October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 69 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher
- 42 BC - Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi - Brutus's army is decisively defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian. Brutus commits suicide.
- 425 - Valentinian III is elevated as Roman Emperor, at the age of 6.
- 502 - The Synodus Palmaris, called by Gothic king Theodoric the Great, discharges Pope Symmachus of all charges, thus ending the schism of Antipope Laurentius.
- 1086 - At the Battle of az-Zallaqah, the army of Yusuf ibn Tashfin defeats the forces of Castilian King Alfonso VI.
- 1157 - The Battle of Grathe Heath ends the civil war in Denmark. King Sweyn III is killed and Valdemar I restores the country.
- 1641 - Outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 - anniversary commemorated by Irish Protestants for over 200 years.
- 1642 - Battle of Edgehill: First major battle of the First English Civil War.
- 1694 - American colonial forces, led by Sir William Phipps, fail to seize Quebec.
- 1707 - The first Parliament of Great Britain, i.e., the United Kingdom, meets.
- 1739 - War of Jenkins' Ear starts: British Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, reluctantly declares war on Spain.
- 1812 - Claude François de Malet, a French general, begins a conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon Bonaparte, claiming that the Emperor died in Russia and that he was now the commandant of Paris. De Malet is executed on October 29.
- 1813 - The Pacific Fur Company trading post in Astoria, Oregon is turned over to the rival British North West Company (the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest was dominated for the next three decades by the United Kingdom).
- 1855 - Kansas Free State forces set up a competing government under their Topeka, Kansas, constitution, which outlaws slavery in the United States territory.
- 1861 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C., for all military-related cases.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Westport - Union forces under General Samuel R. Curtis defeat Confederate troops led by General Sterling Price at Westport, near Kansas City.
- 1867 - 72 Senators are summoned by Royal Proclamation to serve as the first members of the Canadian Senate.
- 1870 - Franco-Prussian War: the Siege of Metz concludes with a decisive Prussian victory.
- 1906 - Alberto Santos-Dumont flies an airplane in the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe at Champs de Bagatelle, Paris, France.
- 1911 - First use of aircraft in war: An Italian pilot takes off from Libya to observe Turkish army lines during the Turco-Italian War.
- 1912 - First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo between the Serbian and Ottoman armies begins.
- 1915 - Woman's suffrage: In New York City, 25,000-33,000 women march on Fifth Avenue to advocate their right to vote.
- 1917 - Lenin calls for the October Revolution.
- 1929 - Great Depression: After a steady decline in stock market prices since a peak in September, the New York Stock Exchange begins to show signs of panic.
- 1929 - The first North American transcontinental air service begins between New York City and Los Angeles, California.
- 1930 - The first miniature golf tournament was completed in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- 1935 - Dutch Schultz, Abe Landau, Otto Berman, and Bernard "Lulu" Rosencrantz are fatally shot at a saloon in Newark, New Jersey in what will become known as The Chophouse Massacre.
- 1941 - World War II: Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov takes command of Red Army operations designed to prevent the further advance into Russia of German forces and to prevent the German armies from capturing Moscow.
- 1941 - Burning of the Odessa, Ukraine, Jews: 19,000 Jews are burned alive at Dalnik in Odessa, by Romanian and German troops. The next day, another 10,000 Jews are killed. Romanian Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolae Deleanu administered the executions.
- 1942 - World War II: The Second Battle of El Alamein starts - At El Alamein in northern Egypt, the British Eighth Army under Field Marshal Montgomery begin a critical offensive to expel the Axis armies from Egypt, never to return.
- 1942 - All 12 passengers and crewmen aboard an American Airlines DC-3 airliner are killed when it is struck by a U.S. Army Air Forces bomber near Palm Springs, California. Amongst the victims is award-winning composer and songwriter Ralph Rainger ("Thanks for the Memory", "Love in Bloom", "Blue Hawaii").
- 1942 - The Battle for Henderson Field begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends on October 26.
- 1944 - World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf begins - The largest naval battle in history begins in the Philippines; and also, the Soviet Red Army enters Hungary.
