February 23

February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 311 days remaining until the end of the year (312 in leap years).

Events

• 1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type.
• 1660 – Charles XI becomes King of Sweden.
• 1778 – American Revolution: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
• 1820 – Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
• 1836 – The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.
• 1847 – Mexican-American War: Battle of Buena Vista – In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• 1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
• 1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
• 1870 – In the United States, post-Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
• 1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.
• 1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
• 1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse," a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
• 1900 – In South Africa, the Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart's Hill.
• 1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
• 1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.
• 1909 – The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
• 1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.
• 1918 – First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser's German troops near Narva and Pskov. In honor of this victory, the date is celebrated from 1923 onward as "Red Army Day"; it is renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is colloquially known as "Men's Day".
• 1919 – Benito Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy.
• 1927 – The Federal Radio Commission (later renamed the Federal Communications Commission) begins to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.
• 1934 – Léopold III becomes King of Belgium.
• 1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
• 1943 – A fire breaks out at St. Joseph's Orphanage, Co Cavan, Ireland, killing 36 people (35 of whom are children).
• 1944 – The Soviet Union begins forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.
• 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize and become the model for the national USMC War Memorial.
• 1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.
• 1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
• 1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed by a raid of 379 British bombers.
• 1945 – World War II: The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is bombed by Allied forces. It would later be re-opened in 1975.
• 1947 – The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.
• 1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
• 1955 – First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
• 1957 – The founding congress of the Senegalese Popular Bloc is opened in Dakar.
• 1958 – Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
• 1966 – In Syria, Baath party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin Hafiz, also a Baathist.
• 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
• 1980 – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
• 1981 – In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
• 1983 – The Spanish Socialist government of Felipe González and Miguel Boyer nationalizes Rumasa, a holding company founded by entrepreneur José María Ruiz Mateos.
• 1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
• 1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
• 1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus starting the ground phase of the war.
• 1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
• 1992 – The Socialist Labour Party is founded in the nation of Georgia.
• 1997 – A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.
• 1998 – In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.
• 1998 – Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and "Crusaders"; the latter term is commonly interpreted to refer to the people of Europe and the United States.
• 1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
• 1999 – An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.
• 2005 – In Slovakia, a two-day meeting dubbed "Slovakia Summit 2005" takes place between U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This occasion marks the first visit of a sitting American President to the Slovak Republic since its establishment in 1993.
• 2005 – The controversial French law on colonialism is passed, requiring teachers to teach the "positive values of colonialism". After public outcry, it is repealed at the beginning of 2006.
• 2006 – Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism.
• 2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
• 2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit crashes on Guam. It is the first operational loss of a B-2.

