September 23

September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 99 days remaining until the end of the year.
It is frequently the day of the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the day of the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.

Events

• 1122 – Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V agree to the Concordat of Worms to put an end to the Investiture Controversy.
• 1338 – The Battle of Arnemuiden was the first naval battle of the Hundred Years' War and the first naval battle using artillery, as the English ship Christofer had three cannon and one hand gun.
• 1409 – Battle of Kherlen, the second significant victory over Ming dynasty China by the Mongols since 1368.
• 1459 – Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, is fought at Blore Heath in Staffordshire.
• 1568 – Spanish naval forces rout an English fleet, under the command of John Hawkins, at the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa near Veracruz.
• 1641 – The Merchant Royal, carrying a treasure worth over a billion US dollars, is lost at sea off Land's End.
• 1642 – First commencement exercises occur at Harvard College.
• 1779 – American Revolution: John Paul Jones on board the USS Bonhomme Richard wins the Battle of Flamborough Head.
• 1780 – American Revolution: British Major John André is arrested as a spy by American soldiers exposing Benedict Arnold's change of sides.
• 1803 – Second Anglo-Maratha War: Battle of Assaye between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India.
• 1806 – Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis after exploring the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
• 1821 – Tripolitsa, Greece, is captured by Greek rebels during the Greek War of Independence.
• 1845 – The Knickerbockers Baseball Club, the first baseball team to play under the modern rules, is founded in New York.
• 1846 – Astronomers Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier, John Couch Adams and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate on the discovery of Neptune.
• 1868 – Grito de Lares ("Lares Revolt") occurs in Puerto Rico against Spanish rule.
• 1889 – Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda.
• 1899 – American Asiatic Squadron destroys a Filipino battery at the Battle of Olongapo.
• 1905 – Norway and Sweden sign the "Karlstad treaty", peacefully dissolving the Union between the two countries.
• 1908 – University of Alberta in Alberta, Canada, is founded.
• 1909 – The Phantom of the Opera (original title: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra), a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, is first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois.
• 1911 – Pilot Earle Ovington makes the first official airmail delivery in America under the authority of the United States Post Office Department
• 1913 – Roland Garros of France becomes the first to fly in an airplane across the Mediterranean (from St. Raphael France to Bizerte, Tunisia).
• 1932 – The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd is renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• 1936 – First ascent of Siniolchu by a German team.
• 1938 – Mobilization of the Czechoslovak army in response to the Munich Crisis.
• 1942 – World War II: The Matanikau action on Guadalcanal begins: U.S. Marines attack Japanese units along the Matanikau River.
• 1943 – World War II: The Nazi puppet state the Italian Social Republic is founded.
• 1950 – Korean War: The Battle of Hill 282: The first US friendly-fire incident on British military personnel since World War II occurs.
• 1952 – Richard Nixon makes his "Checkers speech".
• 1959 – Iowa farmer and corn breeder Roswell Garst hosts Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev.
• 1959 – The MS Princess of Tasmania, Australia's first passenger roll-on/roll-off diesel ferry, makes her maiden voyage across Bass Strait.
• 1962 – The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts opens in New York City.
• 1969 – The Chicago Eight trial opens in Chicago.
• 1973 – Juan Perón returns to power in Argentina.
• 1980 – Bob Marley plays what would be his last concert in Pittsburgh.
• 1983 – Saint Kitts and Nevis joins the United Nations.
• 1983 – Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa becomes the first African boxing world heavyweight champion.
• 1983 – Gulf Air Flight 771 is destroyed by a bomb, killing all 117 people on board.
• 1986 – Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros sets a major league record by striking out the first eight batters he faces in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• 1988 – José Canseco of the Oakland Athletics becomes the first member of the 40–40 club.
• 1992 – A large Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb destroys forensic laboratories in Belfast.
• 1999 – Celebrate Bisexuality Day was first observed in the United States.
• 1999 – NASA announces that it has lost contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter.