- 1946 - The United Nations General Assembly convened for the first time, at an auditorium in Flushing, Queens, New York City.
- 1956 - Thousands of Hungarians protest against the government and Soviet occupation. (The Hungarian Revolution is crushed on November 4).
- 1958 - The Springhill Mine Bump - An underground earthquake traps 174 miners in the No. 2 colliery at Springhill, Nova Scotia, the deepest coal mine in North America at the time. By November 1, rescuers from around the world had dug out 100 of the victims, marking the death toll at 74.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (United States) (Airmobile), in conjunction with South Vietnamese forces, launch a new operation, seeking to destroy North Vietnamese forces in Pleiku in the II Corps Tactical Zone (the Central Highlands).
- 1973 - The Watergate Scandal: US President Richard M. Nixon agrees to turn over subpoenaed audio tapes of his Oval Office conversations about the scandal.
- 1973 - A United Nations sanctioned cease-fire officially ends the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Syria.
- 1983 - Lebanon Civil War: The U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut is hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 U.S. Marines. A French army barracks in Lebanon is also hit that same morning, killing 58 troops.
- 1989 - The Hungarian Republic is officially declared by president Mátyás Szűrös, replacing the communist Hungarian People's Republic.
- 1989 - Phillips Disaster in Pasadena, Texas killed 23 and injured 314.
- 1992 - Emperor Akihito becomes the first Emperor of Japan to stand on Chinese soil.
- 1998 - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement.
- 2001 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army of Northern Ireland commences disarmament after peace talks.
- 2001 - Apple releases the iPod.
- 2002 - Moscow Theatre Siege begins: Chechen rebels seize the House of Culture theater in Moscow and take approximately 700 theater-goers hostage.
- 2004 - A powerful earthquake and its aftershocks hit Niigata prefecture, northern Japan, killing 35 people, injuring 2,200, and leaving 85,000 homeless or evacuated.
Births
- 1503 - Isabella of Portugal, queen of Spain and empress of Germany (d. 1539)
- 1516 - Charlotte de Valois, princess of France (d. 1524)
- 1634 - Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, Queen of Sweden (d. 1715)
- 1698 - Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect (d. 1782)
- 1705 - Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne, Austrian field marshal (d. 1757)
- 1715 - Peter II of Russia (d. 1730)
- 1762 - Samuel Morey, American inventor (d. 1843)
- 1766 - Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy, French marshal (d. 1847)
- 1771 - Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (d. 1813)
- 1790 - Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman (d. 1860)
- 1796 - Stefano Franscini, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1857)
- 1801 - Albert Lortzing, German composer (d. 1851)
- 1805 - John Russell Bartlett, American linguist (d. 1886)
- 1813 - Ludwig Leichhardt, German explorer (d. 1848)
- 1815 - João Maurício Wanderley, Brazilian magistrate and politician (d. 1889)
- 1817 - Pierre Athanase Larousse, French lexicographer (d. 1875)
- 1835 - Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice President of the United States (d. 1914)
- 1844 - Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (d. 1923)
- 1844 - Robert Bridges, English poet (d. 1930)
- 1865 - Neltje Blanchan, American writer (d. 1918)
- 1869 - John Heisman, American football player and coach (d. 1936)
- 1870 - Francis Kelley, Catholic Bishop of Oklahoma (d. 1948)
- 1873 - William D. Coolidge, American physicist and inventor (d. 1975)
- 1875 - Gilbert N. Lewis, American chemist (d. 1946)
- 1876 - Franz Schlegelberger, German judge and politician (d. 1970)
- 1880 - Una O'Connor, Irish actress (d. 1959)
