This Day in USA History
March 23

What happened in history on this day: March 23? On March 23 in ... 1862 - Battle of Kernstown, Virginia - Jackson begins his Valley Campaign. 1864 - Encounter at Camden, Arkansas. 1865 - General Sherman/Cox' troops reach Goldsboro, North Carolina. 1867 - US Congress passes second Reconstruction Act over President Johnson's veto. 1917 - Four-day series of tornadoes kills 211 in Midwest USA. 1922 - First airplane lands at the US Capitol in Washington DC. 1925 - Tennessee becomes first state to outlaw teaching theory of evolution. 1929 - First telephone installed in White House. 1934 - US Congress accepts Philippines independence in 1945. 1942 - US moves native-born of Japanese ancestry into detention centers. 1943 - German counter-attack on US lines in Tunisia. 1945 - Largest operation in Pacific war, 1,500 US Navy ships bomb Okinawa. 1950 - 22nd Academy Awards: All the King's Men, Broderick Crawford and Olivia de Havilland win. 1957 - US army sells last homing pigeons. 1960 - Explorer 8 fails to reach Earth orbit. 1965 - Gemini 3 launched, first US two-man space flight (Grissom and Young). 1968 - Reverend Walter Fauntroy is first non-voting congressional delegate from Washington DC. 1969 - Rally for Decency held in Miami, Florida. 1970 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1972 - Presidential decree transfers the 1906-built San Francisco Mint building to the US Mint. 1973 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1978 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1981 - US Supreme Court upholds law making statutory rape a crime only for men. 1981 - US Supreme Court rules states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teen-age girls sought abortions. 1983 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan makes his initial Strategic Defense Initiative proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles. The media dub this plan "Star Wars." 1983 - Dr Barney Clark, first artificial heart recipient, dies after 112 days at age 62. 1985 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1986 - 6th Golden Raspberry Awards: Rambo; First Blood Part II wins. 1987 - US offers military protection to Kuwaiti ships in the Persian Gulf. 1989 - Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce that they have achieved cold fusion at room temperature at the University of Utah. 1990 - Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood ordered to help clean up Prince William Sound and pay $50,000 in restitution for 1989 oil spill. 1990 - Buena Vista releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Pretty Woman to theaters. 1991 - 20 Tornadoes kill five in Tennessee. 1998 - 70th Academy Awards: Titanic wins 11 Oscars, Jack Nicholson best actor, Helen Hunt best actress. 2005 - The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses 2-1 to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. 2007 - Eight human skeletons are discovered in Fort Myers, Florida, later linked to suspected serial killer Daniel Conahan. 2008 - US soldier death toll in the Iraq war reaches 4000, after five years of fighting. 2010 - U.S. President Barack Obama signs a landmark US$938 billion health-care reform bill in a White House ceremony. Opposition Republicans vowed to repeak the legislation, and 13 states have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the constitutionality of the legislation. The law is said to make coverage possible for more than 30 million uninsured Americans and end discrimination by insurance companies against people with existing medical conditions. Births on March 23 1902 - Birth of Philip Ober in Fort Payne, Alabama, USA; actor (General Stone - I Dream of Jeannie). 1908 - Birth of Joan Crawford [Lucille Fay LeSueur] in San Antonio, Texas, USA; actress (Mildred Pierce, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?). 1912 - Birth of John Payne in Roanoke, Virginia, USA; actor (Dodsworth, Razor's Edge). 1917 - Birth of Johnny Guarnieri in New York City, New York, USA; jazz pianist (Morey Amsterdam Show). 