August 23

August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining.

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Events

• 1305 - William Wallace is executed.
• 1328 - Battle of Kassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers
• 1328 - King Philip VI of France is crowned.
• 1540 - French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada.
• 1566 - Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands
• 1614 - The University of Groningen is established
• 1617 - In London, the first one-way street is established
• 1651 - Charles II enters Worcester and starts a battle.
• 1784 - Eastern Tennessee declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; the step is rejected by Congress one year later
• 1793 - French Revolution: a Levée en masse was decreed by the National Convention.
• 1799 - Napoleon leaves Egypt for France en route to seize power
• 1813 - At the Battle of Grossbeeren,the Prussians under Von Bulow repulse the French army.
• 1821 - Mexico gains its independence from Spain
• 1833 - Slavery abolished in the British colonies
• 1839 - The UK captures Hong Kong
• 1864 - The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico
• 1866 - Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague
• 1889 - First wireless message from a ship to the shore received.
• 1904 - The automobile tire chain is patented.
• 1914 - Japan declares war on Germany and bombs Qingdao, China.
• 1924 - The distance between Earth and Mars is the smallest since the 10th century.
• 1927 - Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1929 - Arabs attack Jews in Israel
• 1939 - World War II: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, Baltic states, Finland and Poland are divided between the two nations.
• 1940 - World War II: The Germans start bombing London.
• 1942 - World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad
• 1943 - World War II: Kharkov liberated.
• 1944 - World War II: Marseille liberated.
• 1944 - World War II: King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-Nazi government of General Antonescu. Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies.
• 1944 - A US Army Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England killing 61 people.
• 1944 - World War II: Ion Antonescu, prime minister of Romania, is arrested and a new gouverment is established. Romania exits the war against Russia joining the Allies.
• 1947 - The Maynard Midgets beat Lock Haven 16-7 to win the first-ever Little League World Series championship.
• 1948 - World Council of Churches is formed.
• 1952 - The Arab League goes into effect.
• 1958 - Chinese Civil War: The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of Quemoy.
• 1960 - In Equatorial Guinea, the world's largest Frog (3.3 kg) is caught.
• 1962 - First live Television connection between the United States and Europe, via the Telstar satellite.
• 1966 - Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.
• 1968 - Ringo Starr temporarily quits The Beatles
• 1973 - The Intelsat communication satellite is launched.
• 1975 - Successful Communist coup in Laos
• 1976 - A major Earthquake in China kills thousands of people.
• 1979 - Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the United States.
• 1985 - Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany.
• 1987 - Heavy rains and floods in Bangladesh kill hundreds of victims.
• 1989 - Singing Revolution: two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius-Tallinn road, holding hands (Baltic way).
• 1989 - All of Australia's 1,645 domestic airline pilots resign after the airlines threaten to sack them and sue them over a dispute.
• 1990 - Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages to try to prevent the Gulf War).
• 1990 - Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1990 - West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on October 3.
• 1992 - Hurricane Andrew hits South Florida.
• 1996 - Osama bin Laden issues message entitled 'A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places'
• 2000 - A Gulf Air Airbus A320 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143
• 2000 - Nicaragua becomes a member of the Berne Convention Copyright Treaty. This essentially deprecated the Buenos Aires Convention treaty, because as of this date, all members of the BA Convention were also signatories to Berne.

