What happened on March 23? There are more than 267 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About March 23
March 23 is the 83rd day of the year 2024. There are 283 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 12th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico 87513 sunrise occured at 06:59 AM and sunset occured at 07:18 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aries. The modern birthstone for this month is Aquamarine while the mystical birthstone is Jade.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 312 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 22 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For March 23
- 1400The Tran Dynasty of Vietnam is deposed after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule by Ho Quy Ly, a court official.
- 1708James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth.
- 1775American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me Liberty, or give me Death!” – at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia.
- 1801Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death in his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle.
- 1806After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their “Corps of Discovery” begin their arduous journey home.
- 1821Greek War of Independence: Battle and fall of city of Kalamata.
- 1848The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
- 1857Elisha Otis’s first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.
- 1862The First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia, marks the start of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. Though a Confederate defeat, the engagement distracts Federal efforts to capture Richmond.
- 1868The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
- 1879War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topáter, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru.
- 1889The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian India.
- 1905Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete’s union with Greece, and begins what is to be known as the Theriso revolt.
- 1908American diplomat Durham Stevens is attacked by Korean assassins Jeon Myeong-un and Jang In-hwan, leading to his death in a hospital two days later.
- 1909Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
- 1919In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
- 1931Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for murder during the Indian struggle for independence.
- 1933The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
- 1935Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
- 1939The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of Slovak air force in the city of Spišská Nová Ves, kills 13 people and began the Slovak–Hungarian War.
- 1940The 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.
- 1942World War II: In the Indian Ocean, Japanese forces capture the Andaman Islands.
- 1956Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. (Republic Day in Pakistan)
- 1962Ship NS, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace initiative.
- 1965NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States’ first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
- 1978The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
- 1980Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
- 1982Guatemala’s government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
- 1983Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
- 1989Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce their discovery of cold fusion at the University of Utah.
- 1991The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking a gruesome 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
- 1994A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the Green Ramp disaster.
- 1994Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Siberia when the pilot’s fifteen-year old son accidentally disengages the autopilot, killing all 75 people on board.
- 1994At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
- 1996Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
- 1999Gunmen assassinate Paraguay’s Vice President Luis María Argaña.
- 2001The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
- 2003In 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. 654 Iraqi combatants are also killed.
- 2005Texas City Refinery explosion: During a test on a distillation tower liquid waste builds up and flows out of a blowout tower. Waste fumes ignite and explode killing 15 workers.
Who Were Born On March 23?
- 1430Margaret of Anjou, queen consort of Henry VI of England (d. 1482)
- 1638Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1731)
- 1645William “Captain” Kidd, Scottish sailor (d. 1701)
- 1699John Bartram, American botanist (d. 1777)
- 1723Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar, King of Iran (d. 1771)
- 1732Marie Adélaïde of France, daughter of Louis XV (d. 1800)
- 1754Baron Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician, physicist, and artillery officer (d. 1802)
- 1769Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (d. 1832)
- 1769William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)
- 1823Schuyler Colfax, American politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
- 1826Léon Minkus, German/Czech composer and violinist (d. 1917)
- 1831Eduard Schlagintweit, German writer (d. 1866)
- 1834Julius Reubke, German composer (d. 1858)
- 1858Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1941)
- 1862Nathaniel Reed, American outlaw turned evangelist (d. 1950)
- 1868Dietrich Eckart, early supporter of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party and member of Thule Society (d. 1923)
- 1869Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
- 1871Heinrich Schroth, German actor (d. 1945)
- 1874J. C. Leyendecker, German American Illustrator (d. 1951)
- 1878Franz Schreker, Austrian composer (d. 1934)
- 1880Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish politician (d. 1922)
- 1881Hermann Staudinger, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
- 1881Roger Martin du Gard, French writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1958)
- 1882Amalie Emmy Noether, German mathematician (d. 1935)
- 1887Josef Čapek, Czech writer (d. 1945)
- 1887Juan Gris, Spanish artist (d. 1927)
- 1887Prince Felix Yusupov, Russian assassin of Rasputin (d. 1967)
- 1893Cedric Gibbons, American art director (d. 1960)
- 1893G. D. Naidu (Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu), Indian Inventor & Engineer (Edison of India) (d. 1974)
- 1895Dane Rudhyar, French-US author, composer, astrologer (d. 1985)
- 1895Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian (d. 2001)
- 1899Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
- 1900Erich Fromm, German-born psychoanalyst (d. 1980)
- 1904H. Beam Piper, American science fiction author (d. 1964)
- 1905Joan Crawford, American actress (d. 1977)
- 1905Lale Andersen, German singer and cabaretist (d. 1972)
- 1907Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1992)
- 1910Akira Kurosawa, Japanese film director (d. 1998)
- 1912Wernher von Braun, German-born physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
- 1914Milbourne Christopher, American illusionist (d. 1984)
- 1915Vasily Zaitsev, Soviet World War II figure (d. 1991)
- 1919Carl Graffunder, architect
- 1920Neal Smith, former United States Congressman
- 1920Tetsuharu Kawakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1921Donald Campbell, British car and motorboat racer (d. 1967)
- 1922Marty Allen, American comedian and actor
- 1922Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
- 1924Bette Nesmith Graham, American inventor (d. 1980)
- 1925David Watkin, English cinematographer (d. 2008)
- 1927Mato Damjanović, Croatian chess grandmaster (d. 2011)
- 1929Sir Roger Bannister, English runner
- 1931Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player
- 1931Yevgenij Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
- 1932Don Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1933Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist
- 1934Fernand Gignac, Canadian singer and actor (d. 2006)
- 1934Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician
- 1934Mark Rydell, American film and television director
- 1935Barry Cryer, British writer and comedian
- 1937Craig Breedlove, American land speed record holder
- 1937Robert Gallo, American physician
- 1938Dave Pike, American jazz musician
- 1939Pepe Lienhard, Swiss band leader and entertainer
- 1941Jim Trelease, American educator and children’s literature author
- 1942Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and political figure (d. 1980)
- 1943George P. Lee, former general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and convicted sex offender (d. 2010)
- 1943Lee May, American baseball player
- 1943Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Finnish writer (d. 2001)
- 1944Michael Nyman, British minimalist composer
- 1944Tony McPhee, English singer and guitarist (The Groundhogs)
- 1945David Grisman, American bluegrass musician
- 1945Franco Battiato, Italian singer, songwriter and filmmaker
- 1947Barbara Rhoades, American actress
- 1948David Olney, American musician
- 1949Ric Ocasek, American musician (The Cars)
- 1949Roland Lee, American artist
- 1950Anthony De Longis, American actor
- 1950Corinne Clery, French actress
- 1951Ron Jaworski, American football player and analyst
- 1952Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
- 1953Bo Díaz, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1990)
- 1953Chaka Khan, American singer
- 1953Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indian entrepreneur
- 1954Geno Auriemma, American basketball coach
- 1954Kenneth Cole, American fashion designer
- 1955Moses Malone, American basketball player
- 1955Petrea Burchard, American actress
- 1956José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese politician
- 1957Amanda Plummer, American actress
- 1957Lucio Gutierrez, Ecuadorian politician
- 1957Robbie James, Welsh footballer (d. 1998)
- 1957Teresa Ganzel, American actress
- 1958Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
- 1958El Duce, American singer and drummer (The Mentors) (d. 1997)
- 1958Etienne De Wilde, Belgian cyclist
- 1958Michael Sorich, American voice actor, writer and director
- 1959Catherine Keener, American actress
- 1959Epic Soundtracks, English musician (Swell Maps, Crime and the City Solution, These Immortal Souls) (d. 1997)
- 1959Philippe Volter, Belgian actor (d. 2005)
- 1960Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
- 1961Helmi Johannes, Indonesian television newscaster
- 1961Steve Holmes, Romanian/German pornographic actor
- 1962Steve Redgrave, British rower
- 1963Míchel (José Miguel González Martín), Spanish footballer
- 1964Hope Davis, American actress
- 1964John Pinette, American comedian
- 1965Gary Whitehead, American poet
- 1965Marti Pellow, Scottish singer
- 1965Richard Grieco, American actor and singer
- 1965Sarah G. Buxton, American actress
- 1966Marin Hinkle, American actress
- 1967David Ford, Canadian kayaker
- 1968Damon Albarn, English musician (Blur, Gorillaz and The Good, the Bad & the Queen)
- 1968Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer
- 1968Michael Atherton, English cricketer
- 1968Mitch Cullin, American novelist
- 1971Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1971Gail Porter, Scottish television presenter
- 1971Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1971Karen McDougal, American model
- 1971Yasmeen Ghauri, Canadian model
- 1972Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
- 1972Judith Godrèche, French actress and author
- 1973Jason Kidd, American basketball player
- 1973Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
- 1973Wim Eyckmans, Belgian racing driver
- 1976Chris Hoy, British track cyclist
- 1976Dougie Lampkin, English motorcycle trials rider
- 1976Jayson Blair, American journalist and author
- 1976Jeremy Newberry, American football player
- 1976Joel Peralta, Dominican baseball player
- 1976Keri Russell, American actress
- 1976Michelle Monaghan, American actress
- 1976Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian race car driver
- 1977Miklos Perlus, Canadian voice actor
- 1978David Tom, American actor, twin brother of listed above
- 1978Nicholle Tom, American actress, twin sister of listed below
- 1978Perez Hilton, American blogger and television persona
- 1978Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer
- 1979Donncha O'Callaghan, Irish rugby player
- 1979Mark Buehrle, American baseball player
- 1979Misty Hyman, American swimmer
- 1979Natalia Hadjiloizou, Belarusian/Cypriot swimmer
- 1980Itay Tiran, Israeli actor
- 1980Russell Howard, English comedian
- 1981Erin Crocker, American race car driver
- 1981Giuseppe Sculli, Italian footballer
- 1981Tony Peña, Jr., Dominican baseball player
- 1982Andrea Musacco, Italian footballer
- 1982José Raúl Contreras, Chilean footballer
- 1983Jerome Thomas, English footballer
- 1985Maurice Jones-Drew, American football player
- 1986Andrea Dovizioso, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1986Patrick Bordeleau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986Steven Strait, American actor
- 1987Alan Toovey, Australian footballer
- 1988Michal Neuvirth, Czech ice hockey player
- 1990Jaime Alguersuari, Spanish racing driver
- 1990Princess Eugenie of York
- 1992Kyrie Irving, Australian-American basketball player
- 1992Vanessa Morgan, Canadian actress and singer
- 1995Jan Lisiecki, Canadian pianist
- 1997Aidan Davis, English dancer
Who Died On March 23?
- 1103Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
- 1361Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. c. 1310)
- 1369King Peter of Castile (b. 1334)
- 1548Itagaki Nobukata, retainer of Takeda Shingen (b. 1489)
- 1555Pope Julius III (b. 1487)
- 1559Emperor Gelawdewos of Ethiopia (killed in battle)
- 1596Henry Unton, English diplomat
- 1606Justus Lipsius, Flemish humanist (b. 1547)
- 1618James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish politician
- 1653Johan van Galen, Dutch naval officer (b. 1604)
- 1675Anthoni van Noordt, Dutch composer and organist (b. 1619)
- 1680Nicolas Fouquet, French statesman (b. 1615)
- 1742Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French writer (b. 1670)
- 1747Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (b. 1675)
- 1748Johann Gottfried Walther, German music theorist, organist, and composer (b. 1684)
- 1754Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian (b. 1693)
- 1783Charles Carroll, American lawyer and delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1723)
- 1801Paul I of Russia, Russian tsar (b. 1754)
- 1842Stendhal, French writer (b. 1783)
- 1914Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès (Saint Rebecca) Lebanese saint (b. 1832)
- 1923Hovhannes Tumanyan Armenian poet and writer (b. 1869)
- 1927Paul César Helleu, French artist (b. 1859)
- 1931Bhagat Singh (b. 1907), Rajguru (b. 1908), Sukhdev (b. 1907) Indian freedom fighters
- 1935Florence Moore, American actress (b. 1886)
- 1945Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Commander of the Japanese garrison during Battle of Iwo Jima (b. 1891)
- 1947Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (b. 1870)
- 1955Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (b. 1875)
- 1960Franklin Pierce Adams, American newspaper columnist (b. 1881)
- 1960Said Nursî, Islamic thinker from Turkey (b. 1878)
- 1964Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (b. 1904)
- 1965Mae Murray, American actress (b. 1889)
- 1968Edwin O'Connor, American novelist and Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (b. 1918)
- 1970Del Lord, Canadian director (b. 1894)
- 1972Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer (b. 1895)
- 1978Haim Ernst Wertheimer, Israeli biochemist, recipient of the Israel Prize (b. 1893)
- 1979Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)
- 1980Arthur Melvin Okun, American economist (b. 1928)
- 1982Barney Clark, first artificial heart recipient (b. 1921)
- 1985Ben Hardwick, Britain’s youngest liver transplant patient (b. 1982)
- 1985Peter Charanis, Greek-American scholar and professor (b. 1908)
- 1985Richard Beeching, chairman of British Railways (b. 1913)
- 1990John Dexter, English stage and film director (b. 1925)
- 1991Parkash Singh, Indian soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1913)
- 1992Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1899)
- 1994Donald Swann, British composer, musician and entertainer (b. 1923)
- 1994Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (b. 1921)
- 1994Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (b. 1950)
- 1995Alan Barton, English musician (Black Lace, Smokie) (b. 1953)
- 1995Davie Cooper, Scottish footballer (b. 1956)
- 1998Gerald Stano, American serial killer (b. 1951)
- 1999Luis María Argaña, Paraguayan politician (b. 1932)
- 2001Rowland Evans, American journalist (b. 1921)
- 2002Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (b. 1977)
- 2002Eileen Farrell, American soprano (b. 1920)
- 2003Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-born journalist (b. 1926)
- 2004Rupert Hamer, Australian politician (b. 1916)
- 2006Cindy Walker, American singer, songwriter and dancer (b. 1918)
- 2006David B. Bleak, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1932)
- 2006Desmond Doss, American soldier and first conscientious objector Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
- 2007Eric Medlen, American NHRA drag racer (b. 1973)
- 2007Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician, Fields Medal winner (b. 1934)
- 2008Rafael Azcona, Spanish screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2009Ghukas Chubaryan, Armenian sculptor (b. 1923)
- 2009Raúl Macías, Mexican boxer (b. 1934)
- 2011Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress (b. 1932)
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