What Happened On
Birth Control Ban Repealed
March 22, 1972
The U.S. Supreme Court rules Massachusetts' law banning the possession of contraceptive devices by unmarried people is unconstitutional.
First American Woman to Obtain a Driver's License
March 22, 1900
Anne Rainsford French Bush (1878-1962) is granted a "Steam Engineer's License, Locomobile Class" by the City of Washington, D.C. It is believed she is the first American woman to obtain a driver's license. Her license allowed her to operate a four-wheeled vehicle powered by steam or gas.
Her father was a doctor and she chauffeured him on his rounds in his steam-powered automobile. He also made her learn how to disassemble and reassemble the steam engine on their vehicle before she could apply for her license. Steam engines of the period were dangerous and required expertise in order to operate safely.
She never had an accident or a traffic violation, although she stopped driving in 1903.
Shoes Made From Outlaw's Skin
March 22, 1881
The outlaw known as Big Nose George Parrott is lynched. Afterwards, his skin was tanned and made into a pair of shoes and the top of his skull was used as an ashtray.
In 1878, Parrott and his gang killed a Wyoming deputy sheriff and a Union Pacific detective who had been sent to track them down after a botched train robbery. After Parrott was arrested in Montana, he was returned to Wyoming where he was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. While awaiting execution, he assaulted his jailer in an escape attempt. The enraged townsfolk dragged Parrott from his cell and lynched him. Doctors John Eugene Osborne and Thomas Maghee then studied Parrott's brain for clues to his criminality. In the process, they sawed off the top of his skull and gave it to their medical assistant who used it as an ashtray. They then sent parts of his skin to a tannery where they were made into a medical bag and a pair of shoes. Dr. Osborne then wore the shoes to his inaugural ball after he was elected governor of Wyoming.
Addwaita
March 22, 2006
Addwaita the 250-year-old giant tortoise dies. He was given as a gift in 1767 to Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company.
Pentium
March 22, 1993
Intel officially introduces the "Pentium" processor chip, for IBM compatibles. The 60 MHz Pentium could process 100 million instructions per second (MIPS) and was approximately 300 times faster than the 4.77 MHz 8088 in the original IBM PC that could only process 0.33 MIPS.
The name Pentium was derived from the prefix "pent", referring to the fifth generation of x86 and the suffix "ium" denoting it as a fundamental element of a computer.
The Mobro 4000
March 22, 1987
The Mobro 4000 barge filled with 3,168 tons of New York garbage begins it 6,000-mile, 162-day voyage to find a port willing to take its load. New York City finally accepted it.
Tight-Rope Walker Falls to Death
March 22, 1978
73-year-old Karl Wallenda, the German-American tight-rope walker with the Great Wallendas, falls over 100 feet to his death during a performance in Puerto Rico.
27th Amendment
March 22, 1972
27th Amendment passed by the Senate, prohibiting discrimination based on sex.
First Public Showing of a Motion Picture on a Screen
March 22, 1895
By French inventors Auguste and Louis Lumiere.
First U.S. Governor Removed From Office by Impeachment
March 22, 1871
William Woods Holden of North Carolina. His impeachment stemmed from attempts to control the Ku Klux Klan using military force.
First Indian Massacre of North America
March 22, 1622
347 Virginian colonists are killed. The Powhatan Confederacy attacked Jamestown and outlying settlements over concerns of forced integration and expanding land use by the colonists.
Birthdays
James T. Kirk
Born March 22, 2233 d. 2371
Fictional character. Fictional Captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (2264-69) on the TV series Star Trek, as portrayed by William Shatner.
William Shatner as Kirk
William Shatner as Kirk
William Shatner
Born March 22, 1931
Canadian Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor. His character Captain James T. Kirk and Nichelle Nichols' character engaged in what many considered U.S. TV's first scripted interracial kiss. TV: Star Trek (1966-69, Capt. James T. Kirk), T.J. Hooker (1982-86, title role), Rescue 911 (1989-96, host), Boston Legal (2004-08, Denny Crane), and spokesperson for Priceline.com.
In 1968, he released the album The Transformed Man, featuring instant bad classics "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Trust me, you have to hear them for yourself).
Stephen Sondheim (Stephen Joshua Sondheim)
Born March 22, 1930 d. 2021
American musical Pulitzer-Tony-Oscar-Grammy-Emmy-winning composer, lyricist. Stage: West Side Story (1957), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979).
Marcel Marceau (Marcel Mangel)
Born March 22, 1923 d. 2007
Emmy-winning French mime. Renowned in the art of silence, his most famous quote is, "". He changed his name to Marceau to hide his Jewish roots during WWII and served in the French underground helping children escape to Switzerland. Film: Barbarella (1968, Professor Ping) and Silent Movie (1976, in which he had the ONLY spoken line).
Werner Klemperer
Born March 22, 1920 d. 2000
German Emmy-winning actor. Klemperer won an Emmy as Colonel Klink in TV's Hogan's Heroes (1965-71). In 1933, he and his family fled from the Nazis.
Other members of the cast also escaped the Nazis, including
• Robert Clary (LeBeau) who says he spent three years in a concentration camp, his parents and other family members were killed there, and that he has an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm ("A-5714").
• John Banner (Sgt. Schultz), who was also Jewish, had been held in a pre-war concentration camp before fleeing to the U.S. His family members who remained in Vienna all perished in Nazi concentration camps.
• Leon Askin (German General Burkhalter) was in a pre-war French internment camp and his parents were killed at Treblinka.
Photo Credit: Thomas J. Kravitz, Los Angeles Times
Photo Credit: Thomas J. Kravitz, Los Angeles Times
Louis L'Amour (Louis Dearborn LaMoore)
Born March 22, 1908 d. 1988
American author. His books - known for their authentic portrayal of frontier life - sold over 200,000,000 copies.
Writings: The Sackett series, Last of the Breed, The Walking Drum, and Hondo, Shalako.
Chico Marx (Leonard Marx)
Born March 22, 1887 d. 1961
American comedian. Piano-playing Marx Brother.
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Born March 22, 1948
British musical composer. Stage: Evita (1976), Cats (1981), and The Phantom of the Opera (1986).
Pat Robertson (Marion Gordon Robertson)
Born March 22, 1930 d. 2023
American televangelist, founder of CBN, and presidential candidate. He attributed Katrina (2005) to God's punishment for abortion policies and the Haiti Earthquake (2010) to God's vengeance for a Haitian pact with the devil. Also known for his prophetic visions, he predicted that the end of the world would occur in late 1982, large storms would hit the U.S. coast in 2006, and there would be mass terrorists attack in the U.S. in 2007. Books: The New World Order (1991) and Bring it On (2003).
Ross Martin (Martin Rosenblatt)
Born March 22, 1920 d. 1981
Polish-born American actor. TV: The Wild, Wild West (Artemus Gordon).
James E. Brown
Born March 22, 1920 d. 1992
American actor. TV: The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954-59, Lt. Rip Masters).
Karl Malden (Mladen Sekulovich)
Born March 22, 1912 d. 2009
American Oscar-Emmy-winning actor. Film: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, Oscar, Mitch). TV: The Streets of San Francisco (Lt. Stone).
Bill Holman
Born March 22, 1903 d. 1987
American cartoonist. Creator of Smokey Stover (1935).
Maximilian I
Born March 22, 1459 d. 1519
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1493-1519).
Deaths
William Hanna
Died March 22, 2001 b. 1910
American Oscar-winning cartoonist. He and Joseph Barbera created Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? He also provided the screams and yelps of Tom in the Tom and Jerry cartoons.
Walter Lantz
Died March 22, 1994 b. 1899
American cartoonist. Creator of Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, and Chilly Willy. Although originally voiced by Mel Blanc (1940-1941, 1948-1955) and others, Lance's wife Grace Lantz provided the voice for Woody Woodpecker from 1950 to 1972.
Stephen Decatur, Jr.
Died March 22, 1820 b. 1779
American naval officer. Known for heroism in battle, he is the youngest person to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy (1804 at age 25). He died from a duel with fellow navy captain James Barron.
Famous quote: "Our country - In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right, and always successful, right or wrong." His quote inspired many similar ultra-patriotic quotes, such as "My country-may she ever be right, but right or wrong, my country."
Dave Guard
Died March 22, 1991 b. 1934
American folk singer, one of the founding members of the Kingston Trio (1957). Music: Tom Dooley and Five Hundred Miles.
Paul Francis Webster
Died March 22, 1984 b. 1907
American Oscar-winning lyricist. Film: Calamity Jane (1953, Oscar), Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1955, Oscar), and The Sandpiper (1965, Oscar).
Karl Wallenda
Died March 22, 1978 b. 1905
German-American tight-rope walker, with the Great Wallendas. At the age of 73, he fell over 100 feet to his death during a performance in Puerto Rico.
Mike Todd (Avram Goldenbogen)
Died March 22, 1958 b. 1909
American producer. He died in a plane crash, in which his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, would have also been a passenger had she not stayed home with a cold. Film: Oklahoma! (1955) and Around the World in 80 Days (1956).
Died from a Self-Inflicted Music Accident
Jean-Baptiste Lully (Giovanni Battista Lulli)
Died March 22, 1687 b. 1632
Italian-born French composer. While conducting a Te Deum in honor of King Louis XIV's recent recovery from illness, he struck his toe with the staff he was using to keep beat. The wound turned gangrenous, but Lully refused to have his toe amputated and the gangrene spread resulting in his death several months later.
Saint Zachary
Died March 22, 752 b. 679
Greek-born religious leader, 91st Pope (741-752).