Title: May 23 Content: == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 1430 - Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while loading an army to relieve Compiegne. * 1498 - Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. * 1533 - The marriage between King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void. * 1555 - Giovanni Pietro Carafa becomes Pope Paul VI. * 1568 - The Netherlands declare their independence from Spain. * 1568 - Dutch rebels, lead by Louis of Nassau, brother of William I of Orange, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, starting the Eighty Years' War. * 1609 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place. * 1618 - The Second Defenestration of Prague leads to the start of the Thirty Years' War. * 1701 - After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is executed by hanging in London. * 1706 - Battle of Ramillies: John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough defeats a French army under Marshal Francois de Neufville, duc de Villeroi. * 1788 - South Carolina becomes the 8th State of the US. * 1793 - Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. * 1805 - Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned King of Italy in Milan Cathedral. * 1829 - A patent for the accordion is granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austria. * 1844 - Declaration of the Bab: A merchant from Shiraz, Persia, announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that is later crushed by the Persian government. This movement is considered to be a forerunner of the Baha'i faith, in which this date is celebrated as a holy day. * 1846 - Mexican-American War: President of Mexico Mariano Paredes unofficially declares war on the United States. * 1873 - The Canadian government creates the North-West Mounted Police force. This is a forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police force. === 1901 2000 === * 1911 - The New York Public Library is opened. * 1915 - World War I: Italy joins the Allies against Austria-Hungary. * 1932 - In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a protest against the country's leader Getulio Vargas in São Paulo. * 1934 – The outlaws Bonnie and Clyde are shot dead by law officers in the Texas–Louisiana border region. * 1939 - The United States Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off New Hampshire. * 1945 - SS leader Heinrich Himmler commits suicide. * 1945 - The Flensburg Government under Karl Doenitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces in the city of Flensburg in Northern Germany, next to the border with Denmark. * 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany is founded. * 1951 - Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with China. * 1958 - Space probe Explorer 1 ceases (ends) transmission. * 1960 – Israel announces the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was hiding in Buenos Aires, Argentina. * 1967 - Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat, Israel, at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, to Israeli shipping. * 1992 - Italian anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, along with his wife and three bodyguards, is killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. * 1993 - Cambodia holds its first free elections in over 20 years. * 1994 - Roman Herzog is elected President of Germany. * 1997 - Mohammad Khatami is elected President of Iran. * 1998 - Voters in Northern Ireland approve the Good Friday Agreement in a referendum. * 1999 - Johannes Rau is elected President of Germany. === From 2001 === * 2002 - Iceland ratifies the Kyoto protocol. * 2004 – Horst Köhler is chosen as the new German President, to succeed Johannes Rau. * 2004 - Part of the roof of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing 4 people. * 2006 - Alaskan volcano Mount Cleveland erupts. * 2008 - The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) is founded. * 2009 - Former President of South Korea Roh Moo-hyun commits suicide, while facing a corruption investigation. * 2009 - Horst Koehler is elected to a second term as President of Germany. However, he resigns just over a year later, on May 31, 2010. * 2014 - The Glasgow School of Art, one of the most famous buildings in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, is heavily damaged by fire. * 2015 - Mans Zelmerlow of Sweden wins the 60th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. Special guest Australia, represented by Guy Sebastian, finishes 5th out of 27. Host nation Austria