Today in History

Today is Thursday, May 23, the 144th day of 2024. There are 222 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

On this date:

In 1430, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English.

In 1533, the marriage of England’s King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.

In 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary during World War I.

In 1937, industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Co. and the Rockefeller Foundation, died in Ormond Beach, Florida, at age 97.

In 1939, the Navy submarine USS Squalus sank during a test dive off the New England coast. Thirty-two crew members and one civilian were rescued, but 26 others died; the sub was salvaged and recommissioned the USS Sailfish.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces bogged down in Anzio began a major breakout offensive.

In 1945, Nazi official Heinrich Himmler committed suicide by biting into a cyanide capsule while in British custody in Luneburg, Germany.

In 1967, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, an action that helped precipitate war between Israel and its Arab neighbors the following month.

In 1975, comedian Jackie “Moms” Mabley, 81, died in White Plains, New York.

In 1984, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued a report saying there was “very solid” evidence linking cigarette smoke to lung disease in non-smokers.

In 2007, President George W. Bush, speaking at the U.S. Coast Guard commencement, portrayed the Iraq war as a battle between the U.S. and al-Qaida and said Osama bin Laden was setting up a terrorist cell in Iraq to strike targets in America.

In 2013, the Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks to gay Scouts but not to gay Scout leaders.

In 2016, Prosecutors failed for the second time in their bid to hold Baltimore police accountable for the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, as an officer was acquitted in the racially charged case that triggered riots a year earlier.

In 2017, Roger Moore, the star of seven James Bond films, died in Switzerland at age 89.

In 2018, NFL owners approved a new policy allowing players to protest during the national anthem by staying in the locker room, but forbidding players from sitting or taking a knee if they’re on the field.

In 2021, a cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of northern Italy’s most picturesque lakes plummeted to the ground and tumbled down a slope, killing 14 people.

In 2022, President Joe Biden said the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of Taiwan’s self-governing in decades.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Barbara Barrie is 93. Actor Joan Collins is 91. International Tennis Hall of Famer John Newcombe is 80. Actor Lauren Chapin is 79. Country singer Judy Rodman is 73. Chess grandmaster Anatoly Karpov is 73. Singer Luka Bloom is 69. Baseball manager Buck Showalter is 68. Actor-comedian-game show host Drew Carey is 66. Actor Lea DeLaria is 66. Country singer Shelly West is 66. Author Mitch Albom is 66. Actor Linden Ashby is 64. Actor-model Karen Duffy is 63. Actor Melissa McBride is 59. Rock musician Phil Selway (Radiohead) is 57. Actor Laurel Holloman is 56. Rock musician Matt Flynn (Maroon 5) is 54. Country singer Brian McComas is 52. Actor John Pollono is 52. Singer Maxwell is 51. Singer Jewel is 50. “Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings is 50. Actor LaMonica Garrett is 49. Actor D.J. Cotrona is 44. Actor Lane Garrison is 44. Actor-comedian Tim Robinson is 43. Actor Adam Wylie is 40. Movie writer-director Ryan Coogler is 38. Golfer Morgan Pressel is 36. Actor Alberto Frezza is 35. Folk/pop singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz (juh-ROHZ’) is 33.