• 2002 – The first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox ("Phoenix 0.1") is released.
• 2004 – Over 3,000 people die in Haiti after Hurricane Jeanne produces massive flooding and mudslides.
• 2008 – Kauhajoki school shooting: Matti Saari kills ten people before committing suicide.
• 2010 – Convict Teresa Lewis became the first female inmate to die by lethal injection in the state of Virginia.
• 2015 – On Washington, D.C., Pope Francis canonized Father Junipero Serra as a saint.

Births

• 63 BC – Augustus, Roman emperor (d. 14)
• 1158 – Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1186)
• 1215 – Kublai Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1294)
• 1434 – Yolande of Valois (d. 1478)
• 1598 – Eleonore Gonzaga, Italian wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1655)
• 1642 – Giovanni Maria Bononcini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1678)
• 1647 – Joseph Dudley, American politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1720)
• 1650 – Jeremy Collier, English bishop and theologian (d. 1726)
• 1713 – Ferdinand VI of Spain (d. 1759)
• 1740 – Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1813)
• 1759 – Marie Clotilde of France (d. 1802)
• 1771 – Emperor Kōkaku of Japan (d. 1840)
• 1778 – Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1811)
• 1781 – Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (d. 1860)
• 1791 – Johann Franz Encke, German astronomer and academic (d. 1865)
• 1791 – Theodor Körner, German soldier and author (d. 1813)
• 1800 – William Holmes McGuffey, American author and academic (d. 1873)
• 1819 – Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist and academic (d. 1896)
• 1838 – Victoria Woodhull, American journalist and activist (d. 1927)
• 1851 – Ellen Hayes, American mathematician and astronomer (d. 1930)
• 1852 – James Carroll Beckwith, American painter and academic (d. 1917)
• 1852 – William Stewart Halsted, American physician and surgeon (d. 1922)
• 1853 – Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen (d. 1923)
• 1861 – Robert Bosch, German engineer and businessman, founded Robert Bosch GmbH (d. 1942)
• 1863 – Mary Church Terrell, American author and activist (d. 1954)
• 1865 – Pekka Halonen, Finnish painter (d. 1933)
• 1865 – Emma Orczy, Hungarian-English author and playwright (d. 1947)
• 1865 – Suzanne Valadon, French model and painter (d. 1938)
• 1869 – Typhoid Mary, Irish-American carrier of Typhoid fever (d. 1938)
• 1876 – Moshe Zvi Segal, Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 1968)
• 1880 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish biologist, physician, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
• 1889 – Walter Lippmann, American journalist and publisher, co-founded The New Republic (d. 1974)
• 1890 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (d. 1957)
• 1893 – Cläre Lotto, German actress (d. 1952)
• 1895 – Miron Merzhanov, Russian architect and engineer (d. 1975)
• 1895 – Johnny Mokan, American baseball player (d. 1985)
• 1897 – Walter Pidgeon, Canadian-American actor and singer (d. 1984)
• 1898 – Les Haylen, Australian journalist and politician (d. 1977)
• 1898 – Jadwiga Smosarska, Polish actress (d. 1971)
• 1899 – Tom C. Clark, American lawyer and judge, 59th Attorney General of the United States (d. 1977)
• 1899 – Louise Nevelson, Ukrainian-American sculptor (d. 1988)
• 1900 – Bill Stone, English soldier (d. 2009)
• 1901 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech poet and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
• 1902 – Su Buqing, Chinese mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
• 1905 – Tiny Bradshaw, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1958)
• 1906 – Bardu Ali, American singer and guitarist (d. 1995)
• 1906 – Charles Ritchie, Canadian diplomat, High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
• 1907 – Albert Ammons, American pianist (d. 1949)
• 1907 – Anne Desclos, French journalist and author (d. 1998)
• 1907 – Herbert Kappler, German SS officer (d. 1978)
• 1907 – Nicola Moscona, Greek-American actor and singer (d. 1975)
• 1907 – Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (d. 1976)
• 1908 – Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Indian poet, academic, and politician (d. 1974)
• 1909 – Lorenc Antoni, Kosovo-Albanian composer and conductor (d. 1991)
