Your continued donations keep Wikipedia running!
December 23
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). There are 8 days remaining.
| December | ||||||
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 | ||||||
| 2006 | ||||||
Contents |
[edit]
Events
- 619 - Boniface V becomes Pope.
- 1493 - Georg Alt's German translation of Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle is published.
- 1783 - George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.
- 1823 - The poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (AKA The Night Before Christmas) is published in the Sentinel.
- 1888 - Vincent Van Gogh cuts off the lower part of his left ear, takes it to a brothel, and gives it to a prostitute named Rachel.
- 1913 - The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve.
- 1916 - World War I: Battle of Magdhaba - Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
- 1936 - Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1947 - The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.
- 1954 - The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1972 - The Nicaraguan capital of Managua is struck by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake, killing more than 10,000.
- 1972 - Immaculate Reception: Franco Harris scores a contentious touchdown from a pass thrown by Terry Bradshaw in an AFC semi-final between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 1972 - Andes flight disaster: The remaining survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash are rescued from the Andes after 73 days, during which time they have had to resort to cannibalism.
- 1979 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
- 1982 - The Environmental Protection Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.
- 1986 - Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California and becomes the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world.
- 1990 - History of Slovenia: 88% of Slovenia's population vote for independence from Yugoslavia in a referendum.
- 2004 - Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean is hit by a 8.1 magnitude earthquake.
- 2005 - Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashed shortly after takeoff killing 23 people.
- 2005 - Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18th attack on Adre, which left about 100 people dead.
[edit]
Births
- 1513 - Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (d. 1577)
- 1537 - King John III of Sweden (d. 1592)
- 1582 - Severo Bonini, Italian composer (d. 1663)
- 1597 - Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet (d. 1639)
- 1613 - Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish soldier (d. 1676)
- 1621 - Edmund Berry Godfrey, English magistrate (d. 1678)
- 1621 - Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, Lord Chancellor of England (d. 1682)
- 1689 - Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, French composer (d. 1755)
- 1732 - Richard Arkwright, English industrialist and inventor (d. 1792)
- 1750 - King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (d. 1827)
- 1777 - Tsar Alexander I of Russia (d. 1825)
- 1790 - Jean François Champollion, French Egyptologist (d. 1832)
- 1804 - Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic (d. 1869)
- 1805 - Joseph Smith, Jr., American founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1844)
- 1819 - Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (d. 1889)
- 1822 - Wilhelm Bauer, German engineer (d. 1875)
- 1867 - Madame C. J. Walker, American millionaire (d. 1919)
- 1878 - Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-born mechanical engineer (d. 1972)
- 1885 - Pierre Brissaud, French artist (d. 1964)
- 1891 - Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (d. 1956)
- 1907 - Avraham Stern, Polish-born Zionist leader (d. 1942)
- 1908 - Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born photographer (d. 2002)
- 1911 - Niels Kaj Jerne, English-born immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1994)
- 1918 - Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of Germany
- 1918 - José Greco, Italian-born flamenco dancer (d. 2001)
- 1922 - Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician
- 1923 - Günther Schifter, Austrian music journalist
- 1923 - Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
- 1923 - James Stockdale, U.S. Navy admiral (d. 2005)
- 1926 - Robert Bly, American poet
- 1931 - Ronnie Schell, American actor
- 1933 - Akihito, Emperor of Japan
- 1935 - Paul Hornung, American football player
- 1936 - Frederic Forrest, American actor
- 1938 - Bob Kahn, American Internet pioneer
- 1940 - Jorma Kaukonen, American musician
