December 23

Events
Up to 1900
583 - Maya Queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque.
679 - King Dagobert II of Paris is murdered on a hunting trip.
962 - Arab-Byzantine Wars: Under future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo in present-day Syria.
1572 - Theologian Johann Sylvan is executed in Heidelberg.
1631 - Thirty Years' War: Sweden takes over the city of Mainz.
1672 - Giovanni Cassini discovers Saturn's moon Rhea.
1688 - James II of England flees to Paris, as Mary II and William III take the throne to rule jointly.
1783 - George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis.
1787 - The HMVA Bounty is sent to Tahiti to collect breadfruit plants.
1793 - Battle of Savenay: Decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in the war in the Vendee during the French Revolution.
1823 - "A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas", is published anonymously.
1876 - First day of the Constantinople Conference which results in an agreement for the political reforms in the Balkans.
1888 - Part of Vincent van Gogh's left ear is cut off in as-yet unexplained circumstances.
1893 - The opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is performed for the first time.
1901 2000
1913 - The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by US President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve Bank.
1914 - World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops land in Cairo, Egypt.
1916 - World War I: Battle of Maghdaba - Allied forces defeat Turkish forces on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
1920 - The UK government agrees on the Government of Ireland Act, which ends up splitting the island of Ireland in two.
1933 - A train crash occurs at Lagny-Pomponne in France, killing 204 people, and injuring 120.
1936 - Colombia becomes a signatory of the Buenos Aires Convention.
1938 - The first modern coelacanth fish is discovered in South Africa. The species was thought to be extinct.
1940 - World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis (Y-2) sinks the Italian motor ship Antonietta.
1941 - World War II: After 15 days of fighting, Japan takes control of Wake Island.
1947 - The transistor is first demonstrated.
1948 - Japanese officials who were found guilty of war crimes, are executed.
1954 - The first successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.
1957 - Ian Craig of Australia becomes the youngest test cricket captain in history.
1958 - The Tokyo Tower is dedicated, becoming the world's tallest self-supporting iron tower.
1968 - The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after 11 months of internment in North Korea.
1970 - The North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City is topped out at a height of 417 metres.
1970 - The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a single-party state.
1972 - A major earthquake hits Nicaragua, killing thousands of people. It was of magnitude 6.2.
1972 - Members of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes, near the border between Chile and Argentina, are rescued.
1973 - Royal Air Maroc airliner crashes over Morocco, killing 106 people.
1978 - An Alitalia Douglas DC-9 crashes on landing, into the Mediterranean Sea off Palermo, Sicily, killing 108 people. 22 people are saved and transported to land in fishing boats.
1979 - Soviet forces occupy Kabul, Afghanistan.
1982 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces that it has detected dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.
1986 - Voyager becomes the first aircraft without an aerial or ground refuelling to fly non-stop around the world.
1990 - In a referendum, most of Slovenia's voters support independence from Yugoslavia.
1991 - Germany recognises Croatia's independence.
From 2001
2003 - An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field near Chongqing, China, kills 234 people.
2005 - Lech Kaczynski becomes President of Poland. His time in office ends with his death in a plane crash on April 10, 2010.
2007 - An agreement is made for Nepal to change its system of government from a monarchy to a republic.
2011 - At least 40 people are killed in bomb attacks in Damascus, Syria.
2013 - A storm hits the UK and Ireland, with strong winds and heavy rain, killing 2 people and affecting transport in the run-up to Christmas.
2017 - A fire at a shopping center in Davao City, Southern Philippines, kills at least 37 people.
Births
Up to 1900
968 - Emperor Zhenzong of Song of China (d. 1022)
1173 - Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1231)
1525 - John I, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1576)
1537 - John III of Sweden, King of Sweden (d. 1592)
1582 - Severo Bonini, composer (d. 1663)
1597 - Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet (d. 1639)
1613 - Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish soldier (d. 1676)
1689 - Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, French composer (d. 1755)
1690 - Pamheiba, Indian Emperor (d. 1755)
1713 - Maruyama Gondazaemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1749)
1732 - Richard Arkwright, industrialist, and inventor of the Water Frame (d. 1792)
1750 - King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (d. 1827)
1777 - Tsar Alexander I of Russia (d. 1825)
1783 - Giovanni Bechet, Italian poet and patriot (d. 1851)
1790 - Jean Francois Champollion, French Egyptologist, deciphered the Rosetta Stone (d. 1832)
1793 - Dost Mohammad Khan, ruler of Afghanistan (d. 1863)
1797 - Adrien-Henri de Jussieu, French botanist and physician (d. 1853)
1799 - Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)
1804 - Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic (d. 1869)
1805 - Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement (d. 1844)
1810 - Edward Blyth, English zoologist and ornithologist (d. 1873)
1819 - Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (d. 1889)
1822 - Wilhelm Bauer, engineer (d. 1875)
1839 - Janos Murkovics, Slovenian-Hungarian author and clergyman (d. 1889)
1841 - Ignacio Agramonte, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1873)
1854 - Henry B. Guppy, English botanist (d. 1926)
1856 - James Buchanan Duke, American industrialist (d. 1925)
1858 - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian theatre director, writer and playwright (d. 1943)
1864 - Zorka of Montenegro, Princess of Serbia (d. 1890)
1867 - Madam C. J. Walker, first African American millionaire (d. 1919).
1878 - Mikheil Tsereteli, Georgian historian, philologist and sociologist (d. 1965)
1881 - Juan Ramon Jimenez, Spanish poet (d. 1958)
1885 - Pierre Brissaud, French artist (d. 1964)
1886 - Albert Ehrenstein, Austrian-German poet (d. 1950)
1887 - John Cromwell, American actor and director (d. 1979)
1891 - Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (d. 1956)
1896 - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Italian writer (d. 1957)
1900 - Arnold Bode, German artist (d. 1977)
1901 1950
1902 - Charan Singh, Prime Minister of India (d. 1987)
1903 - Boleslaw Kominek, Polish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wroclaw (d. 1974)
1907 - Manuel Lopes, Cape Verdean writer and poet (d. 2005)
1907 - Avraham Stern, Zionist group leader (d. 1942)
1908 - Yousuf Karsh, Armenian-Canadian portrait photographer (d. 2002)
1910 - Kurt Meyer, German SS officer (d. 1961)
1911 - Niels Kaj Jerne, Danish immunologist (d. 1994)
1911 - James Gregory, American actor (d. 2002)
1911 - Marie Olav, Estonian chess player (d. 1994)
1916 - Dino Risi, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1918 - Helmut Schmidt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1974-1982 (d. 2015)
1918 - Jose Greco, dancer (d. 2000)
1922 - Calder Willingham, writer (d. 1995)
1922 - Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician (d. 2001)
1923 - James Stockdale, United States Navy admiral (d. 2005)
1923 - Gunther Schifter, Austrian music journalist (d. 2008)
1924 - Bob Kurland, American basketball player (d. 2013)
1925 - Pierre Beregovoy, Prime Minister of France (d. 1993)
1925 - Mohammed Mzali, Prime Minister of Tunisia (d. 2010)
1926 - Robert Bly, American poet
1929 - Chet Baker, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1988)
1931 - Lev Durov, Russian actor (d. 2015)
1933 - Akihito, Emperor of Japan
1934 - Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
1935 - Paul Hornung, American football player
1935 - Esther Phillips, American singer (d. 1984)
1936 - Frederic Forrest, American actor
1937 - Barney Rosenzweig, American screenwriter and producer
1937 - Nelson Shanks, American artist (d. 2015)
1939 - La Lupe, Cuban-American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
1939 - Nancy Graves, American sculptor, painter and printmaker (d. 1995)
1940 - Jorma Kaukonen, Finnish-American musician (Jefferson Airplane)
1941 - Tim Hardin, musician
1941 - Nigel Anthony, English actor
1942 - Quentin Bryce, 25th Governor-General of Australia
1942 - M. M. Ruhul Amin, Bangladeshi judge (d. 2017)
1942 - Lars-Erik Berenett, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
1943 - Mikhail Gromov, Russian mathematician
1943 - Harry Shearer, American actor, voice actor (This Is Spinal Tap, The Simpsons)
1943 - Silvia, Queen of Sweden
1943 - Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (d. 1987)
1944 - Wesley Clark, American General and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander
1945 - Adly Mansour, Interim President of Egypt
1946 - Ray Tabano, American musician
1946 - John Sullivan, English television writer (d. 2011)
1947 - Susan Lucci, soap opera actress
1948 - David Davis, British politician
1948 - Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, composer, author and journalist
1948 - Jack Ham, American football player
1949 - Adrian Belew, American guitarist
1950 - Michael C. Burgess, American politician
1950 - Vicente del Bosque, Spanish football manager
1950 - Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, English general
1951 1975
1951 - Anthony Phillips, British musician (Genesis)
1952 - William Kristol, American conservative commentator
1952 - David Loebsack, American politician
1953 - Andres Alver, Estonian architect
1953 - Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, Russian aristocrat
1955 - Carol Ann Duffy, Scottish poet and playwright
1956 - Dave Murray, English musician (Iron Maiden)
1957 - Trisha Goddard, English television presenter
1958 - Victoria Williams, singer
1961 - Carol Smillie, Scottish television personality
1962 - Stefan Hell, Romanian-German physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize winner
1962 - Kang Je-gyu, South Korean movie director, producer and screenwriter
1963 - Jim Harbaugh, American football quarterback
1964 - Eddie Vedder, musician (Pearl Jam)
1966 - Badi Assad, Brazilian singer, guitarist and composer