• 1910 – Jakob Streit, Swiss anthroposophist and author (d. 2009)
• 1911 – Frank Moss, American lawyer and politician (d. 2003)
• 1912 – Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Pakistani linguist, author, and critic (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Tony Smith, American sculptor and educator (d. 1980)
• 1913 – Carl-Henning Pedersen, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Omar Ali Saifuddien III, Bruneian sultan (d. 1986)
• 1915 – Julius Baker, American flute player and educator (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Clifford Shull, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
• 1916 – Aldo Moro, Italian academic and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1978)
• 1920 – Mickey Rooney, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Louise Latham, American actress
• 1923 – Vello Helk, Estonian-Danish historian and author (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Margaret Pellegrini, American actress and dancer (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and publisher (d. 1978)
• 1925 – Eleonora Rossi Drago, Italian actress (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Denis C. Twitchett, English historian and scholar (d. 2006)
• 1926 – André Cassagnes, French toy maker, created the Etch A Sketch (d. 2013)
• 1926 – John Coltrane, American saxophonist and composer (Miles Davis Quintet) (d. 1967)
• 1926 – Jimmy Woode, American bassist (Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band) (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Mighty Joe Young, American singer and guitarist (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Frank Foster, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Roger Grimsby, American journalist and actor (d. 1995)
• 1929 – Wally Whyton, English singer-songwriter (The Vipers Skiffle Group) (d. 1997)
• 1930 – Sehba Akhtar, Pakistani poet and songwriter (d. 1996)
• 1930 – Colin Blakely, Irish-English actor (d. 1987)
• 1930 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 2004)
• 1931 – Hilly Kristal, American businessman, founded CBGB (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Stan Lynde, American author and illustrator (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Gerald Merrithew, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2004)
• 1932 – Georg Keßler, German footballer and manager
• 1933 – Lloyd J. Old, American immunologist and academic (d. 2011)
• 1934 – Per Olov Enquist, Swedish journalist, author, and playwright
• 1934 – Ahmad Shah Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan
• 1935 – Prem Chopra, Pakistani-Indian actor
• 1935 – Les McCann, American singer and pianist
• 1935 – Ron Tindall, English-Australian footballer, cricketer, and manager (d. 2012)
• 1935 – Arland D. Williams, Jr., American passenger on Air Florida Flight 90 (d. 1982)
• 1936 – Valentín Paniagua, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 91st President of Peru (d. 2006)
• 1936 – Sylvain Saudan, Swiss skier
• 1936 – Tareq Suheimat, Jordanian physician, general, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Jacques Poulin, Canadian author and translator
• 1938 – Tom Lester, American actor and producer
• 1938 – Romy Schneider, Austrian-French actress and singer (d. 1982)
• 1939 – Henry Blofeld, English cricketer and journalist
• 1939 – Roy Buchanan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Snakestretchers) (d. 1988)
• 1939 – Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
• 1939 – Joan Hanham, Baroness Hanham, English politician
• 1939 – Sonny Vaccaro, American businessman
• 1940 – Tim Rose, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (The Big 3) (d. 2002)
• 1940 – Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, Iranian singer-songwriter
• 1940 – Michel Temer, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 25th Vice President of Brazil
• 1941 – George Jackson, American activist and author, co-founded the Black Guerrilla Family (d. 1971)
• 1941 – Simon Nolet, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1941 – Norma Winstone, English singer-songwriter
• 1942 – Sila María Calderón, Puerto Rican businesswoman and politician, 12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
• 1942 – Colin Low, Baron Low of Dalston, Scottish scholar and politician
• 1943 – Tanuja, Indian actress
• 1943 – Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer-songwriter
• 1943 – Marty Schottenheimer, American football player and coach
• 1944 – Eric Bogle, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 – Richard Lambert, English journalist and academic
• 1945 – Ron Bushy, American drummer (Iron Butterfly)
• 1945 – Igor Ivanov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1945 – Paul Petersen, American actor and singer
• 1946 – Franz Fischler, Austrian politician
• 1946 – Bernard Maris, French economist and journalist (d. 2015)
• 1946 – Genista McIntosh, Baroness McIntosh, English politician
• 1946 – Davorin Popović, Bosnian singer-songwriter (Indexi)
• 1946 – Anne Wheeler, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Christian Bordeleau, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1947 – Mary Kay Place, American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Neal Smith, American drummer and songwriter (Plasmatics)
• 1948 – Don Grolnick, American pianist and composer (Ten Wheel Drive) (d. 1996)
• 1948 – Dan Toler, American guitarist (The Allman Brothers Band and Gregg Allman Band) (d. 2013)
• 1949 – Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin, Trinidadian-English actress, academic, and politician
• 1949 – Jerry B. Jenkins, American author
• 1949 – Bruce Springsteen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (E Street Band and Steel Mill)
• 1949 – Kostas Tournas, Greek singer-songwriter
• 1950 – George Garzone, American saxophonist and educator
• 1951 – Steven Springer, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2012)
• 1952 – Mark Bego, American author
• 1952 – Anshuman Gaekwad, Indian cricketer
• 1952 – Dennis Lamp, American baseball player
• 1952 – Jim Morrison, American baseball player and manager
• 1953 – Nicholas Witchell, English journalist
• 1954 – Charlie Barnett, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1954 – Cherie Blair, English lawyer and academic, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1956 – Peter David, American author, actor, and screenwriter
• 1956 – Tom Hogan, Australian cricketer
• 1956 – Paolo Rossi, Italian footballer
• 1957 – Rosalind Chao, American actress
• 1957 – Emilia Contessa, Indonesian singer-songwriter, actress and politician
• 1957 – Tony Fossas, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
• 1957 – Kumar Sanu, Indian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1958 – Danielle Dax, English singer-songwriter and producer (Lemon Kittens)
• 1958 – Khaled El Sheikh, Bahraini singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Marvin Lewis, American football player and coach
• 1958 – Larry Mize, American golfer
• 1959 – Jason Alexander, American actor, singer, director, and producer
• 1959 – Frank Cottrell Boyce, English author and screenwriter
• 1959 – Hans Nijman, Dutch mixed martial artist and wrestler (d. 2014)
• 1959 – Martin Page, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Q-Feel)
• 1959 – Elizabeth Peña, American actress and director (d. 2014)
• 1959 – Karen Pierce, English diplomat
• 1960 – Luis Moya, Spanish race car driver
• 1961 – Lesley Fitz-Simons, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
• 1961 – Chi McBride, American actor and singer
• 1961 – William C. McCool, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1962 – Deborah Orr, Scottish journalist
• 1963 – Anne-Marie Cadieux, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1963 – Alex Proyas, Egyptian-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1964 – Clayton Blackmore, Welsh footballer and manager
• 1964 – Koshi Inaba, Japanese singer-songwriter (B'z)
• 1964 – Larry Krystkowiak, American basketball player and coach
• 1964 – Katie Mitchell, English director and producer
• 1964 – Julian Parkhill, English biologist and academic
• 1964 – Bill Phillips, American businessman and author
• 1965 – Mark Woodforde, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
• 1966 – Pete Harnisch, American baseball player and coach
• 1966 – LisaRaye McCoy-Misick, American actress and fashion designer
• 1967 – Hilary Andersson, American-English journalist
• 1967 – Chris Wilder, English footballer and manager
• 1968 – Yvette Fielding, English actress and producer
• 1968 – Adam Price, Welsh politician
• 1968 – Sydnee Steele, American porn actress
