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.
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Contents |
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Events
- 619 - Boniface V becomes Pope
- 1493 - The Latin edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle is published
- 1620 - Construction of Plymouth Colony begins
- 1783 - George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at Annapolis, Maryland.
- 1823 - A Visit From St. Nicholas, attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, is first published
- 1888 - Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear.
- 1909 - Albert I of Belgium becomes King.
- 1913 - The Federal Reserve Act becomes law.
- 1916 - World War I: In the Battle of Magdhaba, Allied forces capture a Turkish garrison on the 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 organ transplant, of a kidney, was performed by Doctors Murray and Harrison at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston.
- 1964 - Beach Boys' bassist/keyboardist Brian Wilson suffers a nervous breakdown on a flight from Los Angeles to Houston, eventually precipitating his retirement.
- 1972 - The Nicaragua capital city, Managua was struck by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake.
- 1972 - Terry Bradshaw throws the Immaculate Reception pass "to" Franco Harris.
- 1972 - The survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days.
- 1973 - A Sobelair Caravelle passenger jet crashes in Morocco, killing 106
- 1979 - Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: Soviet military units occupy Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan
- 1982 - The Environmental Protection Agency recommends the evacuation of Times Beach, Missouri due to dangerous levels of dioxin contamination
- 1986 - The Scaled Composites Voyager aircraft completes the first non-stop flight around the world without refueling.
- 1990 - Republic of Slovenia votes to secede from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- 2004 - An earthquake measured 8.1 on the Richter scale hits Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, one day before the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake.
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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 Mormonism and the Latter-day Saint movement (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)
- 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)
- 1918 - Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of Germany
- 1918 - José Greco, Italian-born flamenco dancer (d. 2001)
- 1922 - Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician
- 1923 - Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
- 1923 - James Stockdale, U.S. Navy admiral
- 1923 - Günther Schifter, Austrian music journalist
- 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
- 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
- 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 - Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- 1978 - Estella Warren, Canadian model and actress
- 1978 - Esthero, Canadian musician and singer
- 1981 - Beth, Spanish singer
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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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 1992 - Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (Funkadelic) (b. 1950)
- 1994 - Sebastian Shaw, English actor (b. 1905)
- 2000 - Victor Borge, Danish-born humorist and pianist (b. 1909)
- 2000 - Billy Barty, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2004 - P. V. Narasimha Rao, ninth Prime Minister of India (b. 1921)
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Holidays and observances
- Japan - The Emperor's Birthday - Birthday of Akihito, the current Emperor of Japan
- Sweden - Birthday of Queen Silvia, an official flag day
- Roman Empire - Larentalia, a festival in honor of Larenta
- Ancient Latvia - Ziemassvetki held
- Fans of Seinfeld - Festivus held
- Secular humanism (American) - HumanLight observed
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External links
December 22 - December 24 - November 23 - January 23 -- listing of all days
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