May 23

May 23 is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 222 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 844 – Battle of Clavijo: The Apostle Saint James the Greater is said to have miraculously appeared to a force of outnumbered Asturians and aided them against the forces of the Emir of Cordoba.
• 1430 – Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne.
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
• 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
• 1568 – The Netherlands declare their independence from Spain.
• 1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
• 1609 – Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
• 1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
• 1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London, England.
• 1706 – Battle of Ramillies: John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi.
• 1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the 8th American state.
• 1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
• 1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
• 1844 – Declaration of the Báb: a merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, and Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
• 1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
• 1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• 1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
• 1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
• 1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
• 1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which occurred in the city of São Paulo. Their names and surnames were used to form the MMDC, a revolutionary group that would act against the dictatorial government, especially in the Constitutionalist Revolution ("Revolução Constitucionalista", in Portuguese), the major uprising in Brazil during the 20th century.
• 1934 – The American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana.
• 1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
• 1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
• 1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
• 1945 – World War II: The Flensburg Government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces at Flensburg in Northern Germany.
• 1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
• 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany is established and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed.
• 1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with China.
• 1958 – Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
• 1967 – Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping.
• 1992 – Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than 2 months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
• 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
• 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
• 2002 – The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
• 2004 – Part of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.
• 2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
• 2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
• 2010 – Jamaican police begin a manhunt for drug lord Christopher Coke, after the United States requested his extradition, leading to three days of violence during which at least 73 bystanders are killed.
• 2012 – Adam Lambert becomes the first openly gay musician to debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album Charts, with his album Trespassing.
• 2013 – The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Births

• 1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
• 1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
• 1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1682)
• 1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
• 1696 – Johann Caspar Vogler, German organist and composer (d. 1763)
• 1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
• 1718 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
• 1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet (d. 1799)
• 1734 – Franz Mesmer, Austrian physician (d. 1815)
• 1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer (d. 1801)
• 1790 – Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
• 1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
• 1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
• 1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist (d. 1850)
• 1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
• 1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
• 1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)
• 1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter (d. 1890)
• 1844 – `Abdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
• 1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
• 1855 – Isabella Ford, English activist (d. 1924)
• 1859 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (d. 1913)
• 1864 – William O'Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
• 1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian politician and jurist, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
• 1867 – John Exley, American rower (d. 1938)
• 1871 – Saint George Ashe, Maltese-English rower (d. 1922)
• 1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman (d. 1966)
• 1879 – Elizabeth Gunn, New Zealand pediatrician (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Dezső Lauber, Hungarian tennis player and architect (d. 1966)
• 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
• 1883 – Ferenc Talányi, Slovenian journalist and painter (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
• 1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1963)
• 1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian sailor (d. 1951)
• 1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German politician (d. 1967)
• 1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
• 1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1977)
• 1895 – Billy Smith, English footballer and manager (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)
• 1898 – Scott O'Dell, American author (d. 1989)
• 1898 – Josef Terboven, German politician (d. 1945)
• 1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
• 1900 – Franz Neumann, German writer, lawyer, political theorist (d. 1954)
• 1902 – Frank Buckland, Canadian businessman (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Pran Nath Thapar, Indian army officer (d. 1975)
• 1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
• 1908 – Paul Dozois, Canadian politician (d. 1984)
• 1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author (d. 1952)
• 1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect (d. 1999)
• 1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor singer, dancer, and guitarist (d. 1986)
• 1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
• 1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
• 1911 – Paul Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Betty Astell, English actress (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
• 1912 – John Payne, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1989)
• 1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
• 1914 – Barbara Ward, English economist (d. 1981)
• 1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer (d. 1997)
• 1919 – Avraham Drori, Polish-Israeli politician (d. 1964)