• 1969 – Donald Audette, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 – Patrick Fiori, French singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Tapio Laukkanen, Finnish race car driver
• 1969 – Rod Pampling, Australian golfer
• 1969 – Jan Suchopárek, Czech footballer and manager
• 1970 – Adrian Brunker, Australian rugby player
• 1970 – Lucia Cifarelli, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (KMFDM, MDFMK, KGC, Schwein, and Drill)
• 1970 – Ani DiFranco, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1970 – Giorgos Koltsidas, Greek footballer
• 1971 – Moin Khan, Pakistani cricketer and coach
• 1971 – Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Norwegian bassist and composer (Atomic and The Thing)
• 1971 – Kenji Matsuda, Japanese actor
• 1971 – Lee Mi-yeon, South Korean actress
• 1971 – Eric Montross, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1972 – Sarah Bettens, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist (K's Choice)
• 1972 – Alistair Campbell, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1972 – Ana Marie Cox, American author and blogger
• 1972 – Jermaine Dupri, American rapper and producer
• 1972 – Shim Eun-ha, South Korean actress
• 1972 – Karl Pilkington, English actor and producer
• 1973 – Ingrid Fliter, Argentinian pianist
• 1973 – Vangelis Krios, Greek footballer and coach
• 1973 – Artim Šakiri, Macedonian footballer and manager
• 1974 – Matt Hardy, American wrestler and actor
• 1974 – Harumi Inoue, Japanese swimmer and actress
• 1975 – Jaime Bergman, American model and actress
• 1975 – Layzie Bone, American rapper and actor (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Bone Brothers, and Mo Thugs)
• 1975 – Kim Dong-moon, South Korean badminton player
• 1975 – Chris Hawkins, English journalist and producer
• 1975 – Eric Miller, Irish rugby player, footballer, and coach
• 1976 – Sarah Blasko, Australian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1976 – Homaro Cantu, American chef (d. 2015)
• 1976 – Katarina Čas, Slovenian actress
• 1976 – Faune A. Chambers, American actress and dancer
• 1976 – Rob James-Collier, English model and actor
• 1976 – Kip Pardue, American actor
• 1976 – Valeriy Sydorenko, Ukrainian boxer
• 1976 – Volodymyr Sydorenko, Ukrainian boxer
• 1977 – Matthieu Descoteaux, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Dmitri Kulikov, Estonian footballer
• 1977 – Fabio Ongaro, Italian rugby player
• 1977 – Brett Prebble, Australian jockey
• 1977 – Suzanne Tamim, Lebanese singer and actress (d. 2008)
• 1977 – Rachael Yamagata, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1978 – Benjamin Curtis, American guitarist, drummer, and songwriter (Secret Machines, School of Seven Bells, Tripping Daisy, and UFOFU) (d. 2013)
• 1978 – Anthony Mackie, American actor
• 1978 – Worm Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1978 – Keri Lynn Pratt, American actress
• 1979 – Ricky Davis, American basketball player
• 1979 – Bryant McKinnie, American football player
• 1979 – Fábio Simplício, Brazilian footballer
• 1979 – Lote Tuqiri, Fijian-Australian rugby player
• 1980 – Hooligan, Maltese rapper
• 1980 – Syu, Japanese guitarist and songwriter (Galneryus and Animetal)
• 1980 – Cameron Litvack, American screenwriter and producer
• 1980 – Matt White, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1981 – Robert Doornbos, Dutch race car driver
• 1981 – Natalie Horler, German singer (Cascada and Siria)
• 1981 – Helen Richardson-Walsh, English field hockey player
• 1981 – Misti Traya, American actress
• 1982 – Mait Künnap, Estonian tennis player
• 1982 – Alyssa Sutherland, Australian-American actress and model
• 1983 – Shane del Rosario, American mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (d. 2013)
• 1983 – Märt Israel, Estonian discus thrower
• 1983 – Joffrey Lupul, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Regan Smith, American race car driver
• 1984 – Patrick Ehelechner, German ice hockey player
• 1984 – Kate French, American actress
• 1984 – Matt Kemp, American baseball player
• 1984 – Anneliese van der Pol, Dutch-American actress and singer
• 1985 – Brian Brohm, American football player
• 1985 – Joba Chamberlain, American baseball player
• 1985 – Maki Goto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress (Morning Musume, Nochiura Natsumi, Petitmoni, Gomattō, and Def.Diva)