Births

• 686 - Charles Martel, grandfather of Charlemagne (d. 741)
• 1486 - Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat and historian (d. 1566)
• 1524 - François Hotman, French lawyer and writer (d. 1590)
• 1623 - Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer (d. 1675)
• 1741 - Jean-François de Galaup, count de La Pérouse, French explorer (d. 1788)
• 1754 - King Louis XVI of France (d. 1792)
• 1769 - Georges Cuvier, French biologist and statesman (d. 1832)
• 1783 - William Tierney Clark, English civil engineer (d. 1852)
• 1785 - Oliver Hazard Perry, U.S. naval officer (d.1819)
• 1805 - Anton von Schmerling, Austrian statesman (d. 1893)
• 1829 - Moritz Cantor, German mathematician (d.1920)
• 1847 - Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1927)
• 1849 - William Ernest Henley, British poet, critic, and editor (d. 1903)
• 1852 - Arnold Toynbee, English economist and social reformer (d.1883)
• 1864 - Eleftherios Venizalos, Prime Minister of Greece (d.1936)
• 1869 - Edgar Lee Masters, American author (d. 1950)
• 1875 - William Eccles, English radio pioneer (d. 1966)
• 1880 - Alexander Grin, Russian writer (d. 1932)
• 1883 - Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV, U.S. general (d. 1953)
• 1884 - Will Cuppy, American humorist (d. 1949)
• 1900 - Ernst Krenek, Austrian-born composer (d. 1991)
• 1901 - John Sherman Cooper, U.S. Senator from Kentucky (d. 1991)
• 1903 - William Primrose, Scottish violist (d. 1982)
• 1905 - Constant Lambert, British composer (d. 1951)
• 1911 - Birger Ruud, Norwegian athelete (d. 1998)
• 1912 - Gene Kelly, American dancer and actor (d. 1996)
• 1917 - Tex Williams, American singer (d. 1985)
• 1921 - Kenneth Arrow, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1922 - George Kell, baseball player
• 1923 - Edgar F. Codd, English computer scientist (d. 2003)
• 1924 - Ephraim Kishon, Israeli writer (d. 2005)
• 1924 - Robert Solow, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1927 - Dick Bruna, Dutch illustrator
• 1929 - Vera Miles, American actress
• 1930 - Michel Rocard, Prime Minister of France
• 1932 - Houari Boumedienne, President of Algeria (d. 1978)
• 1932 - Mark Russell, American comedian, musician, and political commentator
• 1933 - Robert Curl, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1933 - Pete Wilson, Governor of California
• 1934 - Barbara Eden, American actress
• 1934 - Sonny Jurgensen, American football player
• 1936 - Henry Lee Lucas, American serial killer (d. 2001)
• 1943 - Nelson DeMille, American novelist
• 1947 - Keith Moon, English singer and drummer (The Who) (d. 1978)
• 1947 - David Robb, British actor
• 1949 - Shelley Long, American actress
• 1949 - Rick Springfield, Australian singer and actor
• 1951 - Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya (d. 2004)
• 1951 - Queen Noor of Jordan
• 1952 - Vicky Leandros, Greek singer
• 1956 - Andreas Floer, German mathematician (d. 1991)
• 1963 - Hans-Henning Fastrich, German field hockey player
• 1963 - Kenny Wallace, American race car driver
• 1966 - Rik Smits, Dutch basketball player
• 1970 - Jay Mohr, American actor and comedian
• 1970 - River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1974 - Ray Park, British actor
• 1975 - Eliza Carthy, English singer and fiddler
• 1978 - Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
• 1978 - Julian Casablancas, American musician
• 1982 - Natalie Coughlin, American olympic swimmer
• 1984 - Glen Johnson, English footballer
• 1988 - Niki Leinso, Croatian singer and songwriter

Deaths

• 93 - Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman Governor of Britain (b. 40)
• 634 - Abu Bakr, Arabian caliph
• 1176 - Emperor Rokujo of Japan (b. 1164)
• 1305 - William Wallace, Scottish patriot (executed)
• 1387 - King Olav IV of Norway (b. 1370)
• 1507 - Jean Molinet, French writer (b. 1435)
• 1519 - Philibert Berthelier, Swiss patriot
• 1540 - Guillaume Budé, French scholar
• 1591 - Luis Ponce de León, Spanish poet and mystic (b. 1527)
• 1618 - Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero, Dutch writer (b. 1585)
• 1628 - George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1592)
• 1723 - Increase Mather, New England Puritan minister (b. 1639)
• 1618 - Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero, Dutch writer (b. 1585)
• 1652 - John Byron, 1st Baron Byron, English royalist politician (b. 1600)
• 1806 - Charles Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist (b. 1736)
• 1813 - Alexander Wilson, Scottish-born ornithologist (b. 1766)
• 1819 - Oliver Hazard Perry, American naval officer (b. 1785)
• 1866 - Auguste Barthelemy, French poet (b. 1796)
• 1926 - Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (b. 1895)
• 1927 - Nicola Sacco, Italian anarchist (executed) (b. 1891)
• 1927 - Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian anarchist (executed) (b. 1888)
• 1937 - Albert Roussel, French composer (b. 1869)
• 1960 - Oscar Hammerstein II, American lyricist (b. 1895)
• 1962 - Walter Anderson, German folklorist (b. 1885)
• 1962 - Hoot Gibson, American actor (b. 1892)
• 1966 - Francis X. Bushman, American actor (b. 1883)
• 1982 - Stanford Moore, American biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
• 1997 - John Kendrew, British molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1917)
• 2001 - Peter Maas, American novelist (b. 1929)
• 2002 - Hoyt Wilhelm, baseball player (b. 1922)
• 2003 - Imperio Argentina, Argentine singer and actress (b. 1906)
• 2003 - Bobby Bonds, baseball player and manager (b. 1946)
• 2003 - Jack Dyer, Australian footballer (b. 1913)
• 2003 - John Geoghan, American Catholic priest
• 2005 - Brock Peters, American actor (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

• Roman festivals - Vulcanalia
• RC Saints - Saint Rose of Lima
• Romania - Liberation day (1944)
• Swaziland - Umhlanga Day
• Astrology - First day of sun sign Virgo