1967 - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Italian-French singer, model and former First Lady of France
1968 - Quincy Jones III, English-Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
1968 - Barry Kooser, American artist and animation filmmaker
1968 - Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, Puerto Rican photographer
1968 - Sandra Roelofs, Dutch-born former First Lady of Georgia
1968 - Olga Shishigina, Kazakhstani hurdler
1969 - Martha Byrne, soap opera actress
1969 - Rob Pelinka, American basketball player, agent and lawyer
1970 - Catriona LeMay Doan, Canadian speed skater
1971 - Corey Haim, Canadian actor (d. 2010)
1971 - Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite (d. 2017)
1971 - Jo Johnson, British politician
1974 - Agustin Delgado, Ecuadorean footballer
From 1976
1976 - Joanna Hayes, American hurdler
1977 - Matt Baker, British television presenter
1977 - Alge Crumpler, American football player
1978 - Andra Davis, American football player
1978 - Victor Martinez, Venezuelan baseball player
1978 - Estella Warren, Canadian actress and model
1978 - Esthero, Canadian musician and singer
1979 - Kenny Miller, Scottish footballer
1979 - Holly Madison, American model and actress
1981 - Agnes Milowka, Polish-Australian diver, explorer, author and photographer (d. 2011)
1981 - Beth, Spanish singer
1981 - Mario Santana, Argentine footballer
1983 - Michael Chopra, English footballer
1983 - Lisa Dobriskey, English middle-distance runner
1984 - Alison Sudol, American actress, singer and songwriter
1985 - Harry Judd, English drummer (McFly)
1987 - Owen Franks, New Zealand rugby player
1988 - Eri Kamei, Japanese singer
1988 - Yuka Kashino, Japanese singer and dancer
1989 - Lils Koger, Estonian painter and architect
1990 - Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress
1992 - Spencer Daniels, American actor
1992 - Jeff Schlupp, German-Ghananian footballer
1996 - Bartosz Kapustka, Polish footballer
2002 - Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor
Deaths
Up to 1900
130 - Emperor Keiko of Japan (b. 60)
484 - Huneric, Vandal king
558 - Childebert I, King of Paris
668 - Mor Gabriel, Syriac bishop and saint (b. 594)
679 - Dagobert II, Frankish king (b. 650)
910 - Saint Naum, Bulgarian missionary and scholar (b. 830)
918 - Conrad I of Germany (b. 890)
1193 - Saint Thorlak, patron Saint of Iceland (b. 1133)
1230 - Berengia of Navarre (b. 1165)
1572 - Johann Sylvan, German theologian
1575 - Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese military commander (b. 1531)
1588 - Henry I, Duke of Guise (b. 1550)
1631 - Michael Drayton, English poet (b. 1563)
1652 - John Cotton, English-born American minister (b. 1585)
1722 - Pierre Varignon, French mathematician (b. 1654)
1745 - Jan Dismas Zelenka, Bohemian composer (b. 1679)
1795 - Henry Clinton, English general and politician (b. 1730)
1831 - Emilie Plater, Lithuanian countess and freedom fighter (b. 1806)
1850 - Samuel Bell, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1770)
1851 - Giovanni Bechet, Italian poet and patriot (b. 1783)
1872 - George Catlin, American painter (b. 1796)
1901 2000
1902 - Frederick Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1821)
1920 - Walter Runeberg, Finnish sculptor (b. 1838)
1931 - Wilson Bentley, American scientist (b. 1865)
1939 - Anthony Fokker, Dutch aircraft manufacturer (b. 1890)
1948 - Akira Muto, Japanese military commander (b. 1892)
1948 - Hideki Tojo, 40th Prime Minister of Japan, Led the Attack on Pearl Harbour (b. 1884)
1950 - Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (b. 1878)
1953 - Lavrentiy Beria, Soviet-Georgian politician (b. 1899)
1954 - Rene Iche, French sculptor and scholar (b. 1897)
1961 - Kurt Meyer, German SS officer (b. 1910)
1970 - Aleksander Warma, Estonian politician (b. 1890)
1972 - Charles Atlas, American bodybuilder (b. 1892)
1972 - Andrei Tupolev, Russian aircraft designer (b. 1888)
1973 - Charles Atlas, Italian-American bodybuilder (b. 1892)
1978 - Misao Tamai, Japanese footballer (b. 1903)
1979 - Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector (b. 1898)
1984 - Joan Lindsay, Australian writer (b. 1896)
1992 - Eddie Hazel, American musician (b. 1950)
1994 - Sebastian Shaw, British actor (b. 1905)
1997 - Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (b. 1908)
1998 - Anatoly Rybakov, