By The Associated Press

                  - Today is Tuesday, March 23, the 82nd day of 1999. There are 283
                    days left in the year.

                  - On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry made his famous call for
                    America's independence from Britain, telling the Virginia
                    Provincial Convention, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
                  - In 1792, Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 94 in G Major (the
                    "Surprise" symphony) was performed publicly for the first time,
                    in London.
                  - In 1806, explorers Lewis and Clark, having reached the Pacific
                    coast, began their return journey.
                  - In 1919, Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement
                    in Milan, Italy.
                  - In 1933, the German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which
                    effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers.
                  - In 1942, during World War II, the U.S. government began
                    evacuating Japanese-Americans from West Coast homes to detention
                    centers.
                  - In 1956, Pakistan became an independent republic within the
                    British Commonwealth.
                  - In 1965, America's first two-person space flight blasted off
                    from Cape Kennedy with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W.
                    Young aboard.
                  - In 1983, President Reagan first proposed development of
                    technology to intercept enemy missiles - a proposal that came to be
                    known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, as well as "Star
                    Wars."
                  - In 1983, Dr. Barney Clark, recipient of a permanent artificial
                    heart, died at the University of Utah Medical Center after 112 days
                    with the device.
                  - Ten years ago: Fawn Hall, former secretary to onetime National
                    Security Council aide Oliver North, completed two days of testimony
                    at North's Iran-Contra trial.
                  - Five years ago: Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexico's leading
                    presidential candidate, was assassinated in Tijuana. Twenty-three
                    paratroopers were killed when a F-16 fighter jet and C-130
                    transport collided while landing at Pope Air Force Base in North
                    Carolina and the F-16 skidded into another transport on the ground.
                    Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's National Hockey League career
                    record with his 802nd goal. Actress Giulietta Masina died in Rome
                    at age 73.
                  - One year ago: President Clinton hailed "the new face of
                    Africa" as he opened a historic six-nation tour in Ghana. The U.S.
                    Supreme Court allowed term limits for state lawmakers. Russian
                    President Boris Yeltsin fired his Cabinet. At the Academy Awards,
                    "Titanic" tied the record by winning 11 Oscars, including best
                    picture, director and song.

                  *** Today's Birthdays

                  - Comedian Marty Allen is 77.
                  - Movie director Mark Rydell is 65.
                  - Singer-producer Ric Ocasek is 50.
                  - Singer Chaka Khan is 46.
                  - Actress Amanda Plummer is 42.
                  - Comedian John Pinnett is 35.
                  - Actor Richard Grieco is 34.
                  - Rock musician John Humphrey (The Nixons) is 29.
                  - Actress Keri Russell ("Felicity") is 23.
                  - Actress Nicholle Tom ("The Nanny") is 22.