1752 – Pope Stephen II elected to succeed Zacharias, dies 2 days later
1861 – London’s 1st tramcars, designed by Mr Train of NY, begins operating
1931 – Indian independence fighters Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged after conducting an assassination and a bombing. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.
1933 – Kroll Opera in Berlin opens
1950 – “Great to Be Alive” opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 52 performances
1980 – PGA Tournament Players Championship, Sawgrass Country Club (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida): Lee Trevino wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw
1981 – US Supreme Court upholds law making statutory rape a crime only for men
1988 – Geffen Records releases “Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm”, Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell’s 13th studio album
2019 – More than 130 Fulani people killed in Ogossagou, Mali, in attack by Dogon hunters, prompting government ban on the hunters
2023 – Canada records record population growth (+2.7%), adding 1 million people in 2022, mostly through immigration
Author: gil7
Today in History for 23rd March 2024
Historical Events
1630 – French troops occupy Pinerolo Piedmont
1933 – Kroll Opera in Berlin opens
1973 – After a 5½ year run soap “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” ends
1980 – 18-year old American tennis star Tracy Austin wins her only WTA Tour Championship; upsets Martina Navratilova in the final 6–2, 2–6, 6–2 in NYC
2015 – British entertainer James Corden becomes the host of “The Late Late Show” on CBS; hosts the program through 2023
2021 – First ever tweet by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey “just setting up my twttr” sells for $2.9 million in digitally autographed version
Famous Birthdays
1937 – Craig Breedlove, American auto racer (5 x world land speed record holder; first to reach 500mph (800km/h) and 600mph (970km/h), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2023)
1971 – Alexander Selivanov, NHL right wing (Tampa Bay Lightning), born in Moscow, Russia
1975 – Rita Grande, Napoli Italy, tennis star (3rd round 1996 Aust Open)
1976 – Dougie Lampkin, English motorcycle trials rider (7 x world outdoor champion; 4 x indoor world champion), born in Silsden, England
1981 – Tony Peña, Jr., Dominican baseball player
1990 – Eugenie, Princess of York and daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, born in London
Famous Deaths
1962 – Josef van Schaik, Dutch lawyer and politician (Vice-Premier of Netherands), dies at 80
1995 – Alan Barton, English singer (Smokie, Black Lace), dies in a bus crash at 41
1995 – Russell Reading Braddon, Australian author, dies at 74
2001 – Rowland Evans, American news reporter (CNN-Evans and Novak), dies at 79
2021 – Julié Pomagalski, French snowboarder (World C’ship gold snowboard cross 1999), dies in an avalanche at 40
2022 – Madeleine Albright (née Korbell), American diplomat (UN Delegate, 1993-97), and 1st female US Secretary of State (1997-2001), dies of cancer at 84
Famous Deaths for 22nd March 2024
1661 – Hendrick Uylenburgh, Dutch art dealer who launched Rembrandt and others, buried at about 73
1687 – Jean-Baptiste Lully, Italian-born French composer (Miserere Suites de Symphonies et Trios), dies at 54
1867 – Ferdinando Giorgetti, Italian composer, dies at 70
1975 – Paul Verhoeven, German actor and director (Das kleine Hofkonzert), dies at 73
1981 – James “Jumbo” Elliott, American track coach (b. 1915)
1986 – Harriette Arnow, American novelist and historian (Dollmaker), dies at 77
1990 – Alexander Chugayev, Soviet Russian composer, dies at 66
1994 – Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (Woody Woodpecker’s creator), dies at 93
1996 – Claude Mauriac, French writer (Le Temps immobile), dies at 81
2006 – Pierre Clostermann, French World War II pilot (b. 1921)
Historical Events for 22nd March 2024
1917 – The USA is the first nation to recognize the new government of Russia
1927 – Federico Garcia Lorca’s first play “El Maleficio” (The Butterfly’s Evil Spell) premieres in Madrid
1944 – American movie star James Stewart flies his 12th combat mission, leading the 2nd Bomb Wing in an attack on Berlin
1957 – “All Shook Up” single released by Elvis Presley
1958 – 20th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Seattle, 84-72; Seattle’s future Hall of Fame small forward Elgin Baylor is named tournament MOP
