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On This Day in History — October 23

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Highlights of October 23

2022 — Myanmar civil war: Burmese military forces launched airstrikes that killed at least 80 concertgoers in Kachin State. Read more
2022 — Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif is shot and killed by local police in Kajiado, Kenya. Read more
2018 — An escalator accident in Rome left 24 people injured, mostly fans of the CSKA Moscow football team who were in town for a UEFA Champions League match against Roma. Read more
2015 — Hurricane Patricia, the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere, peaked with maximum sustained winds of 215 mph (345 km/h) south of Mexico. Read more
2011 — During the Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix, Marco Simoncelli (pictured) collided with two other riders, resulting in his death due to serious trauma to the head, neck, and chest. Read more
2001 — Grand Theft Auto III was released, helping to popularize open-world and mature-content video games. Read more
1995 — The runway show for Alexander McQueen's collection The Hunger was staged at London's Natural History Museum. Read more
1972 — Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker, a U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ended after five months. Read more
1957 — A screening of Mother India, one of the most influential Indian films in history, was held for President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru two days before its release. Read more
1956 — The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student demonstration that attracted thousands while marching through central Budapest to the parliament building. Read more
1955 — The State of Vietnam voted in a referendum to become a republic. Read more
1942 — World War II: Japanese troops began an unsuccessful attempt to recapture Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands from American forces. Read more
1934 — Jeannette Piccard (pictured) piloted a hot-air balloon flight that reached 57,579 feet (17,550 m), becoming the first woman to fly in the stratosphere. Read more
1906 — Alberto Santos-Dumont flew his biplane 14-bis for 50 metres (160 ft) at an altitude of about four metres (13 ft). Read more
1850 — The inaugural National Women's Rights Convention, presided over by American activist Paulina Wright Davis (pictured), began in Worcester, Massachusetts. Read more
1798 — War of the Second Coalition: The Ottoman–Albanian forces of Ali Pasha of Janina defeated French troops and captured the town of Preveza at the Battle of Nicopolis. Read more
1641 — Irish Catholic gentry in Ulster tried to seize control of Dublin Castle, the seat of English rule in Ireland, to force concessions to Catholics. Read more
1157 — The Battle of Grathe Heath ended the Danish Civil War. Read more

Events

2022 — Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Committee, beginning a third term of the paramount leader of China. Read more
2022 — Myanmar Air Force airstrikes a concert in Hpakant Township, Kachin state killing at least 80 people, including senior Kachin Independence Organisation officials, in the Hpakant massacre. Read more
2020 — Second Libyan Civil War: The Second Libyan Civil War comes to an end as all parties to the 5+5 Joint Libyan Military Commission agree to a ceasefire. Read more
2017 — War against the Islamic State: Philippine defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana declares the end of the Siege of Marawi. Read more
2015 — The lowest sea-level pressure in the Western Hemisphere, and the highest reliably-measured non-tornadic sustained winds, are recorded in Hurricane Patricia, which strikes Mexico hours later, killing at least 13 and causing over $280 million in damages. Read more
2011 — A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Van Province, Turkey, killing 582 people and injuring thousands. Read more
2011 — The Libyan National Transitional Council deems the Libyan Civil War over. Read more
2011 — Motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli dies in a racing accident at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Read more
2007 — A storm causes the Mexican Kab 101 oil platform to collide with a wellhead, leading to the death and drowning of 22 people during rescue operations after evacuation of the platform. Read more
2007 — Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-120, with Pamela Melroy becoming the second female space shuttle commander. Read more
2004 — A powerful earthquake and its aftershocks hit Niigata Prefecture in northern Japan, killing 35 people, injuring 2,200, and leaving 85,000 homeless or evacuated. Read more
2002 — Second Chechen War: Chechen separatist terrorists seize the House of Culture theater in Moscow and take approximately 700 theater-goers hostage. Read more
2001 — Apple Computer releases the iPod. Read more
1998 — Israel and the Palestinian Authority sign the Wye River Memorandum. Read more
1995 — Yolanda Saldívar is found guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of popular Latin singer Selena. Read more
1993 — The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb prematurely detonates in Belfast, killing the bomber and nine civilians. Read more
1991 — Signing of the Paris Peace Accords which ends the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. Read more
1989 — The Hungarian Republic officially replaces the communist Hungarian People's Republic. Read more
1989 — Bankruptcy of Wärtsilä Marine, the biggest bankruptcy in the Nordic countries up until then. Read more
1989 — An explosion at the Houston Chemical Complex in Pasadena, Texas, which registered a 3.5 on the Richter magnitude scale, kills 23 and injures 314. Read more
1983 — Lebanese Civil War: The U.S. Marines Corps barracks in Beirut is hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. A French Army barracks in Lebanon is also hit that same morning, killing 58 troops. Read more
1982 — A gunfight breaks out between police officers and members of a religious cult in Arizona. The shootout leaves two cultists dead and dozens of cultists and police officers injured. Read more
1978 — Aeroflot Flight 6515 crashes off Syvash, killing all 26 people aboard. Read more
1972 — Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker, a US bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ends after five months. Read more
1970 — Gary Gabelich sets a land speed record in a rocket-powered automobile called the Blue Flame, fueled with natural gas. Read more
1965 — Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, launches an operation seeking to destroy Communist forces during the siege of Plei Me. Read more
1959 — Aeroflot Flight 200 crashes while attempting to land at Vnukovo International Airport, killing 28. Read more
1958 — Canada's Springhill mining disaster kills seventy-five miners, while ninety-nine others are rescued. Read more
1958 — Belgian artist Peyo's comic characters, the Smurfs, make their debut in Spirou magazine. Read more
1956 — Secret police shoot several anti-communist protesters, igniting the Hungarian Revolution. Read more
1955 — Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm defeats former emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum and founds the Republic of Vietnam. Read more
1955 — The people of the Saar region vote in a referendum to unite with West Germany instead of France. Read more
1945 — Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract with the Brooklyn Dodger's minor league team, the Montreal Royals, breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier. Read more
1944 — World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. Read more
1942 — World War II: Allied forces commence the Second Battle of El Alamein, which proves to be the key turning point in the North African campaign. Read more
1942 — All 12 passengers and crewmen aboard American Airlines Flight 28 are killed when it collides with a U.S. Army Air Force bomber near Palm Springs, California. Read more
1942 — World War II: The Battle for Henderson Field begins on Guadalcanal. Read more
1941 — The Holocaust: Nazi Germany prohibits Jews from emigrating, including in its occupied territories. Read more
1940 — Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco meet at Hendaye to discuss the possibility of Spain entering the Second World War. Read more
1927 — The Imatra Cinema is destroyed in a fire in Tampere, Finland, during showing the 1924 film Wages of Virtue; 21 people die in the fire and almost 30 are injured. Read more
1924 — Second Zhili–Fengtian War: Warlord Feng Yuxiang, with the covert support of the Empire of Japan, stages a coup in Beijing against his erstwhile superiors in the Zhili clique, crippling their nearly victorious war effort against the Fengtian clique and forcing them to withdraw from northern China. Read more
1923 — German October: Due to a miscommunication with the party leadership, a militant section of the Communist Party of Germany launches an insurrection in Hamburg. Read more
1912 — First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo between the Serbian and Ottoman armies begins. Read more
1911 — The Italo-Turkish War sees the first use of an airplane in combat when an Italian pilot makes a reconnaissance flight. Read more
1906 — Alberto Santos-Dumont flies an airplane in the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe. Read more
1882 — Assommoir bombing: Anarchists such as Fanny Madignier commit the first deadly anarchist attack in France. Read more
1868 — Meiji Restoration: Having taken the shogunate's seat of power at Edo and declared it his new capital as Tokyo, Mutsuhito proclaims the start of the new Meiji era. Read more
1864 — American Civil War: The Battle of Westport is the last significant engagement west of the Mississippi River, ending in a Union victory. Read more
1856 — Second Opium War: Dissatisfied with imperial commissioner Ye Mingchen's reparations for the alleged slighting of a British-owned vessel and at Consul Harry Parkes's urging, British Rear-Admiral Michael Seymour launches an assault on the Barrier Forts outside Canton in the first military engagement of the Second Opium War. Read more
1850 — The first National Women's Rights Convention begins in Worcester, Massachusetts. Read more
1812 — General Claude François de Malet begins a conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon, claiming that the Emperor died in the Russian campaign. Read more
1798 — The forces of Ali Pasha of Janina defeat the French and capture the town of Preveza in the Battle of Nicopolis. Read more
1732 — The siege of Isfahan comes to an end when Safavid ruler Soltan Hoseyn capitulates to the besieging Afghan forces under Mahmud Hotak. Read more
1707 — The First Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain convenes. Read more
1666 — The most intense tornado on record in English history, an F4 storm on the Fujita scale or T8 on the TORRO scale, strikes the county of Lincolnshire, with winds of more than 213 miles per hour (343 km/h). Read more
1642 — The Battle of Edgehill is the first major battle of the English Civil War. Read more
1641 — Irish Catholic gentry from Ulster attempt to seize control of Dublin Castle, the seat of English rule in Ireland, so as to force concessions. Read more
1448 — Scotland wins a decisive victory over England at the Battle of Sark, the last pitched battle to be fought between the two kingdoms during the Medieval period. Read more
1295 — The first treaty forming the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France against England is signed in Paris. Read more
1157 — The Battle of Grathe Heath ends the Danish Civil War. Read more

Born on October 23

2004 — Niccolò Pisilli, Italian footballer Read more
2003 — Jacob Bethell, English Cricket Legend Read more
2002 — Ningning, Chinese singer Read more
1999 — Yui Kobayashi, Japanese idol Read more
1998 — Amandla Stenberg, American actress Read more
1998 — Jordan Goodwin, American basketball player Read more
1997 — Nick Bosa, American football player Read more
1997 — Élie Okobo, French basketball player Read more
1997 — Jaydn Su'A, New Zealand rugby league player Read more
1997 — Minnie, Thai singer Read more
1995 — Ireland Baldwin, American model Read more
1994 — Margaret Qualley, American actress Read more
1993 — Josh Ruffels, English footballer Read more
1992 — Álvaro Morata, Spanish footballer Read more
1991 — Emil Forsberg, Swedish footballer Read more
1991 — Princess Mako of Akishino, member of the Japanese Imperial Family Read more
1991 — Jorge Taufua, Australian rugby league player Read more
1989 — Viktor Agardius, Swedish footballer Read more
1989 — Alain Baroja, Venezuelan footballer Read more
1989 — Zach Brown, American football player Read more
1989 — Jonita Gandhi, Indo-Canadian singer Read more
1989 — Anisya Kirdyapkina, Russian race walker Read more
1989 — Andriy Yarmolenko, Ukrainian footballer Read more
1988 — Jordan Crawford, American basketball player Read more
1988 — Aleksandr Salugin, Russian footballer Read more
1988 — Carolin Schiewe, German footballer Read more
1987 — Carmella, American wrestler Read more
1987 — Robin Copeland, Irish rugby player Read more
1987 — Félix Doubront, Venezuelan baseball player Read more
1987 — Faye, Swedish singer-songwriter Read more
1987 — Kyle Gibson, American baseball player Read more
1987 — Seo In-guk, South Korean singer and actor Read more
1987 — Miyuu Sawai, Japanese model and actress Read more
1987 — Naomi Watanabe, Japanese actress Read more
1986 — Emilia Clarke, English actress Read more
1986 — Briana Evigan, American actress and dancer Read more
1986 — Inbar Lavi, Israeli actress Read more
1986 — Jovanka Radičević, Montenegrin handball player Read more
1986 — Jake Robinson, English footballer Read more
1986 — Jessica Stroup, American actress Read more

