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). [edit] 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.
[edit] 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
[edit] 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)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
|