• 1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican singer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
• 1919 – Gayatri Devi English-Indian wife of Sawai Man Singh II (d. 2009)
• 1920 – Helen O'Connell, American singer, actress, and dancer (d. 1993)
• 1921 – James Blish, American author and critic (d. 1975)
• 1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Edna Skinner, American actress (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Walter Wolfrum, German pilot (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author
• 1924 – Clyde King, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Mac Wiseman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foggy Mountain Boys)
• 1926 – Basil Salvadore D'Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
• 1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African politician (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Bodil Skjånes Dugstad, Norwegian politician
• 1928 – Jeannie Carson, English-American actress and singer
• 1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor
• 1928 – Pauline Julien, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1998)
• 1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
• 1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic
• 1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress and author
• 1933 – Joan Collins, English actress, singer, and author
• 1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
• 1933 – Jean-Louis Lagadec, French footballer and coach (d. 2012)
• 1934 – Robert Moog, American businessman, invented the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
• 1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano
• 1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor
• 1938 – Peter Preston, English journalist and author
• 1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
• 1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
• 1939 – Jack McCarthy, American poet (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Giles Gordon, Scottish author and agent (d. 2003)
• 1940 – Levan Moseshvili, Georgian basketball player and coach
• 1942 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher
• 1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
• 1943 – General Johnson, American singer-songwriter and producer (Chairmen of the Board and The Showmen) (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Alan Walden, American businessman and manager, co-founder of Capricorn Records
• 1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player
• 1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
• 1945 – Lauren Chapin, American actress
• 1946 – Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
• 1946 – H. Paul Shuch, American scientist and engineer
• 1947 – Bernard Comrie, English-American linguist
• 1947 – Ann Hui, Hong Kong actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet (d. 1995)
• 1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
• 1948 – Reggie Cleveland, Canadian-American baseball player
• 1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
• 1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 93rd President of Peru
• 1950 – Bruce Hay, Scottish rugby player (d. 2007)
• 1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish politician, 3rd Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
• 1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
• 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
• 1952 – Anne-Marie David, French singer
• 1953 – Dick Stellingwerf, Dutch politician
• 1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer
• 1954 – Hans Kruize, Dutch field hockey player
• 1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician, Foreign Minister of Austria
• 1956 – Mark Shaw, New Zealand rugby player
• 1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
• 1956 – Albert Voorn, Dutch horse rider
• 1957 – Mark Arnold, American actor
• 1957 – Jimmy McShane, Irish singer (Baltimora) (d. 1995)
• 1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
• 1958 – Drew Carey, American actor and game show host
• 1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and comedian
• 1958 – Serge Dupire, Canadian actor
• 1958 – François Feldman, French singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Paul Street, American journalist, author, and historian
• 1958 – Frank Jelinski, German racing driver
• 1959 – Ryuta Kawashima, Japanese neuroscientist
• 1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player
• 1959 – Bob Mortimer, English comedian and actor
• 1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor and martial artist
• 1961 – Karen Duffy, American model and actress
• 1963 – Wally Dallenbach, Jr., American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss politician
• 1965 – Charlie Hayes, American baseball player
• 1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress and casting director
• 1965 – Woorkeri Raman, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
• 1965 – Athanasios Skourtopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
• 1966 – Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Dutch television host and producer (d. 2008)
• 1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer
• 1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 – Heidi Rohi, Estonian fencer
• 1967 – Luis Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
• 1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
• 1967 – Philip Selway, English drummer and songwriter (Radiohead)
• 1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
• 1969 – Mindi Abair, American saxophonist
• 1970 – Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin of Yitzhak Rabin
• 1970 – Nanette Burstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Matt Flynn, American drummer and producer (Maroon 5)
• 1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver
• 1971 – Laurel Holloman, American actress
• 1971 – George Osborne, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
• 1973 – Klaus Ambrosch, Austrian decathlete
• 1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Juan José Padilla, Spanish bullfighter
• 1973 – Mirjam Sterk, Dutch minister and politician
• 1973 – Ron Trent, American DJ and producer
• 1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
• 1974 – Ken Jennings, American computer scientist and author
• 1974 – Mónica Naranjo, Spanish singer
• 1974 – Charlie Young, Taiwanese-Hong Kong actress and singer
• 1975 – Wafah Dufour, American singer-songwriter
• 1975 – Kim Sung-soo, South Korean actor and singer
• 1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1976 – Kelly Monaco, American model and actress
• 1976 – Antônio Naelson, Brazilian-Mexican footballer
• 1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
• 1977 – Annabel Kosten, Dutch swimmer
• 1978 – Mike Gonzalez, American baseball player
• 1978 – Carolyn Moos, American basketball player
• 1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer (blink-182)
• 1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player
• 1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Martin Giroux, Canadian singer
• 1979 – Kirk Saarloos, American baseball player
• 1980 – Gary Brackett, American football player
• 1980 – Lane Garrison, American actor
• 1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
• 1980 – Chris Gethard, American actor, comedian, and writer
• 1981 – Pierre Lapointe, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1981 – Tim Robinson, American actor
