On this date
Today is Saturday, March 23, the 82nd day of 2019. There are 283 days left in the year.
In 1775, Patrick Henry delivered an address to the Virginia Provincial Convention in which he is said to have declared, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
In 1806, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, having reached the Pacific coast, began their journey back east.
In 1914, the first installment of “The Perils of Pauline,” the silent film serial starring Pearl White, premiered in the greater New York City area.
In 1933, the German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers.
In 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic.
In 1965, America’s first twoperson space mission took place as Gemini 3 blasted off with astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom and John W. Young aboard for a nearly 5-hour flight.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan first proposed developing technology to intercept incoming enemy missiles — an idea that came to be known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. Dr. Barney Clark, recipient of a Jarvik permanent artificial heart, died at the University of Utah Medical Center after 112 days with the device.
In 1990, the romantic comedy “Pretty Woman,” starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, was released by Buena Vista Pictures.
In 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593, an Airbus A310, crashed in Siberia with the loss of all 75 people on board; it turned out the teenage son of a pilot who was allowed to sit at the controls accidentally disengaged the autopilot, causing the jetliner to plunge to the ground.
In 1998, “Titanic” tied an Academy Awards record by winning 11 Oscars, including best picture, director (James Cameron) and song (“My Heart Will Go On”).
In 2003, during the Iraq War, a U.S. Army maintenance convoy was ambushed in Nasiriyah; 11 soldiers were killed, including Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa; six were captured, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who was rescued on April 1, 2003.
In 2005, truck driver Tyrone Williams was convicted in federal court in Houston for his role in the 2003 deaths of 19 immigrants he was smuggling across Texas. (After initially receiving a life sentence, Williams was resentenced in Jan. 2011 to nearly 34 years in prison.)
Ten years ago: The Obama administration unveiled a plan to take over up to $1 trillion in sour mortgage securities with the help of private investors; Wall Street responded by hurtling the Dow Jones industrials upward nearly 500 points. Japan defended its 2006 World Baseball Classic title with a 5-3 win over South Korea at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Five years ago: During a visit to Beijing, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama told Chinese professors, students and parents that she wouldn’t have risen to where she was if her parents hadn’t pushed for her to get a good education. Adolfo Suarez, Spain’s first democratically elected prime minister after decades of right-wing rule under Gen. Francisco Franco, died in Madrid at age 81.
One year ago: A French-Moroccan gunman killed four people before being killed by police in southern France who stormed a supermarket where he had taken hostages; the victims included a police officer who had swapped himself for a hostage being held in the supermarket. President Donald Trump released an order banning most transgender troops from serving in the military except under “limited circumstances.” The online classified ads site Craigslist removed its personals section; the action came after the U.S. Senate passed an anti-sex-trafficking bill that could hold the website and other responsible for illegal activity.