From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 342 days remaining, 343 in leap years.
[edit] Events
- 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor.
- 1510 - Henry VIII of England, then 18 years old, appears incognito in the lists at Richmond, and is applauded for his jousting before he reveals his identity.
- 1533 - Anne Boleyn, mistress of Henry VIII of England, discovers herself pregnant.
- 1546 - Having published nothing for eleven years, Francois Rabelais brings out his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel: the Tiers Livre.
- 1556 - The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
- 1570 - The assassination of regent James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray throws Scotland into civil war.
- 1571 - The Royal Exchange opens in London.
- 1579 - The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
- 1656 - Blaise Pascal published the first of his Lettres provinciales.
- 1719 - The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1789 - Georgetown College becomes the first Roman Catholic college in the United States (Washington, DC).
- 1793 - Russia and Prussia partition Poland.
- 1849 - Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first woman doctor.
- 1855 - The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crossing made today by the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.
- 1870 - In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Indians, most women and children, in the Marias Massacre.
- 1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Rorke's Drift ends.
- 1897 - Elva Zona Heaster found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband was perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction.
- 1899 - Emilio Aguinaldo was sworn in as President of the First Philippine Republic.
- 1904 - Ålesund Fire: Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil architecture.
- 1907 - Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American US Senator.
- 1912 - The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
- 1920 - The Netherlands refuses to surrender ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
- 1937 - In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.
- 1941 - Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- 1943 - World War II: British forces capture Tripoli in Libya from the Nazis.
- 1943 - Jewish-led Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
- 1943 - World War II: Australian and American forces finally defeat the Japanese army in Papua. This turning point in the Pacific War marks the beginning of the end of Japanese aggression.
- 1943 - Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.
- 1945 - World War II: Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
- 1950 - The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
- 1960 - The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean. The depth was measured to be 35,813 feet (10,916 m) but later measurements show it to be 35,798 feet (10,911 m).
- 1964 - The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
- 1967 - Milton Keynes (England) founded by Order in Council. (See History of Milton Keynes)
- 1968 - North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship violated their territorial waters while spying.
- 1973 - President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
- 1973 - A volcanic eruption devastates Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar chain of islands off the south coast of Iceland.
- 1977 - The first segment of the Roots mini-series airs on ABC.
- 1978 - Sweden becomes the first nation in the world to ban aerosol sprays, believed to be damaging to earth's protective ozone layer.
- 1983 - The television show The A-Team starts its first season on the NBC network.
- 1984 - "Hulkamania" is born when Hulk Hogan defeats The Iron Sheik to win the WWF Championship
- 1985 - O.J. Simpson becomes the first Heisman Trophy winner elected to the Football Hall of Fame.
- 1986 - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
- 1996 - The first version of the Java programming language is released.
- 1997 - Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
- 2002 - "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returns to the United States under FBI custody.
- 2002 - Reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped -- and subsequently murdered -- in Karachi, Pakistan.
- 2005 - Viktor Yushchenko is sworn in as the third President of Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine.
- 2006 - After over 12 years of Liberal Party rule, Stephen Harper's Conservative Party wins the most seats in the Canadian federal election. Harper becomes the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada with a minority government, assuming office February 6.
- 2007 - A rare frilled shark is discovered in Japan.
[edit] Births
- 1350 - Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
- 1719 - John Landen, English mathematician (d. 1790)
- 1745 - William Jessop, English canal engineer (d. 1814)
- 1783 - Stendhal, French writer (d. 1842)
- 1786 - Auguste de Montferrand, French architect (d. 1858)
- 1813 - Camilla Collett, Norwegian writer and feminist (d. 1895)
- 1827 - Takamori Saigo, Samurai, leader of Satsuma rebellion (d. 1877)
- 1832 - Edouard Manet, French artist (d. 1883)
- 1840 - Ernst Abbe, German physicist (d. 1905)
- 1857 - Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian seismologist (d. 1936)
- 1862 - David Hilbert, German mathematician (d. 1943)
- 1872 - Gotse Delchev, Macedonian revolutionary (d. 1903)
- 1872 - Paul Langevin, French physicist (d. 1946)
- 1872 - Joze Plečnik, Slovenian architect (d. 1957)
- 1876 - Otto Diels, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- 1884 - Ralph DePalma, Italian-born race car driver (d. 1956)
- 1888 - Leadbelly, American blues and folk musician (d. 1949)
- 1896 - Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (d. 1985)
- 1897 - Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian independence fighter (d. 1897)
- 1897 - Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
- 1897 - Sir William Samuel Stephenson, Canadian soldier, W.W.II codename, Intrepid. Inspiration for James Bond.
- 1898 - Sergei Eisenstein, Russian film director (d. 1948)
- 1898 - Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1900 - William Ifor Jones, Welsh conductor & organist (d. 1988)
- 1903 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (d. 1948)
- 1907 - Dan Duryea, American actor (d. 1968)
- 1907 - Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- 1910 - Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist (d. 1953)
- 1915 - Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1915 - Potter Stewart, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1985)
- 1918 - Gertrude B. Elion, American scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1919 - Hans Hass, Austrian zoologist and underwater scientist
- 1919 - Ernie Kovacs, American comedian (d. 1962)
- 1923 - Walter M. Miller, Jr., American writer (d. 1996)
- 1928 - Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1928 - Jeanne Moreau, French actress
- 1929 - John Charles Polanyi, Canadian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 - Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko) of Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate
- 1930 - Derek Walcott, West Indian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 - Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish singer
- 1933 - Chita Rivera, Puerto Rican actress and dancer
- 1934 - Pierre Bourgault, Quebec politician and essayist (d. 2003)
- 1936 - Jerry Kramer, American football player
- 1938 - Shohei Baba, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 1999)
- 1938 - Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
- 1939 - Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor and martial artist
- 1939 - Arlene Golonka, American actress
- 1940 - Johnny Russell, American country singer and songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1943 - Gil Gerard, American actor
- 1943 - Millie Jackson, American singer
- 1943 - Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist
- 1944 - Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor
- 1945 - Mike Harris, Canadian politician, Premier of Ontario
- 1946 - Arnoldo Alemán, ex-president of Nicaragua
- 1947 - Thomas R. Carper, U.S. Senator from Delaware.
- 1947 - Megawati Sukarnoputri, 5th President of Indonesia
- 1948 - Anita Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters)
- 1950 - Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
- 1950 - Danny Federici, American musician (Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band)
- 1952 - Robin Zander, American singer (Cheap Trick)
- 1953 - Antonio Villaragoisa, American 52nd Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1954 - Franco De Vita, Venezuelan singer and songwriter
- 1957 - Princess Caroline of Monaco
- 1959 - Clive Bull, radio talk show host
- 1963 - Gail O'Grady, American actress
- 1964 - Mariska Hargitay, American actress
- 1964 - Mario Roberge, National Hockey League player
- 1967 - Naim Suleymanoglu, Bulgarian-born, Turkish weightlifter
- 1968 - Petr Korda, Czech tennis player
- 1969 - Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer
- 1969 - Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 - Spiridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
- 1972 - Marcel Wouda, Dutch swimmer
- 1972 - Mark Curry, American rapper
- 1973 - Lanei Chapman, American actress
- 1974 - Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
- 1974 - Richard T. Slone, British artist
- 1974 - Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball star
- 1974 - Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
- 1975 - Tito Ortiz, American UFC fighter
- 1979 - Larry Hughes, American basketball player
- 1979 - Sampsa Astala, Finnish musician (Lordi)
- 1982 - Wily Mo Pena, Major League Baseball player
- 1983 - David Firth, British animator/musician
- 1983 - George Foreman III, American reality series star; son of George Foreman
- 1984 - Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
- 1985 - Doutzen Kroes, Dutch supermodel
- 1985 - Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
- 1986 - Felicia Brandström, Swedish singer
[edit] Deaths
- 1199 - Yaqub, Almohad Caliph (b. 1160)
- 1548 - Bernardo Pisano, Italian composer (b. 1490)
