What was going on when I was born?

Gov. Richard Celeste of Ohio today ordered 71 state-chartered savings and loan institutions closed for three days after other efforts failed to stem a multimillion-dollar run on deposits at several of the banks. The emergency action is believed to be the most extensive closing of financial institutions in the United States since the Great Depression. The run on deposits followed the collapse last Saturday of one of the state's largest savings and loan institutions, the Home State Savings Bank, which threatened to wipe out the private deposit insurance fund covering state-chartered savings and loan associations in Ohio. Bid to Restore Confidence The Governor, using his emergency powers, ordered the temporary shutdown through Sunday to give officials time to formulate a plan to restore confidence in the institutions.

The Environmental Protection Agency's relationship with the nation's largest disposer of toxic waste is becoming a matter of contention within the Government. Two agency officials who have long been critics of the agency's efforts to clean up toxic wastes said in interviews that the agency was showing a pattern of favoritism toward the company, Waste Management Inc., whose leadership and legal counsel now include former officials of the E.P.A., the Justice Department and the White House. But the agency says that, far from showing favoritism, it is concentrating some of its strongest enforcement weapons against Waste Management because it is the giant of the waste disposal industry. Agency officials said they were now looking at all of the company's facilities, not only to bring them into compliance with the toxic waste laws but also to compel the company to permanently adopt sound environmental and public health policies. The company also said it was being singled out unfairly for enforcement action and had been subjected to excessive penalties. Waste Management officers further maintained that the company's environmental record was better than those of almost all other companies in the business.

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops sent a letter to all members of Congress today urging them to vote against funds to produce the MX missile. The letter from the United States Catholic Conference, copies of which were dropped in Congressional post offices this afternoon, was timed to reach members of Congress before the first of four votes on the intercontinental missile beginning Tuesday. The Catholic conference, which consists of about 285 Roman Catholic bishops in the United States, said its opposition to the missile was based on these two considerations: ''the potentially destabilizing impact of this weapons system on the nuclear arms race,'' and ''its cost, viewed in light of pressing human needs here and elsewhere in the world.'' Most Specific Opposition The letter was clearly the most specific and firm opposition to the MX missile expressed by the Roman Catholic Bishops. A Catholic official who is informed on the drafting of the letter said there was little or no opposition to it among the bishops.

A State Supreme Court Justice yesterday refused to dismiss larceny and fraud charges against Secretary of Labor Raymond J. Donovan and nine other men. ''The evidence in this case, if proved and believed, demonstrates a carefully contrived scheme to steal property,'' the justice, John P. Collins, said in ordering the men to stand trial. ''There is no justification warranting this court to dismiss the indictment in the interests of justice.'' Shortly after the ruling was issued at noon in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, Mr. Donovan announced his resignation in Washington. He had been on a leave of absence since shortly after his indictment last September. The charges involve events that took place before Mr. Donovan became Secretary of Labor.

The British Government raised serious questions today about the technical feasibility and the strategic desirability of President Reagan's proposed system of missile defense in space. Sir Geoffrey Howe, the Foreign Secretary, asked in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute whether the system envisioned in the President's Strategic Defense Initiative could be put in operation ''without generating dangerous uncertainty.'' He described that as only one of the ''complex and difficult questions'' raised by the project , which is popularly known as ''Star Wars.'' Maginot Line Recalled While paying tribute to what he called ''the enormous technological expertise and potential of the United States,'' Sir Geoffrey asserted: ''There would be no advantage in creating a new Maginot Line of the 21st century, liable to be outflanked by relatively simpler and demonstrably cheaper countermeasures.'' The Maginot Line was a system of fortifications built before World War II by the French that proved almost useless when the Germans swept around its northern end into the heart of France.

Secretary of Labor Raymond J. Donovan resigned today after a New York State judge ordered him to stand trial on fraud and larceny charges. Mr. Donovan, who is the first sitting Cabinet member ever to be indicted, gave no specific reason for quitting. In a statement issued by his attorneys, he said, ''I have not violated any law and I am confident that a jury will find me not guilty after hearing all the evidence.'' He also said the charges against him, which do not relate to his tenure as Labor Secretary, were ''totally unfounded and politically motivated.''

The United States Ambassador to Mexico said today that at least two of the four men who abducted an American drug agent last month were Mexican policemen. Only hours before, the Mexican authorities acknowledged publicly that there were ''criminal links between narcotics traffickers and police agents'' in the country. Signs of Severe Beating The American agent, Enrique Camarena Salazar, was kidnapped Feb. 7 in Guadalajara. His body and that of a pilot who sometimes worked with him were found last week. Both showed signs of severe beating, according to forensic reports.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a United Press International correspondent, Michael W. Drudge, for criminal libel, a judge said Thursday.

Attorney General Edwin Meese 3d said today that he was ''somewhat encouraged'' by the detention in Mexico of 12 suspects in the drug agent's kidnapping and killing, and he said he planned to ''increase our own efforts'' in working with Mexico against drug trafficking. ''We are encouraging an all-out effort by the Mexican authorities,'' Mr. Meese said at his first news conference since being sworn in last month. ''I have sent a personal invitation to the Attorney General of Mexico to meet with me as soon as conveniently possible,'' Mr. Meese said.

The national baseball stadium here reopened a few weeks ago, newly rebuilt after five years and with a new name. The former Anastasio Somoza Garcia Stadium is now called Rigoberto Lopez Perez Stadium, after the poet who assassinated the founder of the Somoza family dynasty in 1956. Virtually every other aspect of Nicaragua's favorite sport is undergoing a similar transformation these days. Although fans here continue to follow the game with the same intensity and passion as ever, the Sandinista leadership is seeking to put its own distinctive stamp on Nicaraguan baseball.

Five gunmen dragged a British businessman from his car in West Beirut today and abducted him, the British Ambassador said.

Civilian rule was restored in Brazil today for the first time since 1964, even though the 75-year-old President-elect underwent emergency surgery late Thursday and was unable to take the oath of office. As Tancredo Neves, the President- elect, was recuperating, his running mate, Jose Sarney, was sworn in and designated as interim President. Mr. Sarney then swore in the 27-member Cabinet and received the heads of foreign delegations, including Vice President Bush. Doctors said Mr. Neves was recovering well from a two-hour operation for an acute intestinal inflammation known as diverticulitis. ''He should be out of the hospital in a week and be ready for work in two weeks,'' Dr. Renault Mattos, his physician, said today.