Today in History (23 March 2008)

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Events

• 1174 - Jocelin, abbot of Melrose, is elected bishop of Glasgow
• 1568 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. Again Catherine de' Medici and Charles IX of France make substantial concessions to the Huguenots.
• 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" at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.
• 1801 - Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death in his bedroom at St. Michael's Castle.
• 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.
• 1821 - Battle and fall of city of Kalamata, Greek War of Independence.
• 1848 - The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
• 1857 - Elisha Otis's 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 - The free Woolwich Ferry officially opens in east London.
• 1889 - The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian India.
• 1896 - The Raines Law is passed by the New York State Legislature, restricting Sunday sale of alcohol to hotels
• 1903 - The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful airplanes.
• 1908 - American diplomat Durham Stevens is attacked by Korean assassins Jeon Myeong-un and Jang In-hwan, leading to his death in hospital two days later
• 1909 - Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
• 1919 - In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
• 1931 - Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev embrace the gallows during the Indian struggle for independence. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.
• 1933 - The Reichstag passes the Enabling act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
• 1935 - Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
• 1940 - The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or the then Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All India Muslim League.
• 1942 - World War II: In the Indian Ocean, Japanese forces capture the Andaman Islands.
• 1956 - Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. (Republic Day in Pakistan)
• 1962 - NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, was launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace initiative.
• 1965 - NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States' first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
• 1978 - The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
• 1980 - Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
• 1982 - Guatemala's government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
• 1983 - Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
• 1989 - Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce cold fusion at the University of Utah.
• 1994 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
• 1994 - Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Siberia when the pilot's fifteen-year old son accidentally disengages the autopilot, killing 75.
• 1994 - A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing a group of 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground later to become known as the Green Ramp Disaster
• 1996 - Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
• 1997 - The pilot episode of the successful Midsomer Murders series with John Nettles airs for the first time, attracting 13.5 million viewers
• 1999 - Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis María Argaña.
• 2001 - The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
• 2003 - In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 11 soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company as well as 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• 2003 - The Australian cricket team defeats India in the cricket World cup to win their second successive Cricket World Cup.
• 2004 - Andhra Pradesh Federation of Trade Unions holds its first conference in Hyderabad, India.
• 2005 - The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.
• 2005 - A major explosion at the Texas City Refinery kills 15 workers.
• 2006 - Federal Reserve discontinues publishing M3 money supply.
• 2007 - Burnley Tunnel catastrophe occurs in Melbourne Australia.
• 2007 - Iranian Navy seize Royal Navy personnel in Iraqi waters.

Births
1972 - Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
1972 - Judith Godrèche, French actress and author
1973 - Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
1973 - Wim Eyckmans, Belgian racing driver
1973 - Jason Kidd, American basketball player
1975 - Alydar, American racehorse (d. 1990)
1976 - Jeremy Newberry, American football player
1976 - Michelle Monaghan, American actress
1976 - Joel Peralta, Dominican baseball player
1976 - Keri Russell, American actress
1976 - Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian racing car driver
1977 - Jean Carlos Gamarra, Peruvian taekwondo practitioner
1978 - Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer
1978 - Nicholle Tom, American actress
1978 - Perez Hilton, famous blogger
1979 - Mark Buehrle, American baseball player
1979 - Emraan Hashmi, Indian actor
1979 - Misty Hyman, American swimmer
1979 - Donncha O'Callaghan, Irish International rugby player
1980 - Russell Howard, British Comedian
1981 - Luciana Carro, Canadian actress
1981 - Erin Crocker, American NASCAR driver
1981 - Tony Peña, Jr., Dominican baseball player
1983 - Jerome Thomas, English footballer
1985 - Maurice Jones-Drew, American football player
1986 - Steven Strait, American Actor
1990 - Princess Eugenie of York
1999 - Prince Beltran of Bulgaria

Deaths

1995 - Alan Barton, English musician (Black Lace, Smokie) (b. 1953)
1995 - Davie Cooper, Scottish footballer (b. 1956)
1998 - Gerald Stano, American serial killer (b. 1951)
1999 - Luis María Argaña, Paraguayan politician (b. ?)
2001 - Rowland Evans, American journalist (b. 1921)
2002 - Eileen Farrell, American soprano (b. 1920)
2002 - Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (b. 1977)
2003 - Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-born journalist (b. 1926)
2004 - Rupert Hamer, Australian politician (b. 1916)
2006 - David B. Bleak, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1932)
2006 - Desmond Doss, American soldier and first conscientious objector Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
2006 - Cindy Walker, American singer, songwriter and dancer (b. 1918)
2007 - Paul J. Cohen, American mathematician, Fields Medal winner (b. 1934)
2007 - Eric Medlen, American NHRA drag racer (b. 1973)