It happened today – on this day in history – February 23

1633: Birth of Samuel Pepys.

1685: Birth of composer George Frideric Handel in Halle, Germany.

1689: William III is proclaimed King of England.

1792: Haydn’s 94th Symphony in G premieres.

1821: Poet John Keats dies of tuberculosis aged 25.

1836: The Alamo is besieged for 13 days by the Mexican army.

1870: Mississippi is readmitted to the US after the civil war.

1886: Premiere of Tchaikovsky’s “Manfred” symphony.

1904: The US acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million.

1906: Tommy Burns beats Marvin Hart in 20 rounds for the heavyweight boxing title.

1910: George Bernard Shaw’s “Misalliance” premieres in London.

1919: The Fascist Party is formed in Italy by Benito Mussolini.

1934: Composer Edward Elgar dies aged 76.

1938: Joe Louis KOs Nathan Mann in Round 3 for the heavyweight boxing title.

1940: Woody Guthrie wrote the lyrics to ‘This Land Is Your Land’ in his room at the Hanover House Hotel in New York.

1941: Plutonium first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.

1945: US Marines raise the American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima.

1954: The first mass inoculation against polio with the Salk vaccine.

1958: Five-time Formula 1 World Drivers champion Juan Manuel Fangio is kidnapped by Cuban rebels from Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement. He is released soon after the Cuban Grand Prix.

1963: Luciano Pavarotti makes his debut at the Vienna State Opera in “La Traviata”.

1965: Filming began on The Beatles film Help! On the same day, comedy star Stan Laurel (Stanley Arthur Jefferson) dies of a heart attack aged 74.

1966: Milton Obote siezes power in Uganda.

1971: US army officer William Calley confesses during his trial for the My Lai Massacre.

1976: Death of artist L S Lowry aged 88

1991: US President George Bush gives Iraq a 24-hour deadline to withdraw from Kuwait or face a ground war.

1995: Melvyn Franklin, deep baritone singer for The Temptations died aged 52.

1997: Scientists in Scotland announce they have cloned an adult mammal, producing a lamb named “Dolly”. On the same day, jazz drummer Tony Williams dies aged 51.

1998: Osama bin Laden issues a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders.

2000: Death of soccer legend Sir Stanley Matthews aged 85.

2010: Abbey Road studios was made a listed building, protecting it from plans to radically alter it.

2019: Roy Hodgson overtakes Sir Bobby Robson as the oldest man to manage a Premier League club when at 71 years, 198 days his Crystal Palace side beats Leicester City 4-1.

BIRTHDAYS: Steve Priest, bassist (The Sweet) 70; Brad Whitford, guitarist (Aerosmith) 68; Howard Jones, singer/songwriter 65; David Sylvian (Jansen), singer, 62; Emperor Naruhito of Japan, 60; Kristin Davis, actress, 55; Tamsin Greig, actress, 53; Melinda Messenger, TV presenter/former glamour model, 49; Gareth Barry, footballer, 39; Emily Blunt, actress, 37; Dakota Fanning, actress, 26.