March 23

Events
Up to 1900
752 - Stephen II becomes Pope.
1400 - The Tran Dynasty of Vietnam is deposed after 175 years in power, by Ho Quy Ly, a court official.
1568 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. Again Catherine of 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 Palace.
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 - Greek War of Independence: Battle of Kalamata and fall of the city of Kalamata.
1839 - First recorded use of "OK" as an abbreviation for "oll korrect" in the Boston Morning Post.
1848 - The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
1848 - Venice declares independence from Austria. This leads to the creation of the Republic of San Marco, under Prime Minister Daniele Manin, which lasts until August 23, 1849.
1857 - Elisha Otis's first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway, New York City.
1862 - American Civil War: First Battle of Kernstown - start of Stonewall Jackson's valley campaign.
1868 - The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
1879 - War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topater, the first major battle of the war, is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Peru and Bolivia.
1888 - In England, the Football League first meets.
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.
1901 2000
1901 - President of the Philippines Emilio Aguinaldo is captured by US forces.
1903 - The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful airplanes after much hard work.
1905 - Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete's union with Greece.
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.
1918 - World War I: Third day of the German spring offensive - the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is heavily defeated, with many being taken prisoner.
1919 - In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
1931 - Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt are hanged during the Indian struggle for independence. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.
1933 - The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
1935 - Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1937 - Spanish Civil War: Republican forces have their last major victory of the war in the Battle of Guadalajara.
1939 - The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of the Slovakian air force in the city of Spisska Nova Ves, killing 13 people.
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.
1950 - World Meteorological Organization is founded.
1956 - Pakistan becomes the first Islamic Republic in the world.
1962 - NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, was launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace initiative.
1963 - In London, United Kingdom, Grethe & Jorgen Ingmann win the eighth Eurovision Song Contest for Denmark singing "Dansevise" (Dancing tune).
1965 - NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States' first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
1972 - The United Tasmania Front is founded in Hobart, Tasmania, led by Richard Jones, as the world's first "Green Party".
1978 - The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
1982 - Guatemala's government, led by Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efrain Rios Montt.
1983 - Strategic Defense Initiative: US 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.
1989 - A 1,000-foot diameter Near-Earth asteroid misses the Earth by 400,000 miles.
1991 - The 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War begins.
1994 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martinez.
1994 - Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Siberia, when the pilot's 15-year-old son accidentally disengages the autopilot, killing all 75 people on board.
1996 - Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
1998 - James Cameron's movie Titanic wins several Academy Awards on one night, making it one of Hollywood's most successful movies ever.
1999 - Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis Maria Argana.
From 2001
2001 - The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
2001 - The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (now World Wrestling Entertainment) purchases rival organization World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for an estimated $5 million.
2003 - In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2003 - In Slovenia, referendums are held on memberships of the EU and NATO, with a majority in favor of both proposals.
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.
2013 - Pope Francis meets former Pope Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, making it the first such meeting between a Pope and a former Pope.
2015 - A multi-vehicle pile-up, including a bus crash, kills 36 people in Harmey, 320 kilometers north of Lima.
