Today is Friday, May 23, the 143rd day of 2025 with 222 to follow.
The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter and Mars.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include scientist Carl Linnaeus in 1707; U.S. Army Gen./Sen. Ambrose Burnside in 1824; musician/actor Scatman Crothers in 1910; musician Artie Shaw in 1910; artist Franz Kline in 1910; musician Helen O'Connell in 1920; musician Rosemary Clooney in 1928; actor Barbara Barrie in 1931 (age 94); actor Joan Collins in 1933 (age 92); International Tennis Hall of Fame member John Newcombe in 1944 (age 81); writer Mitch Albom in 1958 (age 67); comedian/TV personality Drew Carey in 1958 (age 67); comedian/actor Lea DeLaria in 1958 (age 67); actor Melissa McBride in 1965 (age 60); voice actor H. Jon Benjamin in 1966 (age 59); musician Phil Selway (Radiohead) in 1967 (age 58); musician Matt Flynn (Maroon 5) in 1970 (age 55); musician Maxwell in 1973 (age 52); musician/actor Jewel in 1974 (age 51); TV personality Ken Jennings in 1974 (age 51); actor LaMonica Garrett in 1975 (age 50); actor Kelly Monaco in 1976 (age 49); actor Richard Ayoade in 1977 (age 48); comedian/actor Tim Robinson in 1981 (age 44); filmmaker Ryan Coogler in 1986 (age 39).
On this date in history:
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In 1701, Capt. William Kidd was hanged in London for piracy and murder.
In 1829, Cyrill Demian was granted a patent for his musical instrument called the accordion.
In 1900, U.S. Army Sgt. William H. Carney became the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He was cited for his efforts during the Civil War battle of Fort Wagner, S.C., in June 1863.
In 1934, Clyde Barrow and his cigar-smoking sweetheart, Bonnie Parker, who lived by violence, died by violence after being ambushed by police in Bienville Parish, La.
In 1939, the U.S. Navy submarine Squalus went down off New Hampshire in 240 feet of water. Twenty-six men died. Thirty-three were saved in a daring rescue with a diving bell. The submarine was raised in September 1939 and recommissioned the USS Sailfish.
In 1945, Heinrich Himmler, the former Gestapo chief, killed himself in a British military prison in Luneburg, Germany.
In 1960, Israeli agents captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and spirited him to Israel. He was tried, convicted and hanged.
In 1963, the Alabama Supreme Court ousted Birmingham Mayor Art Hanes and two city commissioners, including segregationist Police Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Conner.
In 1991, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld federal regulations prohibiting federally funded women's clinics from discussing or advising abortion with patients.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush instituted a new Haitian refugee policy, permitting the Coast Guard to immediately return U.S.-bound boat people to their troubled homeland.
In 2009, police said South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, 62, linked to a corruption investigation, died in a leap from a cliff near his home after leaving a suicide note.
In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that California's overcrowded prisons violated the Eighth Amendment banning "cruel and unusual punishment."
In 2013, the Boy Scouts of America ended a century-old ban on openly gay scouts but still prohibited gay adult scout leaders.
In 2018, the National Football League approved a new policy requiring all players to stand for the national anthem or remain in the locker room. Under the new rule, the league planned to fine teams if players kneel during the anthem.
In 2023, the Illinois attorney general announced that an investigation found that 451 Catholic priests in the state had allegedly abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950.
A thought for the day: "Who would be a goody that could be a genius?" -- American writer/activist Margaret Fuller