1968 – Student riot in Nanterre near Paris
1986 – Ice Pairs World Championship at Geneva won by Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov (USSR)
1991 – Law enforcement officers raid fraternities at University of Virginaa, seizing drugs
2021 – World’s largest painting “The Journey of Humanity” by British artist Sacha Jafri sells in Dubai for $62m to raise funds for children’s charities
2023 – Microsoft founder Bill Gates says development of artificial intelligence (AI) is the most important technological advance since the graphical user interface (GUI) in 1980
Today in History for 22nd March 2024
Historical Events
1936 – “The Great Ziegfeld” directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring William Powell and Luise Rainer premieres in Los Angeles (Best Picture 1937
1971 – 6th Academy of Country Music Awards: Merle Haggard and Lynn Anderson win
1986 – HBO launches boxing’s heavyweight-title-unification-tournament
1994 – South African government and ANC take power in Ciskei homeland
2021 – Sanctions imposed on Chinese officials over rights abuses against Uighurs in China by EU, UK, US and Canada
2022 – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party reaches a deal with opposition New Democratic Party to stay in power till 2025
Famous Birthdays
1609 – John II Casimir Vasa [Jan Kazimierz], King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1648-68), born in Kraków, Poland (d. 1672)
1720 – Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect who introduced Neoclassical architecture to Denmark, born in St. Germain des Noyers (d. 1799)
1925 – Colin Spedding, British biologist and animal welfare advocate (d. 2012)
1934 – Orrin Hatch, American politician (US Senator from Utah (R), 1977-2019) longest-serving Utah US Senator, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)
1941 – Jeremy Clyde, English pop singer and guitarist (Chad and Jeremy – “A Summer Song”) and actor (The Iron Lady), born in Dorney, Buckinghamshire
1946 – Laraine Ashton, fashion models’ agent (London)
Famous Deaths
1758 – Jonathan Edwards, American Christian preacher, philosopher, and theologian (Original Sin), dies at 54
1771 – Gottlieb Rabener, German author (Vom Misbrauch of the Satire), dies at 56
1959 – Olga Knipper. Russian-Soviet stage actress, and wife of Anton Chekhov, dies at
1996 – Don Murray, American drummer (The Turtles), dies from post-operative complications at 50
1996 – Robert Franklin Overmyer, astronaut (STS 5, STS 51-B), dies at 59
2017 – Francine Hughes Wilson, American domestic abuse victim “The Burning Bed” who changed pubic perceptions, dies at 69
Famous Deaths for 21st March 2024
1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican independence leader, general and 1st President of Mexico (1824-29), dies at 56
1889 – August von Pettenkofen, Austrian outdoor painter, dies at 66
1894 – Jacob Rosenhaim, Jewish-German composer, dies at 80
1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American mechanical engineer and the father of scientific management, dies of influenza at 59
1971 – Nan Wynn [Masha Vatz], American radio and big-band singer (Rudy Vallée; Teddy Wilson), actress (Pardon My Sarong), and singing voice for Rita Hayworth, dies of cancer at 55
1994 – Dack Rambo, American actor (Jack Ewing-Dallas), dies from AIDs at 52
1995 – Robert Urquhart, Scottish actor (Dunkirk, Bulldog Breed), dies at 72
2002 – Hermanus Berserik, Dutch painter and graphic artist, dies at 80
2002 – Herman Talmadge, American politician (70th Governor of Georgia), dies at 88
2016 – Peter Brown [Pierre Lind de Lappe], American actor (Lawman, Laredo, Bold and Beautiful), dies at 80
Historical Events for 21st March 2024
1864 – Battle at Henderson’s Hill (Bayou Rapids) Louisiana
1961 – The Beatles’ first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool
1962 – Philadelphia Phillies retire pitcher Robin Roberts’ # 36
1973 – Montreal Canadiens’ left wing Frank Mahovlich becomes 5th NHL player to score 500 goals
1982 – Movie “Annie” directed by John Huston, starring Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney and Carol Burnett premieres
1997 – Ice Dance Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland won by Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov (Rus)
2018 – English TV presenter Ant McPartlin charged with drink driving following an accident in London
2019 – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces a ban on military-style semiautomatic weapons, 6 days after the Christchurch terrorist attack
2019 – Former Brazilian President Michel Temer is arrested in São Paulo as part of a large corruption investigation
2022 – Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador inaugurates Felipe Angeles International Airport to serve Mexico City
Today in History for 21st March 2024
Historical Events
1702 – Queen Anne addresses English parliament
1860 – English novelist George Eliot finishes her novel “The Mill on the Floss” in Wandsworth, London
1871 – 33rd Grand National: Irish 1868 winner The Lamb claims second GN at 11/2; ridden by Tommy Pickernell
1963 – Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay is closed
1985 – Canadian Rick Hansen sets off on his ‘Man in Motion’ world tour in his wheelchair raising money for spinal research, from Oakridge Mall, Vancouver (successfully completes May 1987)
2019 – Bangladeshi woman with two uteruses safely gives birth to twins 26 days after giving birth to another child
Famous Birthdays
1880 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (Search for the Real), born in Weißenburg, Germany (d. 1966)
1911 – John Paxton, American screenwriter and producer (On The Beach, Kotch, Farewell My Lovely), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1985)
1913 – Ghita Ionescu, Romanian politician scientist (Communism in Romania), born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 1996)
1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, actress (Without a Trace), born in Wilmington, Delaware
1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, actress (Stardust Memories), born in Paris, France
1969 – Ali Daei, Iranian footballer
Famous Deaths
1768 – Jan Jacob Mauricius, Dutch governor-general of Suriname (1742-51), dies at 75
1844 – Leopold van Sasse van Ysselt, Dutch nobleman and politician, dies at 65
1920 – Federigo Tozzi, Italian writer and journalist (Torre, Tre Croci), dies from pneumonia at 37
1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer and Holocaust perpetrator who took part in assassination plot against of Adolf Hitler, executed by hanging at 50
1970 – Marlen Haushofer, Austrian writer (The Wall), dies at 49
2001 – Chung Ju-yung, Korean industrialist (b. 1915)
Famous Deaths for 20th March 2024
1865 – Keisuke Yamanami, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
1934 – Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen consort of William and Regent of the Netherlands, dies at 76
1962 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer and inventor of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating), dies at 94
1972 – Jan Engelman, Dutch poet and art critic (At the Front), dies at 71
1989 – Alan Gifford [John Lennox], American actor (Time Lock, 2001: A Space Odyssey), dies at 78
1992 – Georges Delerue, French film composer (Sword of Gideon, A Little Romance), dies of a heart attack at 67
1995 – Rachida Hammadi, Algerian TV journalist, murdered at 32
2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1949)
2013 – Risë Stevens {Steenberg], American mezzo-soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1938-61 – “Carmen”), vocal coach, and arts administrator, dies at 99
2015 – Robert Kastenmeier, American politician (Rep-D-WI, 1959-91), dies at 91
Historical Events for 20th March 2024
1648 – King Charles I of England first tries to escape captivity at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight by climbing out a window – but gets stuck
1819 – London’s famous Burlington Arcade opens, the world’s 1st shopping arcade
1911 – Winter Garden Theater opens at 1634 Broadway NYC
1934 – American all-round female super athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias pitches a hitless inning for Philadelphia A’s in their exhibition pre-season baseball game against Brooklyn Dodgers
1940 – Paul Reynoud becomes French premier
1947 – 180 tonne blue whale (record) caught in South Atlantic
1957 – Britain accepts NATO offer to mediate in Cyprus, but Greece rejects it
1996 – UK admits humans can catch CJD (Mad Cow Disease)
2019 – Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts calls the state’s flooding “the most widespread destruction we have ever seen in our state’s history”
2022 – Intense fighting in Ukrainian city of Mariupol continues as Russian forces encircle the city, trapping 300,000 people