- 1885 - Lawren Harris, Canadian painter (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Onésime Gagnon, Canadian politician (d. 1961)
- 1893 - Gummo Marx, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1894 - Rube Bressler, baseball player (d. 1966)
- 1896 - André Lévêque, French engineer (d. 1930)
- 1900 - Douglas Jardine, English cricketer (d. 1958)
- 1904 - Harvey Penick, American golfer (d. 1995)
- 1905 - Felix Bloch, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983)
- 1905 - Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Ilya Frank, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1909 - Zellig Harris, American linguist (d. 1992)
- 1918 - James Daly, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1919 - Manolis Andronikos, Greek archeologist, professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (d. 1992)
- 1920 - Ted Fujita, Japanese meteorologist (d. 1998)
- 1922 - Coleen Gray, American actress
- 1923 - Aslam Farrukhi, Pakistani scholar and poet
- 1923 - Ned Rorem, American composer
- 1923 - Frank Sutton, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1925 - Johnny Carson, American television host (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Manos Hadjidakis, Greek composer (d. 1994)
- 1925 - Fred Shero, Canadian hockey player and coach (d. 1990)
- 1928 - Harold P. Warren, American movie director (d. 1985)
- 1928 - Bella Darvi, Polish-born French actress (d. 1971)
- 1927 - Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher
- 1931 - Jim Bunning, American baseball player and politician
- 1931 - Diana Dors, British actress (d. 1984)
- 1931 - William P. Clark, United States Secretary of the Interior under Ronald Reagan
- 1935 - Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez, Puerto Rican golfer
- 1936 - Philip Kaufman, American film director
- 1940 - Ellie Greenwich, American singer
- 1940 - Pelé, Brazilian footballer
- 1940 - Baby Jane Holzer, American art collector, film producer and Andy Warhol "superstar"
- 1941 - Igor Smirnov, Moldovan politician
- 1941 - Mel Winkler, American actor
- 1942 - Michael Crichton, American writer
- 1942 - Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop (d. 2007)
- 1944 - Mike Harding, English singer and comedian
- 1945 - Kim Larsen, Danish singer
- 1946 - Mel Martinez, American politician
- 1948 - Hermann Hauser, Austrian-born entrepreneur
- 1948 - Brian Ross, American journalist
- 1948 - Tony Anselmo, American animator and cartoon voice actor
- 1949 - Michael 'Wurzel' Burston, British musician (Motörhead)
- 1949 - Nick Tosches, American writer
- 1951 - Charly García, Argentine singer
- 1951 - Fatmir Sejdiu, President of Kosovo
- 1952 - Pierre Moerlen, French drummer and percussionist (d. 2005)
- 1954 - Ang Lee, Taiwanese-born director
- 1956 - Dwight Yoakam, American singer
- 1958 - Michael Eric Dyson, American activist, professor, author
- 1959 - Nancy Grace, American former prosecutor
- 1959 - Sam Raimi, American film director
- 1959 - "Weird Al" Yankovic, American musical parodist
- 1960 - Wayne Rainey, American motorcyclist
- 1960 - Randy Pausch, American computer science professor, author
- 1961 - Laurie Halse Anderson, American writer
- 1961 - Don and Ron Harris, American professional wrestlers
- 1961 - Andoni Zubizarreta, Spanish footballer
- 1962 - Doug Flutie, American football player
- 1964 - Robert Trujillo, American bassist (Metallica)
- 1965 - Augusten Burroughs, American writer
- 1965 - Al Leiter, American baseball player
- 1966 - Alex Zanardi, Italian race car driver
- 1967 - Dale Crover, American musician (Melvins, The Men of Porn, Altamont)
- 1969 - Trudi Canavan, Australian writer
- 1970 - Grant Imahara, American TV Mythbuster
- 1971 - Christopher Horner, American cyclist
- 1974 - Sander Westerveld, Dutch footballer
- 1974 - Jasmin St. Claire, Former pornographic actress
- 1975 - Odalys García, Cuban actress
- 1975 - Jessicka, American artist
- 1975 - Keith Van Horn, American basketball player
- 1976 - Cat Deeley, English model and television personality
- 1976 - Ryan Reynolds, Canadian actor and comedian
