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. [edit] Events - 42 BC – Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi – Mark Antony and Octavian decisively defeat Brutus's army. 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.
- 1295 – The first treaty forming the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France against England is signed in Paris.
- 1641 – Outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641.
- 1642 – Battle of Edgehill: First major battle of the First English Civil War.
- 1694 – British/American colonial forces, led by Sir William Phipps, fail to seize Quebec from the French.
- 1707 – The first Parliament of Great Britain 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 is now the commandant of Paris.
- 1850 – The first National Women's Rights Convention begins in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States.
- 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.
- 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 to prevent the further advance into Russia of German forces and to prevent the Wehrmacht from capturing Moscow.
- 1942 – World War II: Second Battle of El Alamein: – At El Alamein in northern Egypt, the British Eighth Army under Field Marshal Montgomery begins a critical offensive to expel the Axis armies from Egypt.
- 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 – World War II: The Battle for Henderson Field begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends on October 26.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Leyte Gulf – The largest naval battle in history begins in the Philippines.
- 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Red Army enters Hungary.
- 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly convenes 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.
- 1958 – The Smurfs, a fictional race of blue dwarves, later popularized in a Hanna-Barbera animated cartoon series, appear for the first time in the story Le flute à six schtroumpfs, a Johan and Peewit adventure by Peyo which is serialized in the weekly comics magazine Spirou
- 1965 – Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (United States) (Airmobile), in conjunction with South Vietnamese forces, launches 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.
- 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 kills 23 and injures 314.
- 1992 – Emperor Akihito becomes the first Emperor of Japan to stand on Chinese soil.
- 1993 – Shankill Road bombing: A Provisional IRA bomb prematurely detonates in the Shankill area of Belfast, killing the bomber and nine civilians.
- 1996 – New York Yankees set record by coming back from 6-0 in World Series game to beat Atlanta Braves 8-6, also set record of 7th straight road win
- 1998 – Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement.
- 2001 – The Provisional IRA begins disarmament after peace talks.
- 2001 – Apple releases the iPod.
- 2002 – Moscow Theatre Siege begins: Chechen terrorists 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.
- 2007 – A powerful cold front in the Bay of Campeche causes the Usumacinta Jackup rig to collide with Kab 101, leading to the death and drowning of 22 people during rescue operations after evacuation of the rig.
[edit] 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 Stevenson I, American politician, 23rd Vice President (d. 1914)
- 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)
- 1910 – Richard Mortensen, Danish painter (d. 1993)
- 1918 – James Daly, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1919 – Manolis Andronikos, Greek archaeologist, 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 (d. 2009)
- 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 (d. 2009)
- 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 (d. 2008)
- 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, current voice of Donald Duck (1985-present)
- 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
- 1957 – Martin Luther King III, American human rights advocate
- 1958 – Michael Eric Dyson, American activist, professor, author
- 1958 – Rose Nabinger, German singer
- 1959 – Nancy Grace, American former prosecutor
- 1959 – Sam Raimi, American film director
- 1959 – "Weird Al" Yankovic, American musical parodist
- 1960 – Randy Pausch, American computer science professor, author (d. 2008)
- 1960 – Wayne Rainey, American motorcyclist
- 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
- 1963 – Gordon Korman, Canadian-American Author
- 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
- 1970 – Zoe Wiseman, American Model and Photographer
- 1971 – Carlo Forlivesi, Italian composer
- 1971 – Christopher Horner, American cyclist
- 1972 – Bryan Pratt, Missouri Politician
- 1973 – Christian Dailly, Scottish footballer
- 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
- 1978 – Steve Harmison, English cricketer
- 1978 – Jimmy Bullard, English footballer
- 1978 – John Lackey, American baseball player
- 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
- 1981 – Shoo, South Korean singer
- 1982 – Valentin Badea, Romanian footballer
- 1983 – Filipos Darlas, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Josh Strickland, American entertainer
- 1984 – Izabel Goulart, Brazilian model
- 1984 – Meghan McCain, American author and daughter of John McCain
- 1985 – Masiela Lusha, Albanian-American writer and actress
- 1986 – Briana Evigan, American actress
- 1986 – Jake Robinson, English footballer
- 1986 – Jessica Stroup, American actress
- 1987 – Faye Hamlin, Swedish singer (Play)
- 1990 – Stevie Brock, American singer
- 1991 – Princess Mako of Akishino of Japan
[edit] Deaths - 42 BC – Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman senator (b. 85 BC)
- 525 (probable date) – Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, Christian philosopher (b. 480)
- 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)
- 1893 – Alexander Battenberg, prince of Bulgaria (b. 1857)
- 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 (b. 1931)
- 1950 – Al Jolson, American singer and actor (b. 1886)
- 1953 – Adrien-Maurice-Victurnien-Mathieu, 8th duc de Noailles (b. 1869)
- 1957 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer (b. 1905)
- 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 actress (b. 1911)
- 1990 – Louis Althusser, French philosopher (b. 1918)
- 1994 – Robert Lansing, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 – Bob Grim, American 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 Chiang Kai-shek (b. 1897)
- 2004 – Robert Merrill, American baritone (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Bill Nicholson, English Footballer (b.1919)
- 2005 – William Hootkins, American actor (b. 1948)
- 2005 – John Muth, American economist (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Stella Obasanjo, Nigerian first lady (b. 1945)
- 2006 – Lebo Mathosa, South African entertainer (b. 1977)
- 2007 – John Ilhan, Australian entrepreneur (b. 1965)
- 2007 – Lim Goh Tong, Malaysian-born Chinese businessman (b. 1918)
- 2008 – Kevin Finnegan, British Middleweight Boxing Champion (b. 1948)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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