Died on October 23

2025 — June Lockhart, American actress (b. 1925) Read more
2024 — Geoff Capes, British shot putter and strongman (born 1949) Read more
2024 — Gary Indiana, American writer, playwright and poet (born 1950) Read more
2024 — Jack Jones, American singer and actor (born 1938) Read more
2023 — Aira Samulin, Finnish entrepreneur and dance teacher (born 1927) Read more
2023 — Bishan Singh Bedi, Indian cricketer (born 1946) Read more
2022 — Adriano Moreira, Portuguese politician, Minister of the Overseas Provinces, President of the CDS – People's Party (born 1922) Read more
2020 — Jerry Jeff Walker, American singer-songwriter (born 1942) Read more
2018 — Todd Reid, Australian tennis player (born 1984) Read more
2017 — Walter Lassally, German cinematographer (born 1926) Read more
2016 — Jack Chick, American cartoonist and publisher (born 1924) Read more
2016 — Wim van der Voort, Dutch speed skater (born 1923) Read more
2016 — Pete Burns, English singer-songwriter (born 1959) Read more
2015 — Leon Bibb, American-Canadian singer (born 1922) Read more
2015 — Roger De Clerck, Belgian businessman (born 1924) Read more
2015 — Jim Roberts, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (born 1940) Read more
2015 — Fred Sands, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Museum of Contemporary Art (born 1938) Read more
2014 — Ghulam Azam, Bangladeshi politician (born 1922) Read more
2014 — John Bramlett, American football player (born 1941) Read more
2014 — Bernard Mayes, English-American journalist and academic (born 1929) Read more
2014 — Joan Quigley, American astrologer and author (born 1927) Read more
2014 — Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (born 1931) Read more
2014 — Alvin Stardust, English singer and actor (born 1942) Read more
2013 — Wes Bialosuknia, American basketball player (born 1945) Read more
2013 — Anthony Caro, English sculptor and academic (born 1924) Read more
2013 — Niall Donohue, Irish hurler (born 1990) Read more
2013 — Gypie Mayo, English guitarist and songwriter (Dr. Feelgood and The Yardbirds) (born 1951) Read more
2013 — Bill Mazer, Ukrainian-American journalist and sportscaster (born 1920) Read more
2012 — William Joel Blass, American lawyer and politician (born 1917) Read more
2012 — Wilhelm Brasse, Polish photographer (born 1917) Read more
2012 — Roland de la Poype, French soldier and pilot (born 1920) Read more
2012 — Sunil Gangopadhyay, Indian author and poet (born 1934) Read more
2012 — Michael Marra, Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1952) Read more
2011 — Herbert A. Hauptman, American chemist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917) Read more
2011 — Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (born 1987) Read more
2010 — Fran Crippen, American swimmer (born 1984) Read more
2010 — Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (born 1923) Read more
2009 — Lou Jacobi, Canadian-American actor (born 1913) Read more
2008 — Kevin Finnegan, English boxer (born 1948) Read more
2007 — John Ilhan, Turkish-Australian businessman, founded Crazy John's (born 1965) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer; Christian feast day: James the Just (i.e. James, brother of Jesus) (Lutheran, Episcopal Church (USA), Eastern Orthodox); Christian feast day: Æthelflæd of Romsey; Christian feast day: Allucio of Campugliano; Christian feast day: Amon of Toul (Diocese of Toul); Christian feast day: Boethius; Christian feast day: Ignatios of Constantinople; Christian feast day: John of Capistrano; Christian feast day: Joséphine Leroux; Christian feast day: Paul Tong Viet Buong; Christian feast day: Peter Pascual; Christian feast day: Romain (Romanus) of Rouen; Christian feast day: Servandus and Cermanus; Christian feast day: Severin of Cologne; Christian feast day: Blessed Thomas Thwing; Christian feast day: October 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Christian feast day: Christmas or the Feast of Señor Noemi (the Child Jesus) in the Apostolic Catholic Church; Mole Day (International observance)

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Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “October 23”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.