• 1985 – Chris Johnson, American football player
• 1985 – Hossein Kaebi, Iranian footballer
• 1985 – Lukáš Kašpar, Czech ice hockey player
• 1986 – Martin Cranie, English footballer
• 1987 – Skylar Astin, American actor and singer
• 1987 – Trinidad James, Trinidadian-American rapper
• 1988 – Ryo Kimura, Japanese actor
• 1988 – Juan Martín del Potro, Argentinian tennis player
• 1988 – Shanaze Reade, English BMX rider
• 1988 – Anthony Straker, English footballer
• 1988 – Yannick Weber, Swiss ice hockey player
• 1989 – Kitkat, Filipino actress and singer
• 1989 – Brandon Jennings, American basketball player
• 1989 – Mara Scherzinger, German actress
• 1990 – Agustín Sierra, Argentinian actor and singer
• 1990 – Çağatay Ulusoy, Turkish model and actor
• 1991 – Key, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (Shinee and Toheart)
• 1991 – Melanie Oudin, American tennis player
• 1991 – Zia Quizon, Filipino singer-songwriter
• 1993 – Duke Johnson, American football player
• 1996 – Lee Hi, South Korean singer

Deaths

• 1193 – Robert de Sablé, French knight
• 1241 – Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic historian, poet, and politician (b. 1178)
• 1390 – John I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1346)
• 1535 – Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1513)
• 1571 – John Jewel, English bishop (b. 1522)
• 1573 – Azai Hisamasa, Japanese warlord (b. 1524)
• 1605 – Pontus de Tyard, French priest and poet (b. 1521)
• 1675 – Valentin Conrart, French author, founded the Académie française (b. 1603)
• 1728 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (b. 1655)
• 1738 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch botanist and physician (b. 1668)
• 1764 – Robert Dodsley, English poet and playwright (b. 1703)
• 1773 – Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop and botanist (b. 1718)
• 1789 – John Rogers, American lawyer and politician (b. 1723)
• 1830 – Elizabeth Monroe, American wife of James Monroe, 5th First Lady of the United States (b. 1768)
• 1835 – Vincenzo Bellini, Italian composer (b. 1801)
• 1851 – Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun, founded the Sisters of Providence (b. 1800)
• 1846 – John Ainsworth Horrocks, English-Australian explorer (b. 1818)
• 1850 – José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguayan general and politician (b. 1764)
• 1867 – Michael O'Laughlen, American conspirator (b. 1840)
• 1870 – Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist and historian (b. 1803)
• 1871 – Louis-Joseph Papineau, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1786)
• 1873 – Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (b. 1823)
• 1877 – Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1811)
• 1889 – Wilkie Collins, English novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1824)
• 1900 – William Marsh Rice, American businessman, founded Rice University (b. 1816)
• 1913 – Donato Álvarez, Argentinian general (b. 1825)
• 1917 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1897)
• 1929 – Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist, physicist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
• 1939 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (b. 1856)
• 1940 – Hale Holden, American businessman (b. 1869)
• 1943 – Salvo D'Acquisto, Italian soldier (b. 1920)
• 1943 – Elinor Glyn, English author, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1864)
• 1944 – Jakob Schaffner, Swiss author and critic (b. 1875)
• 1950 – Sam Barry, American basketball player and coach (b. 1892)
• 1951 – Yörük Ali Efe, Turkish warlord (b. 1895)
• 1958 – Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (b. 1876)
• 1967 – Stanislaus Zbyszko, Polish wrestler and strongman (b. 1879)
• 1968 – Pio of Pietrelcina, Italian priest and saint (b. 1887)
• 1970 – Bourvil, French actor and singer (b. 1917)
• 1971 – James Waddell Alexander II, American mathematician and topologist (b. 1888)
• 1971 – Billy Gilbert, American actor and singer (b. 1894)
• 1973 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
• 1974 – Cliff Arquette, American actor and singer (b. 1905)
• 1974 – Robbie McIntosh, Scottish drummer (Average White Band and The Senate) (b. 1950)
• 1978 – Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (b. 1950)
• 1979 – Catherine Lacey, English actress (b. 1904)