- 1978 - Steve Harmison, English cricketer
- 1978 - Jimmy Bullard, English footballer
- 1978 - Archie Thompson, Australian footballer
- 1979 - Simon Davies, Welsh footballer
- 1979 - Jorge Solís, Mexican professional boxer
- 1980 - Pedro Liriano, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 - Jeroen Bleekemolen, Dutch racing driver
- 1981 - Ben Francisco, American baseball player
- 1982 - Valentin Badea, Romanian footballer
- 1983 - Filipos Darlas, Greek footballer
- 1983 - Josh Strickland, American entertainer
- 1984 - Izabel Goulart, Brazilian model
- 1985 - James Kotecki, American political blogger
- 1986 - Briana Evigan, American actress
- 1986 - Jake Robinson, English footballer
- 1986 - Jessica Stroup, American Actress
- 1987 - Faye Hamlin, Swedish singer (Play)
- 1988 - Nicolaj Agger, Danish football player
- 1990 - Stevie Brock, American singer
- 1991 - Princess Mako of Akishino of Japan
Deaths
- 42 BC - Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman senator (b. 85 BCE)
- 930 - Daigo, Emperor of Japan (b. 885)
- 1456 - Giovanni da Capistrano, Italian saint (b. 1386)
- 1550 - Tiedemann Giese, Polish Catholic bishop (b. 1480)
- 1581 - Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1529)
- 1616 - Leonhard Hutter, German theologian (b. 1563)
- 1688 - Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, French philologist (b. 1610)
- 1730 - Anne Oldfield, English actress (b. 1683)
- 1764 - Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte, French naval officer (b. 1683)
- 1774 - Michel Benoist, French Jesuit missionary and scientist (b. 1715)
- 1869 - Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1799)
- 1872 - Théophile Gautier, French writer (b. 1811)
- 1885 - Charles S. West, Texas jurist and politician (b. 1829)
- 1910 - Chulalongkorn, King of Thailand (b. 1853)
- 1915 - W. G. Grace, English cricketer (b. 1848)
- 1921 - John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor (b. 1840)
- 1939 - Zane Grey, American author (b. 1872)
- 1942 - Ralph Rainger, American composer (b. 1901)
- 1944 - Charles Glover Barkla, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
- 1944 - Hana Brady, Holocaust victim
- 1950 - Al Jolson, American singer and actor (b. 1886)
- 1959 - Gerda Lundequist, Swedish actress (b. 1871)
- 1978 - Maybelle Carter, American guitarist and musical innovator (b. 1909)
- 1983 - Jessica Savitch, American journalist (b. 1947)
- 1984 - James Petrillo, leader of the U.S. musicians union (b. 1892)
- 1984 - Oskar Werner, Austrian actor (b. 1922)
- 1986 - Edward Adelbert Doisy, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1893)
- 1989 - Armida, Mexican-American stage, vaudeville and film actress (b. 1911)
- 1990 - Louis Althusser, French philosopher (b. 1918)
- 1994 - Robert Lansing, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 - Bob Grim, baseball player (b. 1930)
- 1997 - Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (b. 1916)
- 1998 - Barnett Slepian, American physician (b. 1946)
- 2000 - Rodney Anoa'i aka Yokozuna, Samoan-American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
- 2001 - Ronald William Kirby, British artist (b. 1928)
- 2001 - Daniel Wildenstein, French art dealer and racehorse owner (b. 1917)
- 2002 - Adolph Green, American lyricist and playwright (b. 1915)
- 2003 - Tony Capstick, English actor, comedian, and musician (b. 1944)
- 2003 - Soong May-ling, wife of the President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek (b. 1897)
- 2004 - Robert Merrill, American baritone (b. 1919)
- 2005 - Stella Obasanjo, Nigerian first lady (b. 1945)
- 2005 - William Hootkins, American actor (b. 1948)
- 2005 - John Muth, American economist (b. 1930)
- 2006 - Lebo Mathosa, South African entertainer (b. 1977)
- 2007 - John Ilhan, Australian entrepreneur, Crazy John's mobile phones (b. 1965)
- 2007 - Lim Goh Tong, Founder of Genting Group (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
External links
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