Births

• 1417 – Pope Paul II (d. 1471)
• 1443 – Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, King of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1490)
• 1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French scientist (d. 1656)
• 1633 – Samuel Pepys, English naval administrator and man of letters, posthumously famous as a diarist (d. 1703)
• 1646 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (d. 1709)
• 1648 – Arabella Churchill, English mistress of James II of England (d. 1730)
• 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, French colonizer and Governor of Louisiana (d. 1767)
• 1685 – Georg Friedrich Handel, German/British Baroque composer (d. 1759)
• 1723 – Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (d. 1791)
• 1729 – Josiah Hornblower, American statesman (d. 1809)
• 1743 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German-born banker (d. 1812)
• 1809 – William Sprague, American minister and politician from Michigan (d. 1868)
• 1840 – Frederick Wicks, English author and inventor (d. 1910)
• 1842 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher (d. 1906)
• 1850 – César Ritz, Swiss hotelier (d. 1918)
• 1868 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American civil rights leader (d. 1963)
• 1873 – Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (d. 1929)
• 1874 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian president (d. 1956)
• 1878 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and art theorist (d. 1935)
• 1883 – Karl Jaspers, German philosopher (d. 1969)
• 1889 – Victor Fleming, American director (d. 1949)
• 1889 – Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
• 1889 – John Gilbert Winant, American politician (d. 1947)
• 1891 – Harold Horder, Australian Rugby League player (d. 1978)
• 1899 – Erich Kästner, German writer (d. 1974)
• 1899 – Norman Taurog, American film director (d. 1981)
• 1901 – Edgar Ende, German painter (d. 1965)
• 1904 – Terence Fisher, English film director (d. 1980)
• 1904 – William L. Shirer, American historian (d. 1993)
• 1904 – Leopold Trepper, Soviet spy (d. 1982)
• 1908 – William McMahon, twentieth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
• 1914 – Theofiel Middelkamp, Dutch cyclist (d. 2005)
• 1915 – Jon Hall, American actor (d. 1979)
• 1915 – Paul Tibbets, US Air Force retired Brigadier General and Pilot of B-29 "Enola Gay" over Hiroshima (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Richard G. Butler, American fascist (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Paul Gérin-Lajoie, French Canadian politician
• 1923 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan politician
• 1924 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African born physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
• 1924 – Claude Sautet, French film director (d. 2000)
• 1927 – Régine Crespin, French operatic soprano (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
• 1928 – Vasili Lazarev, cosmonaut (d. 1990)
• 1929 – Elston Howard, American Baseball Player (d. 1980)
• 1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American collage artist (d. 2004)
• 1932 – Majel Barrett, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1937 – Tom Osborne, American football coach and politician
• 1938 – Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
• 1940 – Peter Fonda, American actor
• 1941 – Ron Hunt, baseball player
• 1943 – Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
• 1944 – Bernard Cornwell, English historical novelist
• 1944 – John Sandford, American novelist
• 1944 – Johnny Winter, American musician
• 1945 – Allan Boesak, South African activist
• 1946 – Rusty Young, American country-rock guitarist (Poco)
• 1947 – John McWethy, American journalist (d. 2008)
• 1947 – Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician
• 1948 – Doug Moench, American comic book writer
• 1949 – Marc Garneau, French Canadian astronaut
• 1950 – Maxi, Irish singer and radio personality
• 1951 – Ed Jones, American football player
• 1951 – Patricia Richardson, American actress
• 1952 – Brad Whitford, American musician (Aerosmith)
• 1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese racing driver
• 1954 – Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
• 1955 – Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio personality, and writer
• 1955 – Howard Jones, British pop singer
• 1955 – Flip Saunders, American basketball coach
• 1957 – Ria Brieffies, Dutch singer (d. 2009)
• 1958 – Tony Barrell, English writer and journalist
• 1958 – David Sylvian, English musician (Japan, Nine Horses)
• 1959 – Richard Dodds, British field hockey player
• 1960 – Alan Griffin, Australian politician
• 1960 – Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
• 1961 – Kelly Hansen, American drummer (Summer Lights)
• 1962 – Michael Wilton, American musician (Queensrÿche)
• 1963 – Bobby Bonilla, former baseball player
• 1963 – Radosław Sikorski, Polish politician
• 1964 – John Norum, Norwegian guitarist (Europe)
• 1965 – Kristin Davis, American actress
• 1965 – David E. Clemmer, American ion mobility-mass spectrometrist, 2006 recipient of Biemann Medal
• 1965 – Michael Dell, American computer manufacturer
• 1965 – Helena Suková, former Czech tennis player
• 1965 – Veronica Webb, American supermodel and actress
• 1966 – Neal McDonough, American actor
• 1967 – Tamsin Greig, English actress
• 1967 – Chris Vrenna, American musician, producer and sound engineer Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker
• 1968 – Justin Bell, British racing driver
• 1969 – Marc Wauters, Belgian cyclist
• 1969 – Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer
• 1970 – Marie-Josée Croze, French Canadian actress
• 1970 – Niecy Nash, American actress
• 1971 – Jeong Chan, South Korean actor
• 1971 – Don Maxwell, Canadian cricketer
• 1971 – Melinda Messenger, English television presenter
• 1971 – Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player
• 1972 – Steve Holy, American country singer
• 1972 – Rondell White, American baseball player
• 1973 – Jack Case, American artist
• 1973 – Lars-Olof Johansson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)
• 1974 – Leko, American DJ
• 1974 – Jaime Villarreal, Mexican musician
• 1974 – Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer
• 1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor
• 1975 – Robert Lopez, American composer
• 1975 – Natalia Verbeke, Argentine actress
• 1976 – Kelly Macdonald, British actress
• 1976 – Scott Elarton, American baseball player
• 1977 – Kristina Šmigun, Estonian cross-country skier
• 1978 – René Pérez, Puerto Rican musician (Calle 13)
• 1978 – Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
• 1978 – Jo Joyner, English Actress
• 1981 – Gareth Barry, English footballer
• 1981 – Charles Tillman, American football player
• 1982 – Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor
• 1982 – Karan Singh Grover, Indian Television Actor
• 1983 – Mirco Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
• 1983 – Mido, Egyptian footballer
• 1983 – Emily Blunt, British actress
• 1983 – Aziz Ansari, Indian American Comedian
• 1986 – Ola Svensson, Swedish Pop Singer
• 1986 – Holly Brook, American musician
• 1986 – Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese pop star (KAT-TUN)
• 1986 – Jerod Mayo, American Football player
• 1989 – Evan Bates, American ice dancer
• 1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress

Deaths

• 943 – Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
• 1011 – Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz (b. 940)
• 1072 – Peter Damian, theologian and Doctor of the Church (b. 1007)
• 1100 – Emperor Zhezong of China (b. 1076)
• 1270 – Saint Isabel of France, daughter of Louis VIII of France (b. 1225)
• 1447 – Pope Eugene IV (b. 1383)
• 1447 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
• 1464 – Zhengtong, Emperor of China (b. 1427)
• 1526 – Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies
• 1554 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician (executed) (b. c.1515)
• 1572 – Pierre Certon, French composer
• 1603 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
• 1669 – Leo Aitzema, Dutch historian and statesman (b. 1600)
• 1704 – Georg Muffat, French composer (b. 1653)
• 1766 – Stanislaw Leszczynski, King of Poland (b. 1677)
• 1781 – George Taylor, American signatory to the Declaration of Independence (b. c.1716)
• 1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter (b. 1723)
• 1800 – Joseph Warton, English literary critic (b. 1722)
• 1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)
• 1848 – John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)
• 1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1777)
• 1859 – Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish Romantic poet (b. 1812)
• 1879 – Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (b. 1803)
• 1897 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer (b. 1828)
• 1908 – Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (b. 1823)
• 1922 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish physicist (b. 1845)
• 1930 – Horst Wessel, Nazi ideologue and composer (b. 1907)
• 1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian opera soprano (b. 1861)
• 1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer (b. 1857)
• 1944 – Leo Hendrik Baekeland, Flemish-American chemist and inventor of the first synthetic plastic, Bakelite (b. 1863)
• 1946 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (hanged) (b. 1885)
• 1948 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-born publisher and inventor (b. 1866)
• 1955 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
• 1957 – Marika Ninou, Greek singer (b. 1918)
• 1960 – Arthur Legat, Belgian racing driver (b. 1898)
• 1961 – Davey Crockett, American Major League Baseball player (b. 1875)
• 1965 – Stan Laurel, British born actor and comedian (b. 1890)
• 1969 – King Saud of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
• 1970 – Hirsch Jacobs, American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner (b. 1904)
• 1973 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)
• 1974 – Harry Ruby, American composer and writer (b. 1895)
• 1976 – LS Lowry, English artist (b. 1887)
• 1979 – W.A.C. Bennett, Canadian politician (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Herbert Howells, English composer (b. 1892)
• 1990 – José Napoleón Duarte, President of El Salvador (b. 1925)
• 1992 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek politician (b. 1906)
• 1995 – Melvin Franklin, American singer (The Temptations) (b. 1942)
• 1995 – James Herriot, English writer (b. 1916)
• 1997 – Tony Williams, American jazz drummer (b. 1945)
• 1999 – Carlos Hathcock, USMC Sniper, 93 Confirmed Kills (b. 1942)
• 2000 – Ofra Haza, Israeli singer (b. 1957)
• 2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Robert Enrico, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
• 2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (b. 1910)
• 2003 – Howie Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) (b. 1955)
• 2004 – Vijay Anand, Indian film director (b. 1934)
• 2004 – Neil Ardley, English jazz pianist and composer (b. 1937)
• 2004 – Carl Anderson, American singer (b. 1945)
• 2004 – Sikander Bakht, Governor of Kerala (b. 1918)
• 2004 – Don Cornell, American singer (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Carl Liscombe, Canadian hockey player (b. 1915)
• 2006 – Benno Besson, Swiss actor and film director (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Donnie Brooks, American singer (b. 1936)
• 2007 – John Ritchie, British footballer (b. 1941)
• 2008 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian prime minister and president (b. 1950)
• 2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and motorsport journalist (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire – Terminalia held in honor of Terminus.
• Guyana – Mashramani-Republic Day.
• Former Soviet republics—from the old Soviet holiday on the same day, Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy:
  • Russia – Defender of the Fatherland Day
  • Belarus—Fatherland Defenders and Armed Forces Day
  • Tajikistan — National Army Day
• Brunei – National Day.
• February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Catholicism – Feast day of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (died 155); Saint Serenus the Gardener (Cerneuf)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: February 23

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