23rd March

[chenrezig]

1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.

1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London, England.

1861 London's first tramcars began operating, along the Bayswater Road, from Notting Hill to Marble Arch. They had been designed by a Mr. Train who was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

1929 Dr. Roger Bannister, the first person in the world to run a mile in under four minutes was born. His world beating record time was 3 min 59.4 sec

1934 – The American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana.

1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.

1956 Queen Elizabeth II laid the foundation stone of the new Coventry cathedral. The new building was built next to the remains of the 14th-century cathedral that had been destroyed in the 2nd World War.

1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.

1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.

1991 - Prime Minister John Major issued his Citizens' Charter. Failing public service providers would be forced to offer customers cash refunds or face government budget cuts.

2011 - Dame Elizabeth Taylor, one of the 20th century's biggest film stars, died in Los Angeles at the age of 79.

Births
1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Houses of Parliament, Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)
1933 – Joan Collins, English actress, singer, and author
1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
1959 – Bob Mortimer, English comedian and actor
1971 – George Osborne, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
1983 – Heidi Range, English singer-songwriter (Sugababes and Atomic Kitten)

Deaths
1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)
1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)
1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)
1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)
1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)

[annie]

than999

[Rosalind]

go90 tha22222