April 23

Historic Events

2024

The 2024 Lumut mid-air collision in Malaysia kills 10 people while rehearsing for the 90th anniversary of the Royal Malaysian Navy. ›

2019

The April 2019 Hpakant jade mine collapse in Myanmar kills four miners and two rescuers, with at least 50 others missing and presumed dead. ›

2018

A vehicle-ramming attack kills 11 people and injures 15 in Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested. ›

2013

At least 111 people are killed and 233 injured as violence breaks out in Hawija, Iraq. ›

2005

The first YouTube video, titled "Me at the zoo", is published by co-founder Jawed Karim. ›

1993

Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum. ›

1993

Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province. ›

1990

Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations. ›

1985

Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months. ›

1979

SAETA Flight 011 crashes in Pastaza Province, Ecuador, killing all 57 people on board. The wreckage was not discovered until 1984. ›

1979

Blair Peach, a British activist, is fatally injured after being knocked unconscious during an Anti-Nazi League demonstration against a National Front election meeting in Southall, London. ›

1971

Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacre approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). ›

1968

Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university. ›

1967

Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1), a crewed spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, is launched into orbit. ›

1966

Aeroflot Flight 2723 crashes into the Caspian Sea off the Absheron Peninsula, killing 33 people. ›

1961

During the Algiers putsch by French generals, President Charles de Gaulle announces he has assumed emergency powers, and calls on troops and civilians to support him. ›

1951

Cold War: American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia. ›

1949

Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People's Liberation Army Navy. ›

1946

Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. ›

1945

World War II: Adolf Hitler's designated successor, Hermann Göring, sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of Nazi Germany. Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels advise Göring that the telegram is treasonous. ›

1942

World War II: Baedeker Blitz: German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck. ›

1941

World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht. ›

1940

The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people. ›

1935

The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted. ›

1927

Cardiff City defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, the only time it has been won by a team not based in England. ›

1920

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara. The assembly denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces the preparation of a temporary constitution. ›

1919

The Estonian Constituent Assembly is held in Estonia, which marks the birth of the Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu. ›

1918

World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. ›

1909

In Portugal, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes near Lisbon, killing at least 60 people and injuring 75. ›

1891

Chilean Civil War: The ironclad Blanco Encalada is sunk at Caldera Bay by torpedo boats. ›

1879

Fire burns down the second main building and dome of the University of Notre Dame, which prompts the construction of the third, and current, Main Building with its golden dome. ›

1815

The Second Serbian Uprising: A second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire. ›

1724

Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104, illustrating the topic of the Good Shepherd in pastoral music. ›

1661

King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey. ›

1660

Treaty of Oliva is established between Sweden and Poland. ›

1655

The Siege of Santo Domingo begins during the Anglo-Spanish War, and fails seven days later. ›

1635

The first public school in the United States, the Boston Latin School, is founded. ›

1521

Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros. ›

1516

The Munich Reinheitsgebot (regarding the ingredients of beer) takes effect in all of Bavaria. ›

1500

Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvarez Cabral reaches new coastline (Brazil). ›

1348

The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St. George's Day. ›

1343

St. George's Night Uprising commences in the Duchy of Estonia. ›

1016

Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as King of England. ›

1014

Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle. ›

711

Dagobert III succeeds his father King Childebert III as King of the Franks. ›

599

Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik'nal and sacking the city. ›

215 BC

A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. ›