- 1549 - Johannes Honter, Transylvanian Saxon humanist and theologian (b. 1498)
- 1567 - Jiajing, Emperor of China (b. 1507)
- 1570 - James Stewart, Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland (assassinated)
- 1622 - William Baffin, English explorer (b. 1584)
- 1744 - Giambattista Vico, Italian philosopher and historian (b. 1668)
- 1785 - Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician (b. 1717)
- 1789 - Frances Brooke, English writer (b. 1724)
- 1789 - John Cleland, English novelist (b. 1709)
- 1800 - Edward Rutledge, American statesman (b. 1749)
- 1803 - Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer (b. 1725)
- 1805 - Claude Chappe, French telecommunications pioneer (b. 1763)
- 1806 - William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1812 - Robert Craufurd, British general (mortally wounded in battle) (b. 1764)
- 1833 - Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, British admiral (b. 1757)
- 1837 - John Field, Irish composer (b. 1782)
- 1866 - Thomas Love Peacock, English satirist (b. 1785)
- 1875 - Charles Kingsley English writer (b. 1819)
- 1883 - Gustave Doré, French artist, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1832)
- 1893 - Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1825)
- 1922 - Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor (b. 1855)
- 1923 - Max Nordau, Austrian author, philosopher, and Zionist leader (b. 1849)
- 1931 - Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina (b. 1881)
- 1937 - Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (b. 1898)
- 1937 - Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (b. 1876)
- 1939 - Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer (b. 1903)
- 1943 - Alexander Woollcott, American actor, author, and bon vivant (b. 1887)
- 1944 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (b. 1863)
- 1944 - Viktor Gusev, Russian poet (b. 1909)
- 1956 - Alexander Korda, Hungarian/British film director (b. 1893)
- 1958 - Nikolaos Georgantas, Greek discus thrower (b. 1880 )
- 1971 - Fritz Feigl, Austria-born chemist (b. 1871)
- 1973 - Kid Ory, American jazz trombonist (b. 1886)
- 1976 - Paul Dupuis, French Canadian film and television actor (b. 1913)
- 1976 - Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and social activist (b. 1898)
- 1977 - Toots Shor, New York restaurateur (b. 1903)
- 1978 - Terry Kath, American musician (Chicago) (b. 1946)
- 1978 - Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1978 - Vic Ames, American signer (Ames Brothers) (b. 1925)
- 1981 - Samuel Barber, American composer (b. 1910)
- 1983 - Fred Bakewell, English cricketer (b. 1908)
- 1989 - Salvador Dalí, Catalan artist (b. 1904)
- 1990 - Allen Collins, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (b. 1952)
- 1992 - Freddie Bartholomew, Irish actor (b. 1924)
- 1993 - Thomas A. Dorsey, American singer (b. 1899)
- 1994 - Nikolai Ogarkov, Soviet field marshal (b. 1917)
- 1994 - Brian Redhead, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
- 1997 - Richard Berry, American composer and musician (b. 1935)
- 1999 - Jay Pritzker, American businessman (b. 1922)
- 1999 - Prince Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican musician (b. 1949)
- 2002 - Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (b. 1930)
- 2002 - Paul Aars, American racecar driver (b. 1934)
- 2002 - Robert Nozick, American philosopher (b. 1938)
- 2003 - Nell Carter, American singer and actress (b. 1948)
- 2004 - Bob Keeshan, American actor (b. 1927)
- 2004 - Helmut Newton, German-born photographer (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Morys George Lyndhurst Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, British politician (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Johnny Carson, American television legend (b. 1925)
- 2005 - Douglas Knight, American university president (b. 1921)
- 2006 - Ernie Baron, Philippine newscaster (b. 1940)
- 2006 - Chris McKinstry, Canadian scientist (b. 1967)
- 2007 - E. Howard Hunt, American Watergate figure (b. 1918)
- 2007 - Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist and writer (b. 1932)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