finishes joint-bottom with Germany on 0 points, making it the worst performance of a host nation in the contest's history. * 2016 - Bomb attacks in western Syria result in the deaths of more than 100 people. * 2019 - Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party wins India's general election, giving it a big parliamentary majority. * 2019 - The 2019 election to the European Parliament begin. == Births == === Up to 1850 === * 635 - K'inich Kan B'alam II, Mayan King (d. 702) * 1052 – King Philip I of France (d. 1108) * 1100 – Emperor Quinzong of China (d. 1161) * 1606 - Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish philosopher, mathematician and writer (d. 1682) * 1617 - Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692) * 1696 - Johann Caspar Vogler, German organist and composer (d. 1763) * 1707 – Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish biologist (d. 1778) * 1718 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (d. 1783) * 1729 - Giuseppe Parini, Italian writer (d. 1799) * 1734 – Franz Anton Mesmer, Austrian physician (d. 1815) * 1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer (d. 1815) * 1754 - Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817) * 1790 – Jules Dumont D'Urville, French explorer (d. 1842) * 1794 - Ignaz Moscheles, Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso (d. 1870) * 1795 - Charles Barry, English architect (d. 1860) * 1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and feminist (d. 1850) * 1820 - James Buchanan Eads, American engineer and inventor (d. 1887) * 1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general (d. 1881) * 1827 - Milton Latham, 6th Governor of California (d. 1882) * 1834 - Carl Bloch, Danish painter (d. 1890) * 1837 - Anatole Mallet, Swiss engineer (d. 1919) * 1840 - George Throssell, Irish-Australian politician, 30th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1910) * 1842 - Maria Konopnicka, Polish writer (d. 1910) * 1844 – Abdu'l Baha, leading member of the Baha'i faith (d. 1921) * 1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German aviator (d. 1896) === 1851 1900 === * 1865 – Epitacio Pessoa, President of Brazil (d. 1942) * 1872 - Julio Acosta Garcia, President of Peru (d. 1954) * 1883 - Ferenc Talanyi, Slovenian writer, journalist and painter (d. 1959) * 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (d. 1939) * 1884 - Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist (d. 1965) * 1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1963) * 1888 - Zack Wheat, American baseball player (d. 1972) * 1889 - Ernst Niekisch, German politician (d. 1967) * 1890 – Herbert Marshall, English actor (d. 1969) * 1891 – Par Lagerkvist, Swedish writer (d. 1974) * 1892 - Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, British nobleman (d. 1975) * 1892 – Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922) * 1896 - Felix Martin Julius Steiner, German SS officer (d. 1966) * 1898 - Georgios Grivas, Greek-Cypriot political activist (d. 1974) * 1898 - Scott O'Dell, American writer (d. 1989) * 1898 – Josef Terboven, Nazi Reichskommissar in occupied Norway (d. 1945) * 1899 - Jeralean Talley, American supercentenarian (d. 2015) * 1900 – Hans Frank, Nazi official (d. 1946) === 1901 1950 === * 1905 - Ramiro Ledesma Ramos, Spanish writer, journalist and politician (d. 1936) * 1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist (d. 1991) * 1908 - Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934) * 1908 - Max Abramovitz, American architect (d. 2004) * 1910 – Scatman Crothers, American musician (d. 1986) * 1910 – Artie Shaw, American musician (d. 2004) * 1911 – Paul Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010) * 1911 - Betty Nuthall, English tennis player (d. 1983) * 1912 - Jean Françaix, French composer, pianist and orchestrator (d. 1997) * 1912 - John Payne, American movie actor (d. 1989) * 1917 - Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008) * 1918 - Denis Compton, English cricketer (d. 1997) * 1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress (d. 2011) * 1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, British musician (d. 2008) * 1921 - James Blish, American science fiction writer (d. 1975) * 1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist (d. 2009) * 1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German writer and humanist (d. 2014) * 1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist (d. 2008) * 1926 - Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African politician (d. 1995) * 1927 - Dieter Hildebrandt, German entertainer (d. 2013) * 1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002) * 1928 – Nigel Davenport, British actor (d. 2013) * 1929 - Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (d. 1982) * 1933 – Joan Collins, British actress * 1933 - Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer * 1933 - Alberto Natusch, Bolivian military leader (d. 1994) * 1934 – Robert Moog, American inventor (d. 2005) * 1935 - Susan Cooper, British writer * 1936 - Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress * 1936 - Charles Kimbrough, American actor * 1938 - Johnny Ball, British television personality * 1938 - Peter Preston, British journalist and newspaper editor (d. 2018) * 1939 - Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004) * 1940 - Levan Mesashvili, Georgian basketball player and coach * 1942 - Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher * 1942 - José Omar Pastoriza, Argentine footballer * 1943 - Peter Kenilorea, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (d. 2016) * 1944 - John Newcombe, Australian tennis player * 1944 – Lena Nyman, Swedish actress (d. 2011) * 1945 - Lauren Chapin, American actress * 1948 - Myriam Boyer, French actress, director and producer * 1949 – Alan García, former President of Peru (d. 2019) * 1950 – Martin McGuinness, Northern Irish politician (d. 2017) === 1951 1975 === * 1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player * 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek politician, former Prime Minister of Greece * 1952 - Anne-Marie David, French singer * 1954 - Hans Kruize, Dutch field hockey player * 1956 - Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician * 1957 - Craig Brown, English journalist and critic * 1958 - Mitch Albom, American journalist, author and screenwriter * 1958 - Drew Carey, American actor, comedian and game show host * 1958 - Thomas Reiter, German astronaut * 1959 – Ryuta Kawashima, Japanese neuroscientist, creator of Brain Training * 1959 – Bob Mortimer, English comedian * 1960 - Michel Roux Jr., French-English chef * 1965 - Manuel Sanchis Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer * 1965 - Melissa McBride, American actress * 1967 – Phil Selway, American drummer (Radiohead) * 1967 - Carlos Mercenario, Mexican race walker * 1970 - Matt Flynn, American drummer and producer (Maroon 5) * 1970 – Yigal Amir, assassin of Yitzhak Rabin * 1971 – George Osborne, British politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer * 1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian Formula One racecar driver * 1973 - Maxwell, American singer-songwriter, musician and producer * 1974 - Manuela Schwesig, German politician * 1974 – Ken Jennings, American gameshow contestant * 1974 – Jewel, American singer === From 1976 === * 1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer * 1977 - Richard Ayoade, English actor, writer, comedian and presenter * 1978 - Mike Gonzalez, American baseball player * 1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer * 1981 - Tim Robinson, American comedian * 1983 – Heidi Range, British singer (The Sugababes) * 1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer * 1984 - Lizzie Waterworth, English voice actress * 1984 - Adam Wylie, American actor * 1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer * 1985 - Sebastian Fernandez, Uruguayan footballer * 1985 - Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist * 1988 - Lorenzo De Silvestri, Italian footballer * 1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer * 1990 - Ricardo dos Santos, Brazilian surfer (d. 2015) * 1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer * 1992 - Olesia Karmi, Finnish figure skater * 1993 - Sargis Adamyan, Armenian footballer * 1995 - Jillian Janson, American pornographic actress == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 230 - Pope Urban I * 779 - Emperor Daizong of Tang, Chinese Emperor (b. 727) * 1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081) * 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian religious reformer and ruler of Florence (b. 1452) * 1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shogun (b. 1466) * 1524 – Ismail I, Shah of Persia (b. 1487) * 1669 - Joris van der Haagen, Dutch painter (b. 1615) * 1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610) * 1691 - Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (b. 1622) * 1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645) * 1754 - John Wood, the Elder, English architect (b. 1704) * 1786 - Maurice