UPI Almanac for Thursday, March 23, 2017

Today is Thursday, March 23, the 82nd day of 2017 with 283 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Venus. Evening stars are Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include pirate Capt. William Kidd in 1645; culinary expert Fannie Farmer in 1857; Czech writer Josef Capek in 1887; psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in 1900; actor Joan Crawford in 1905; Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa in 1910; rocket scientist Wernher von Braun in 1912; Roger Bannister, the first person to run the mile in under 4 minutes, in 1929 (age 88); land speed racing pioneer Craig Breedlove in 1937 (age 80); former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson Jr. in 1938; musician Ric Ocasek in 1949 (age 68); musician Chaka Khan in 1953 (age 64); television analyst and former NFL player Ron Jaworski in 1951 (age 66); author Kim Stanley Robinson in 1952 (age 65); actor Amanda Plummer in 1957 (age 60); actor Keri Russell in 1976 (age 41); gossip blogger Perez Hilton in 1978 (age 39); Princess Eugenie of York in 1990 (age 27).

On this date in history:

In 1775, in a speech supporting the arming of the Virginia militia, Patrick Henry declared, "Give me liberty or give me death."

In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt begins his post-presidency, embarking on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition, part specimen collection, part hunting trip.

In 1933, the Enabling Act was passed by the German government, giving Chancellor Adolf Hitler the ability to enact laws unilaterally. Opening a session of the Reichstag, Hitler threatened to "destroy all those seeking to damage our people," while at the same time stressing "we are sincere friends of peace and shall heal the wounds from which all are suffering."

In 1965, Astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young were launched in Gemini 3, the first U.S. two-man crew in space. Along for the ride, a corned beef sandwich snuck aboard the Gemini 3 probe by astronaut John Young.

In 1966, Pope Paul VI met Britain's Archbishop of Canterbury at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the first meeting between the heads of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in 400 years.

In 1983, the world's first recipient of a permanent artificial heart, Barney Clark of Seattle, died in a Salt Lake City hospital.

In 1985, the United States completed the secret air evacuation of 800 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

In 1989, Dick Clark retired from hosting the TV show "American Bandstand" after 33 years.

In 1996, Taiwan elected Lee Teng-hui in the island's first direct presidential election.

In 1998, Titanic won 11 Academy Awards, tying the record total won by Ben-Hur in 1959. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King also won 11 -- in 2004.

In 2001, the Russian space station Mir was brought down in the Pacific Ocean near Fiji after more than 15 years in orbit.

In 2004, NASA said findings on Mars suggest a sea once covered part of the planet.

In 2005, Iraqi forces attacked a training camp for suspected insurgents west of Baghdad, killing 80 gunmen in what officials called one of the largest operations to stamp out terrorism.

In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. The landmark legislation was designed to extend health insurance to about 32 million Americans over a 10-year period. Obama said it would "set in motion reforms that generations of Americans have fought for and marched for and hungered to see."

In 2015, Lee Kuan Yew, founder and first Prime Minister of Singapore, died at the age of 91.

A thought for the day: "The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt