March 23 - Friends

Friends

This Day In History

1775

Patrick Henry delivers his speech – "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" – at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.

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.

1857

Elisha Otis's first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.

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.

1962

NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is 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).

2001

The Russian Mir space station is deorbited, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.

Famous Birthdays

1645

William "Captain" Kidd, Scottish sailor (d. 1701)

1769

William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)

1887

Juan Gris, Spanish Cubist painter (d. 1927)

1904

H. Beam Piper, American science fiction author (d. 1964)

1910

Akira Kurosawa, Japanese film director (d. 1998)

1912

Wernher von Braun, German-born physicist and engineer (d. 1977)

1929

Sir Roger Bannister, English runner

1949

Ric Ocasek, American musician (The Cars)

1951

Ron Jaworski, American football player and analyst

1955

Moses Malone, American basketball player