• 1981 – Gwenno Saunders, Welsh singer, keyboard player, and dancer (The Pipettes)
• 1982 – Cyrill Gloor, Swiss footballer
• 1982 – Malene Mortensen, Danish singer
• 1982 – Tristan Prettyman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1983 – Josh Pace, American basketball player
• 1983 – Heidi Range, English singer-songwriter (Sugababes and Atomic Kitten)
• 1983 – Alex Shelley, American wrestler
• 1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
• 1984 – Sam Milby, American-Filipino actor and singer
• 1984 – Adam Wylie, American actor and singer
• 1985 – Kanyeria, Kenyan songwriter and producer
• 1985 – Shafiq Chitou, Beninese boxer
• 1985 – Sekou Cissé, Ivorian footballer
• 1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
• 1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
• 1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
• 1986 – Alexei Sitnikov, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
• 1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress
• 1987 – Windham Rotunda, American wrestler
• 1988 – Danny de Jong, Dutch actor
• 1988 – Lorenzo De Silvestri, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Vaness del Moral, Filipino actress and dancer
• 1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer
• 1989 – Ezequiel Schelotto, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Kristína Kučová, Slovak tennis player
• 1990 – Oliver Venno, Estonian volleyball player
• 1991 – Sarah Jarosz, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player
• 1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Olesia Karmi, Finnish figure skater
• 1992 – Asenate Manoa, Fijian-Tuvaluan runner

Deaths

• 1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)
• 1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and preacher (b. 1452)
• 1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shogun (b. 1466)
• 1524 – Ismail I, Iran ruler (b. 1487)
• 1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (b. 1605)
• 1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
• 1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (b. 1622)
• 1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
• 1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish nobleman (b. 1700)
• 1752 – William Bradford, English-American printer (b. 1663)
• 1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)
• 1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
• 1786 – Maurice Benyovszky, Hungarian explorer (b. 1746)
• 1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general (b. 1772)
• 1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
• 1825 – Gugsa of Yejju
• 1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
• 1846 – Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki, Polish politician (b. 1778)
• 1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1797)
• 1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician (b. 1789)
• 1868 – Kit Carson, American general (b. 1809)
• 1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian (b. 1795)
• 1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (b. 1805)
• 1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1798)
• 1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)
• 1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (b. 1842)
• 1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
• 1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish tug of war competitor (b. 1872)
• 1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)
• 1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian politician and journalist (b. 1860)
• 1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)
• 1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (b. 1839)
• 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician (b. 1900)
• 1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (b. 1878)
• 1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter (b. 1872)
• 1956 – Gustav Suits, Estonian poet (b. 1883)
• 1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)
• 1962 – Louis Coatalen, French engineer (b. 1879)
• 1963 – August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (b. 1904)
• 1965 – Earl Webb, American baseball player (b. 1897)
• 1966 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902)
• 1967 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (b. 1878)
• 1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (b. 1894)
• 1979 – S. Selvanayagam, Ceylon Tamil geographer and academic (b. 1932)
• 1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (b. 1911)
• 1981 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1898)
• 1981 – David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (b. 1916)
• 1988 – Aya Kitō, Japanese author (b. 1962)
• 1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (b. 1915)
• 1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)
• 1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
• 1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
• 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian judge (b. 1939)
• 1994 – Ray Candy, American wrestler (b. 1951)
• 1994 – George Metesky, American terrorist (b. 1903)
• 1994 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (b. 1929)
• 1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1934)
• 1998 – Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Jean Yanne, French actor and director (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Clifford Antone, American businessman (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Ian Copeland, Syrian-American agent (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1935)
• 2010 – Princess Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani (b. 1914)
• 2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1970)
• 2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978)
• 2012 – T. Garry Buckley, American politician, 72nd Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Gyula Elek, Hungarian handball player and coach (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Sattareh Farmanfarmaian, Persian daughter of Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and educator (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Hal Jackson, American radio host (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Joseph Lesniewski, American soldier (b. 1920)
• 2012 – William C. Wampler, American politician (b. 1926)
• 2013 – William Demby, American author (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Hazel Hawke, Australian wife of Bob Hawke (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish politician, 15th Governor of Istanbul Province (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Gerry Peacocke, Australian politician (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (b. 1941)
• 2013 – James Sisnett, Barbadian super-centenarian (b. 1900)
• 2013 – Brian Sternberg, American pole vaulter (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Jim Zabel, American sportscaster (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Luis Zuloaga, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • Desiderius of Vienne
  • Quintian, Lucius and Julian
  • May 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Declaration of the Báb (Bahá'í Faith)
• Labour Day (Jamaica)
• World Turtle Day
• Rosalia (Roman Empire)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to May 23.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada