Every day on the calendar has had its share of prominent deaths over the years.But May 23 seems unusually prone to being the last day for famous people.
Or, at least, it played a significant role.
Perhaps the most notorious deaths were those of Bonnie and Clyde, who died in a law enforcement ambush on a Louisiana road on this date in 1934. (Their bullet-riddled car is pictured at right.)
So, if I were Barack Obama or John McCain, I wouldn't announce my choice for running mate today!
In fact, I wouldn't do much of anything today.
Bad karma, don't you know.
Consider a partial roster ...
In 1431, Joan of Arc was captured on this date. She was tried and convicted of heresy, and she was burned at the stake seven days after her capture.
Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, didn't die on this date, but the marriage was declared null and void on this date in 1533. Henry, of course, went on to have six wives, and some were executed.
In 1701, Capt. Kidd, who had been convicted of piracy, was hanged in London.
In 1945, Heinrich Himmler, head of the Nazi SS, committed suicide while in custody.
Another Nazi (Adolf Eichmann) didn't kill himself on this date, but he was captured on this date in 1960. (He was executed in Israel in 1962.)
Other famous people who died on May 23 were American trapper Kit Carson in 1868, playwright Henrik Ibsen ("father of the modern drama") in 1906, John D. Rockefeller in 1937, actor Sterling Hayden (who played Gen. Ripper in "Dr. Strangelove") in 1986, golfer Sam Snead in 2002, and former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen in 2006.
But May 23 isn't all about death.
Drew Carey is 50 years old today.
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