Daily Calendar for Monday, March 23, 2026
Daily Calendar
View daily calendar information including holidays, advice, and daily features.
Monday, March 23, 2026
Born
- John Bartram (American botanist who established the first botanical garden in the U.S.; was born in Marple Township, Pennsylvania Colony) –
- Fannie Farmer (cookery expert) –
- Eric Fromm (psychoanalyst) –
- Joan Crawford (actress) –
- Werner von Braun (rocket scientist) –
- Roger Bannister (runner) –
- Ron Jaworski (football player) –
- Teofilo Stevenson (boxer) –
- Chaka Khan (singer) –
- Moses Malone (basketball player) –
- Amanda Plummer (actress) –
- Keri Russell (actress) –
- Nicholle Tom (actress) –
Died
- Barney Clark (first person to receive a permanent artificial heart) –
- Arthur Lithgow (actor, producer, and director who was a pioneer in American regional theater) –
- Elizabeth Taylor (actress) –
- Gary Dahl (creator of the Pet Rock) –
- Joe Garagiola (American baseball player; died in Scottsdale, Arizona) –
- Madeleine Albright (first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state ) –
Events
- The first standing ovation was recorded at the first performance of Handel’s Messiah. King George was so inspired (or restless) that he jumped to his feet; when the king did that, everyone else did –
- Halifax Gazette became Canada’s first newspaper –
- Patrick Henry delivered his “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech in Richmond, Virginia –
- In a speech to the Virginia Provincial Convention, Patrick Henry made a plea for independence from Britain, saying I know not what course others might take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death. –
- Society L’Institut Canadien du Quebec incorporated –
- Elisha Graves Otis installed the first commercial passenger elevator, in NYC store –
- Opera diva Nellie Melba recounted how she prepared toast, the original melba toast –
- SS Yongala sank in cyclone, near Townsville, Australia –
- Herbert Hoover became the first president to have a telephone installed on his desk –
- WWII relocation of Japanese-Americans away from the West Coast began –
- The World Meteorological Organization established by the UN –
- U.S. Army sold its last homing pigeons –
- America’s first two-person space flight began as Gemini 3 blasted off from Cape Kennedy with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young on board –
- NASA astronaut John Young smuggled a corned beef sandwich onboard Gemini 3 –
- President Reagan first proposed development of technology to intercept enemy missiles — a proposal that came to be known as the strategic defense initiative, or Star Wars –
- Billy Joel married model Christie Brinkley in NYC –
- Sandinistas and Contras signed a 60-day ceasefire accord –
- A 1910 Honus Wagner baseball card was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $451,000 to hockey great Wayne Gretzky and Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall –
- Wayne Gretzky scored his 802nd career goal in front of a sellout crowd at the Great Western Forum, to break the legendary Gordie Howe’s NHL all-time goal record –
- Mir space station deorbited as planned, falling into the South Pacific Ocean –
- An oil refinery explosion occurred in Texas City, Texas –
Weather
- Edmonton, Alberta, reached 22.2 degrees C (72 degrees F) –
- Easter Sunday tornado killed 94 in Omaha, Nebraska –
- First robin of the season seen, Dublin, N.H. –
- 65 degrees F, Montreal, Quebec –