• 1981 – Chief Dan George, Canadian actor, author, and poet (b. 1899)
• 1987 – Bob Fosse, American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1927)
• 1988 – Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian-Serbian explorer and author (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Ivar Ivask, Estonian poet and scholar (b. 1927)
• 1992 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (b. 1918)
• 1992 – James Van Fleet, American general (b. 1892)
• 1993 – William Cort, American actor (b. 1936)
• 1994 – Jerry Barber, American golfer (b. 1916)
• 1994 – Robert Bloch, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
• 1994 – Madeleine Renaud, French actress (b. 1900)
• 1997 – Natalie Savage Carlson, American author (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Ray Bowden, English footballer (b. 1909)
• 1998 – Mary Frann, American actress (b. 1943)
• 1999 – Ivan Goff, Australian-American screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
• 2000 – Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player and manager (b. 1947)
• 2000 – Carl Rowan, American journalist and author (b. 1925)
• 2001 – Ron Hewitt, Welsh footballer (b. 1928)
• 2002 – Vernon Corea, Sri Lankan-English radio host (b. 1927)
• 2003 – Zubayr Al-Rimi, Saudi Arabian terrorist (b. 1974)
• 2003 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and journalist (b. 1937)
• 2004 – André Hazes, Dutch singer (b. 1951)
• 2004 – Billy Reay, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Roger Brierley, English actor (b. 1935)
• 2005 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Malcolm Arnold, English trumpet player and composer (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Etta Baker, American singer and guitarist (b. 1913)
• 2008 – Peter Leonard, Australian journalist (b. 1942)
• 2008 – Loren Pope, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
• 2009 – Paul B. Fay, American sailor and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Ertuğrul Osman, Ottoman prince (b. 1912)
• 2010 – Malcolm Douglas, Australian hunter and television host (b. 1941)
• 2010 – Teresa Lewis, American murderer (b. 1969)
• 2012 – Henry Champ, Canadian journalist and academic (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Minister of Defence for Russia (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Roberto Rodríguez, Venezuelan baseball player and coach (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Corrie Sanders, South African boxer (b. 1966)
• 2012 – Sam Sniderman, Canadian businessman, founded Sam the Record Man (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj, Syrian colonel and politician (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Gil Dozier, American captain, lawyer, and politician (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Anthony Hawkins, English-Australian actor (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Paul Kuhn, German singer, pianist, and bandleader (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Gia Maione, American singer (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Vlatko Marković, Croatian footballer and manager (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Ruth Patrick, American botanist and immunologist (b. 1907)
• 2014 – A. W. Davis, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Irven DeVore, American anthropologist and biologist (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Don Manoukian, American football player and wrestler (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Al Suomi, American ice hockey player and referee (b. 1913)
• 2014 – John Toner, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa, Spanish actor and director (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Dragan Holcer, German-Croatian footballer (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Adomnán
  • Padre Pio
  • Pope Linus
  • Sossius
  • Thecla (Roman Catholic Church)
  • September 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Celebrate Bisexuality Day (Bisexual community)
• Grito de Lares (Puerto Rico)
• Holocaust Memorial Day (Lithuania)
• National Day (Saudi Arabia)
• See You at the Pole (International)
• Teachers' Day (Brunei)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to September 23.

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