Benyovszky, Hungarian count, explorer and writer (b. 1746) * 1825 – Gugsa of Yejju, Regent of Ethiopia * 1841 - Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765) * 1857 - Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician (b. 1789) * 1868 – Kit Carson, American Western figure (b. 1809) * 1886 - Leopold von Ranke, German historian (b. 1795) * 1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian statesman (b. 1805) * 1895 - Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist and physicist (b. 1798) === 1901 2000 === * 1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer and playwright (b. 1828) * 1914 - William O'Connell Bradley, American politician, Governor of Kentucky (b. 1847) * 1917 – Ranavalona III, Queen of Madagascar (b. 1861) * 1921 - August Nilsson, Swedish athlete (b. 1872) * 1934 – Bonnie and Clyde, American outlaws (b. 1909 and 1910) * 1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1839) * 1944 - Thomas Curtis, American hurdler (b. 1870) * 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, Nazi official (b. 1900) * 1947 - Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss writer (b. 1878) * 1955 - Roy E. Ayers, American politician, Governor of Montana (b. 1882) * 1960 - Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor (b. 1870) * 1965 - Earl Webb, American baseball player (b. 1897) * 1966 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902) * 1967 - Ernst Niekisch, German politician (b. 1889) * 1981 - George Jessel, American actor, singer and producer (b. 1898) * 1986 - Sterling Hayden, American actor and writer (b. 1916) * 1989 - Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965) * 1991 - Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895) * 1991 - Jean Van Houtte, Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907) * 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian magistrate and anti-Mafia judge (b. 1939) * 1992 - Atahualpa Yupanqui, Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist and songwriter (b. 1908) * 1996 - Bernhard Klodt, German footballer (b. 1926) * 1999 – Owen Hart, professional wrestler (b. 1965) === From 2001 === * 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer (b. 1912) * 2003 – Jean Yanne, French actor, writer, director and composer (b. 1933) * 2006 – Kazimierz Gorski, Polish footballer (b. 1921) * 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American politician (b. 1921) * 2008 – Heinz Kwiatkowski, German footballer (b. 1926) * 2008 - Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter, poet and activist (b. 1935) * 2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, President of South Korea (b. 1946) * 2010 – Leonida Georgievna, Grand Duchess of Russia (b. 1914) * 2011 – Nasser Hejazi, Iranian footballer (b. 1949) * 2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978) * 2012 - Paul Fussell, American historian, writer and educator (b. 1924) * 2013 - Georges Moustaki, French singer and composer (b. 1934) * 2013 - James Sisnett, Barbadian supercentenarian (b. 1900) * 2014 - Joel Camargo, Brazilian footballer (b. 1946) * 2014 - Walter Romberg, East German politician (b. 1928) * 2014 - Mona Freeman, American actress (b. 1926) * 2015 - Aleksey Mozgovoy, Ukrainian pro- Russian separatist (b. 1975) * 2015 - John Forbes Nash Jr., American mathematician (b. 1928) * 2015 - Anne Meara, American actress and comedienne (b. 1929) * 2015 - Ali Raymi, Yemeni boxer (b. 1973) * 2016 - John Brophy, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933) * 2016 - Joe Fleishaker, American actor (b. 1954) * 2017 - Roger Moore, English actor (b. 1927) * 2017 - Stefano Farina, Italian football referee (b. 1962) * 2017 - Jerry Perenchio, American businessman (b. 1930) * 2017 - William Carney, American politician (b. 1942) * 2017 - Kaoru Yosano, Japanese politician (b. 1938) * 2018 - Luis Posada Carriles, Cuban militant (b. 1928) * 2018 - Antonio Horvath, Chilean civil servant and politician (b. 1950) * 2018 - Richard Peck, American novelist (b. 1934) * 2018 - Daniel Robin, French wrestler (b. 1943) * 2019 - Dumiso Dabengwa, Zimbabwean politician (b. 1939) * 2019 - Bobby Joe Long, American serial killer (b. 1953) * 2019 - Hosei Norota, Japanese politician (b. 1929) * 2019 - Beaton Tulk, Canadian politician, 7th Premier of Newfoundland (b. 1944) * 2019 - Anna Udvardy, Hungarian film producer (b. 1949) == Observances == * Gravity Day * Birthday of Guru Amar Das (Sikhism) * Declaration of the Bab (Baha'i faith) * Labour Day (Jamaica) * Students' Day (Mexico) * World Turtle Day Category:Days of the year