Births
Up to 1900
1429 - Margaret of Anjou, Queen Consort of England (d. 1482)
1501 - Pietro Andrea Mattioli, Italian physician and botanist (d. 1577)
1599 - Thomas Selle, German composer (d. 1663)
1638 - Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1731)
1643 - Mary of Jesus de Leon y Delgado, Spanish saint (d. 1731)
1645 - William Kidd, Scottish sailor (d. 1701)
1723 - Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar, King of Persia (d. 1771)
1732 - Marie Adelaide of France (d. 1800)
1749 - Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
1754 - Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (d. 1802)
1769 - William Smith, English geologist (d. 1839)
1795 - Bernt Michael Holmboe, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1850)
1799 - Joshua Baker, Governor of Louisiana (d. 1885)
1814 - Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, Cuban writer, poet and activist (d. 1873)
1823 - Schuyler Colfax, 17th Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
1826 - Ludwig Minkus, Austrian ballet composer, violin virtuoso and teacher (d. 1917)
1829 - N. R. Pogson, English astronomer and mathematician (d. 1891)
1831 - Eduard Schlagintweit, German writer (d. 1866)
1854 - Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, British politician (d. 1925)
1858 - Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, Nobel Peace Prize winner (d. 1941)
1862 - Nathaniel Reed, American outlaw-turned-evangelist (d. 1950)
1869 - Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
1871 - Heinrich Schroth, German actor (d. 1945)
1872 - Michael Joseph Savage, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1940)
1876 - Ziya Gokalp, Turkish sociologist, poet and activist (d. 1924)
1876 - Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Burmese poet, writer and politician (d. 1964)
1880 - Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish politician (d. 1922)
1881 - Roger Martin du Gard, French writer (d. 1958)
1881 - Hermann Staudinger, German chemist (d. 1965)
1881 - Lacey Hearn, American athlete and sprinter (d. 1969)
1882 - Emmy Noether, German mathematician (d. 1935)
1887 - Juan Gris, Spanish Cubist painter (d. 1927)
1887 - Felix Yusupov, Russian, assassin of Grigori Rasputin (d. 1967)
1893 - G. D. Naidu, Indian inventor and engineer (d. 1974)
1895 - Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (d. 2001)
1895 - Dane Rudhyar, French-American astrologer, author and composer (d. 1985)
1899 - Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
1900 - Erich Fromm, German-born psychoanalyst (d. 1980)
1901 1950
1904 - German Busch, President of Bolivia (d. 1939)
1905 - Lale Andersen, German singer and actress (d. 1972)
1905 - Joan Crawford, American actress (d. 1977)
1906 - Jose Della Torre, Argentine footballer (d. 1979)
1907 - Daniel Bovet, Swiss scientist (d. 1992)
1910 - Akira Kurosawa, Japanese movie director (d. 1998)
1912 - Wernher von Braun, German physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
1915 - Vasily Zaytsev, Soviet World War II figure (d. 1991)
1915 - Thomas Pashby, Canadian advocate for safety in ice hockey (d. 2005)
1918 - Stanley Armour Dunham, Barack Obama's grandfather (d. 1992)
1918 - Emile Derlin Zinsou, former President of Benin
1920 - Tetsuharu Kawakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
1921 - Donald Campbell, British car and motorboat racer (d. 1967)
1922 - Marty Allen, American comedian and actor
1922 - Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
1923 - Martha Wright, American actress (d. 2016)
1924 - Bette Nesmith Graham, American inventor (d. 1980)
1925 - David Watkin, British cinematographer (d. 2008)
1929 - Roger Bannister, British runner
1931 - Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
1931 - Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player
1931 - Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Russian skier (d. 2013)
1932 - Louisiana Red, American blues musician (d. 2012)
1934 - Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician and physicist
1934 - Mark Rydell, American director
1935 - Barry Cryer, British writer and comedian
1937 - Ibrahim Abouleish, Egyptian chemist and businessman
1937 - Craig Breedlove, American land speed record holder
1937 - Tony Burton, American actor (d. 2016)
1937 - Robert Gallo, American virologist
1938 - Dave Pike, American jazz musician
1940 - Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian author, playwright and academic
1942 - Michael Haneke, Austrian movie maker and writer
1942 - Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and politician
1944 - Tony McPhee, British singer and guitarist
1944 - Michael Nyman, British composer
1945 - Franco Battiato, Italian singer, songwriter and movie maker
1945 - David Grisman, American bluegrass musician
1945 - Erik De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist (d. 2015)
1950 - Valgerdur Sverrisdottir, Icelandic politician
1950 - Mike Easley, American politician, former Governor of North Carolina
1950 - Corinne Clery, French actress
1951 1975
1952 - Francesco Clemente, Italian artist
1952 - Pola Kinski, German actress
1952 - Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
1952 - Rex Tillerson, 69th United States Secretary of State and former Chief Executive of ExxonMobil
1953 - Chaka Khan, American singer
1955 - Moses Malone, American basketball player (d. 2015)
1956 - Jose Manuel Barroso, Portuguese politician, former President of the European Commission
1956 - Andrew Mitchell, British politician
1957 - Lucio Gutierrez, former President of Ecuador
1957 - Amanda Plummer, American actress
1958 - Bengt-Ake Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
1958 - Serena Grandi, Italian actress
1958 - Eldon Hoke, American singer and drummer (d. 1997)
1960 - Nicol Stephen, Scottish politician
1961 - Colin Pitchfork, English murderer
1962 - Bassel al-Assad, Syrian engineer, colonel and politician (d. 1994)
1962 - Steve Redgrave, English rower, five-time Olympic champion
1963 - Michel, Spanish footballer
1964 - Hope Davis, American actress
1964 - John Pinette, American comedian and actor (d. 2014)
1965 - Jonathan Dow, British actor
1965 - Marti Pellow, Scottish singer
1965 - Richard Grieco, American actor
1965 - Steve Turner, American rock musician
1966 - Alfred Nijhuis, Dutch footballer
1968 - Damon Albarn, British singer (Blur)
1968 - Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer
1968 - Mike Atherton, English cricketer
1970 - Melissa Errico, American actress and singer
1970 - Gianni Infantino, 9th President of FIFA
1971 - Gail Porter, Scottish television presenter
1971 - Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
1971 - Karen McDougal, American model and actress
1972 - Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
1972 - Jonas Bjorkman, Swedish tennis player
1973 - Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
1973 - Jason Kidd, American basketball player
From 1976
1976 - Chris Hoy, Scottish cyclist, six-time Olympic champion
1976 - Michelle Monaghan, American actress
1976 - Keri Russell, American actress
1978 - Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer
1978 - Perez Hilton, American blogger
1978 - Nicholle Tom, American actress
1980 - Russell Howard, English comedian
1980 - Ryan Day, Welsh snooker player
1981 - Shelley Rudman, English skeleton bobsledder
1982 - Jose Raul Contreras, Chilean footballer
1983 - Mo Farah, British track-and-field athlete, four-time Olympic gold medallist
1983 - Sascha Riether, German footballer
1983 - Jerome Thomas, English footballer
1983 - Hakan Balta, Turkish footballer
1986 - Andrea Dovizioso, Italian motorcycle racer
1985 - Stevie McCrorie, Scottish singer
1987 - Kangna Ranaut, Indian actress
1988 - Jason Kenny, English cyclist, Olympic champion
1989 - Mai Nishida, Japanese model, entertainer and actress
1990 - Princess Eugenie of York, member of the British royal family
1991 - Gregg Wylde, Scottish footballer
1992 - Kyrie Irving, Australian-American basketball player
1992 - Vanessa Morgan, Canadian actress and singer
1994 - Nick Powell, English footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
851 - Zhou Chi, Chinese historian and politician (b. 713)
1103 - Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
1361 - Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1310)
1369 - King Peter of Castile (b. 1334)
1555 - Pope Julius III (b. 1489)
1559 - Emperor Gelawdewos of Ethiopia
1606 - Justus Lipsius, Flemish humanist (b. 1547)
1675 - Antoni van Goordt, Dutch composer and organist (b. 1619)
1680 - Nicolas Fouquet, French statesman (b. 1615)
1742 - Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French writer (b. 1670)
1748 - Johann Gottfried Walther, German music theorist, organist and composer (b. 1684)
1783 - Charles Carroll of Carrollton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1723)
1801 - Tsar Paul I of Russia (b. 1754)
1819 - August von Kotzebue, German dramatist and writer (b. 1761)
1842 - Stendhal, French writer (b. 1783)
1881 - Nikolai Rubinstein, Russian composer (b. 1835)
1901 2000
1923 - Hovhannes Tumanyan Armenian poet and writer (b. 1869)
1927 - Paul Cesar Helleu, French painter (b. 1859)
1931 - Bhagat Singh, Indian freedom writer (b. 1907)
1931 - Rajguru, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1908)
1931 - Sukhdev, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1907)
1935 - Florence Moore, American actress (b. 1886)
1938 - Thomas Walter Scott, Premier of Saskatchewan (b. 1867)
1945 - Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Japanese commander (b. 1891)
1947 - Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (b. 1870)
1948 - Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher (b. 1874)
1953 - Raoul Dufy, French painter (b. 1877)
1955 - Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (b. 1875)
1960 - Raoul Paoli, French athlete, boxer and rower (b. 1887)
1964 - Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (b. 1904)
1965 - Mae Murray, American actress, dancer, producer and screenwriter (b. 1885)
1971 - Simon Vestdijk, Dutch writer (b. 1898)
1972 - Cristobal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer (b. 1895)
1978 - Haim Ernst Wertheimer, Israeli biochemist (b. 1893)
1979 - Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)
1981 - Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1941)
1985 - Richard Beeching, British physicist and engineer (b. 1913)
1985 - Zoot Sims, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1925)
1990 - John Dexter, English stage and movie director (b. 1925)
1992 - Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist (b. 1899)
1994 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (b. 1950)
1994 - Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (b. 1921)
1994 - Donald Swann, British composer, musician and entertainer (b. 1923)
From 2001
2002 - Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (b. 1977)
2003 - Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-born journalist (b. 1926)
2004 - Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (b. 1916)
2006 - Cindy Walker, American singer, songwriter and dancer (b. 1918)
2008 - Rafael Azcona, Spanish screenwriter (b. 1926)
2009 - Ghukas Chubaryan, Armenian sculptor (b. 1923)
2011 - Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress (b. 1932)
2012 - Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, former President of Somalia (b. 1934)
2012 - Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, writer, comedian and composer (b. 1931)
2013 - Boris Berezovsky, Russian businessman and oligarch (b. 1946)
2013 - Joe Weider, American bodybuilder (b. 1920)
2013 - Virgil Trucks, American baseball player (b. 1917)
2014 - Adolfo Suarez, former Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1932)
2014 - Dave Brockie, Canadian-American musician (b. 1963)
2014 - Peter Oakley, British internet vlogger (b. 1927)
2014 - Jurg Neuenschwander, Swiss organist and composer (b. 1947)
2014 - David Henshaw, New Zealand cartoonist (b. 1939)
2015 - Lee Kuan Yew, first Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1923)
2015 - Lil' Chris, English singer and television personality (b. 1990)
2015 - Herberto Helder, Portuguese poet and author (b. 1930)
2015 - Bobby Lowther, American basketball player (b. 1923)
2016 - Ken Howard, American actor (b. 1944)
2016 - Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player (b. 1926)
2016 - Jimmy Riley, Jamaican reggae musician (b. 1954)
2017 - Lola Albright, American actress (b. 1924)
2017 - Ashokamitran, Indian writer (b. 1931)
2017 - Meir Einstein, Israeli sports broadcaster (b. 1951)
2017 - William H. Keeler, American cardinal (b. 1931)
2017 - Cino Tortorella, Italian television presenter and comedian (b. 1927)
2017 - Denis Voronenkov, Russian politician (b. 1971)
Observances
Republic Day/Pakistan Day (Pakistan)
Polish-Hungarian friendship day
Day of the Sea (Bolivia)
World Meteorological Day
Family Day (South Africa)
Western Christianity - Earliest possible date for Easter Monday (April 26 is the latest)
Western Christianity - Second-earliest possible date for Easter, last occurred on this date in 2008, next in 2160.