- 1941 - Tim Hardin, American musician (d. 1980)
- 1943 - Mikhail Gromov, Russian-born mathematician
- 1943 - Harry Shearer, American actor
- 1943 - Silvia Sommerlath, Queen of Sweden
- 1944 - Wesley Clark, U.S. general and NATO Supreme Allied Commander
- 1947 - Susan Lucci, American actress
- 1948 - Jack Ham, American football player
- 1949 - Adrian Belew, Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter, Producer
- 1950 - Michael C. Burgess, American politician
- 1952 - William Kristol, American political commentator
- 1955 - Bruce Hornsby, American singer, pianist (Bruce Hornsby & the Range)
- 1956 - Dave Murray, English musician (Iron Maiden)
- 1958 - Victoria Williams, American singer
- 1961 - Carol Smillie, British television personality
- 1963 - Jim Harbaugh, American football player
- 1964 - Eddie Vedder, American musician (Pearl Jam)
- 1969 - Martha Byrne, American actress
- 1970 - Catriona LeMay Doan, Canadian speed skater
- 1971 - Corey Haim, Canadian actor
- 1971 - Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite
- 1975 - Sky Lopez, American actress
- 1977 - Alge Crumpler, American football player
- 1978 - Andra Davis, American football player
- 1978 - Esthero, Canadian musician and singer
- 1978 - Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- 1978 - Estella Warren, Canadian model and actress
- 1978 - Jodie Marsh, UK based glamour model, Brentwood, Essex
- 1981 - Beth, Spanish singer
[edit]
Deaths
- 910 - Naum of Preslav, Bulgarian scholar
- 913 - Conrad of Franconia
- 1230 - Berengaria of Navarre, queen of Richard I of England
- 1556 - Nicholas Udall, English playwright (b. 1504)
- 1568 - Roger Ascham, tutor of Elizabeth I of England
- 1575 - Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese warrior (b. 1531)
- 1588 - Henry I, Duke of Guise, French Catholic leader (b. 1550)
- 1631 - Michael Drayton, English poet (b. 1563)
- 1646 - François Maynard, French poet (b. 1582)
- 1652 - John Cotton, founder of Boston, Massachusetts (b. 1585)
- 1675 - Caesar, duc de Choiseul, French marshal and diplomat (b. 1602)
- 1722 - Pierre Varignon, French mathematician (b. 1654)
- 1771 - Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, Canadian saint (b. 1701)
- 1761 - Alestair Ruadh MacDonnell, Scottish Jacobite spy
- 1779 - Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, British admiral and politician (b. 1724)
- 1789 - Charles-Michel de l'Épée, French philanthropist and developer of signed French (b. 1712)
- 1793 - Johann Adolph Hasse, German composer (b. 1699)
- 1795 - Henry Clinton, British general (b. 1730)
- 1805 - Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and naturalist (b. 1723)
- 1834 - Thomas Malthus, English demographer and economist (b. 1766)
- 1846 - Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent, French naturalist (b. 1780)
- 1872 - Theophile Gautier, French writer (b. 1811)
- 1912 - Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist (b. 1850)
- 1939 - Anthony Fokker, Dutch aircraft manufacturer (b. 1890)
- 1948 - Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan (hanged) (b. 1884)
- 1953 - Lavrenty Beria, Soviet Communist leader (b. 1899)
- 1970 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (b. 1886)
- 1973 - Charles Atlas, Italian-born bodybuilder (b. 1892)
- 1973 - Irna Phillips, American television writer, director, and producer (b. 1901)
- 1979 - Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (b. 1898)
- 1982 - Jack Webb, American actor, producer, and director (b. 1920)
- 1983 - Colin Middleton, Northern Irish artist (b. 1910)
- 1992 - Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (Funkadelic) (b. 1950)
- 1994 - Sebastian Shaw, English actor (b. 1905)
- 2000 - Billy Barty, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2000 - Victor Borge, Danish-born comedian and pianist (b. 1909)
- 2004 - P. V. Narasimha Rao, ninth Prime Minister of India (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Norman D. Vaughan, polar explorer and dogsled driver (b. 1905)
- 2005 - Lajos Baróti, Hungarian footballer and coach (b. 1914)
[edit]
Holidays and observances
- Roman festivals - Larentalia, a festival in honor of Larenta
- R.C. Saints - John Cantius ; Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland
- Japan - The Emperor's Birthday - Birthday of Akihito, the current Emperor of Japan
- Ancient Latvia - Ziemassvetki held
- Sweden - Birthday of Queen Silvia, an official flag day
- Oaxaca - Night of the Radishes
- Secular humanism (American) - HumanLight observed
[edit]
Fictitious holidays
[edit]
External links
December 22 - December 24 - November 23 - January 23 -- listing of all days
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