1920 - Birth of James Brown in Desdemona, Texas, USA; actor (Targets, Lieutenant Rip Masters - Rin Tin Tin). 1922 - Birth of Marty Allen in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; comedian (Allen and Rossi), "Hello Dere". 1926 - Birth of Martha Wright in Seattle, Washington, USA; singer ("Let's Dance", The Martha Wright Show). 1934 - Birth of Mark Rydell in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Havana, Punchline, Long Goodbye). 1937 - Birth of Craig Breedlove in Los Angeles, California, USA; auto-racing champion (600 MPH - Spirit of America). 1938 - Birth of Christopher Glenn in New York City, New York, USA; news anchor (CBS Nightwatch). 1939 - Birth of Bert Berdis in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, SA; comedian (Tim Conway Show). 1947 - Birth of Barbara Rhodes in Poughkeepsie, New York, USA; actress (Don't Just Stand There). 1949 - Birth of Ric Ocasek in Baltimore, Maryland, USA; rocker (Cars - "Double Life", "All Mixed Up", "Bye Bye Love", "You Might Think"). 1951 - Birth of Dick Mast in Bluffton, Ohio, USA; Nike golfer (1990 Mississippi Gulf Coast). 1952 - Birth of Patricia Richardson in Bethesda, Maryland, USA; actress (Jill - Home Improvement). 1953 - Birth of Chaka Khan [Yvette Marie Stevens] in Great Lakes, Illinois, USA; rocker (Rufus - "I'm Every Woman"). 1953 - Birth of Louie Anderson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; comedian (Ratboy, Wrong Guys). 1955 - Birth of Cindy Olavarri in Pleasant Hills, California, USA; cyclist (7-Eleven team). 1957 - Birth of Amanda Plummer in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Hotel New Hampshire, Dollmaker). 1957 - Birth of Sheila Rena Ingram in Washington, DC, USA; 4X400 metre relay racer (Olympics-silver-1976). 1957 - Birth of Teresa Ganzel in Toledo, Ohio, USA; actress (Teachers Only, Duck Factory). 1960 - Birth of Terry Sweeney in Saint Albans, New York, USA; writer/comedian (Saturday Night Live). 1963 - Birth of Kim Williams in Bethesda, Maryland, USA; LPGA golfer (1995 GHP Heartland-26th). 1965 - Birth of Richard Grieco in Waterton, New York, USA; actor (21 Jump Street, Booker). 1965 - Birth of Wayne Presley in Detroit, Michigan, USA; NHL right wing (Toronto Maple Leafs). 1966 - Birth of Mike Remlinger in Middletown, New York, USA; pitcher (Cincinnati Reds). 1967 - Birth of Sandra Ferguson [Reinhardt] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; actress (Amanda - Another World, Illegal in Blue). 1971 - Birth of Chris Lipuma in Oak Lawn, Illinois, USA; NHL defenseman (Tampa Bay Lightning). 1972 - Birth of Jennifer K Chapman; Miss Massachusetts-USA (1997). 1973 - Birth of Kathy Carboy in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; diver (Olympics-1996). 1973 - Birth of Ninya Perna; Miss Nevada-USA (1997). 1978 - Birth of Nicholle Tom in Hinsdale, Illinois; actress (Beethoven, Maggie - Nanny, Beverly Hills 90210). 1986 - Birth of Steven Strait; American actor. Deaths on March 23 1958 - Florian Znaniecki, Polish/US sociologist/philosopher, dies at age 76. 1961 - James Edward Murray, American politician (Senator-Democrat-Montana) (1935-61), dies. 1963 - American boxer Davey Moore dies seconds after being knocked-out in feather-weight boxing championship at age 29. 1968 - Edwin O'Connor, American writer, dies at age 49. 1985 - Patricia Roberts Harris, American politician (Representative-Democrat) dies at age 60. 1995 - Robert Turner, winner of first All-American Soap Box Derby, dies at age 72. 2001 - Death of Sully Boyar, American actor (born 1923). 2006 - Death of Cindy Walker, American songwriter (born 1918). 2007 - Death of Eric Medlen, American race car driver (born 1973).         Your Ad Here You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history. Bookmark this URL:   http://thisdayinhistoryinfo.info/usa/   and revisit each day. (this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events) Or, visit my Timelines of History page. Other web pages of interest: Chronology of the United States of America Today in Disney History Today in Sports History Chronology of World War II Chronology of Personal Computers