September 23 birthdays
63BC AUGUSTUS CAESAR Roman Emperor
Augustus was the first Roman Emperor, reigning from 27BC until his death in 14AD. He dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum and Raetia.
1869 MARY MALLON Irish-american patient
Known as Typhoid Mary, Mallon worked as a cook and was the first person in the US to be identified as an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. She was believed to have infected 53 people, three of whom died. She died after 30 years in forced isolation.
1916 ALDO MORO Italian prime minister
Moro was the 38th prime minister of Italy, serving in the role from 1963 until 1968 and from 1974 until 1976. In March, 1976, Red Brigades militants blocked Moro’s two-car convoy, kidnapping him and murdering his five bodyguards. He was murdered in May.
1920 MICKEY ROONEY American actor
In a career spanning nine decades until his death, Rooney appeared in more than 300 films. He was the top boxoffice attraction from 1939 until 1941. Sir Laurence Olivier once described Rooney as “the best there has ever been”.
1930 RAY CHARLES American musician
Blinded in childhood, Charles pioneered the soul music genre in the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and gospel styles. Georgia On My Mind was the first of his three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
1949 BRUCE SPINGSTEEN American singer
Springsteen has released more than 20 studio albums, most with the backing of the E Street Band. He reached worldwide popularity with his third album, Born to Run, in 1975.
MARK WOODFORDE
Australian tennis player Woodforde is best known as
one half of “The Woodies”, a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge. He won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles (one French, two Australian, three US and six Wimbledon), 11 of them with Woodbridge.