 1980)
• 1905 - Joan Crawford, actress, (d. 1977)
• 1905 - Lale Andersen, singer and cabaretist, (d. 1972)
• 1910 - Akira Kurosawa, film director, (d. 1998)
• 1912 - Wernher von Braun, physicist and engineer, (d. 1977)
• 1929 - Sir Roger Bannister, athlete, first "Miracle Mile"
• 1942 - Walter Rodney, historian and political figure, (d. 1980)
• 1949 - Ric Ocasek, musician ("The Cars")
• 1952 - Kim Stanley Robinson, science fiction author
• 1953 - Chaka Khan, singer
• 1972 - Judith Godrèche, actress/author
• 1973 - Jason Kidd, basketball player
• 1976 - Keri Russell, actress
• 1981 - Arick Arslan, Electrical Engineer

Deaths

• 1555 - Pope Julius III, (b. 1487)
• 1801 - Tsar Paul of Russia, (b. 1754)
• 1842 - Stendhal, writer, (b. 1783)
• 1964 - Peter Lorre, actor, (b. 1904)
• 1970 - Del Lord, pioneer Hollywood director, (b. 1894)
• 1979 - Orlando Letelier, former Chilean ambassador to the United States, (b. 1932)
• 1983 - Barney Clark, first artificial heart recipient
• 1993 - Hans Werner Richter, author (b. 1908)
• 2003 - Fritz Spiegl, journalist, (b. 1926)
• 2004 - Rupert Hamer, Australian politician (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire - The fifth and final day of Quinquatria, held in honor of Minerva.
• Roman Empire - Tubilustrium was held in honor of Mars
• Ancient Latvia - Lieldienas held in honor of Mara and other goddesses
• Pakistan - National Day

---

See Also:

March 22 - March 24 - February 23 - April 23 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

This is the "March 23" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.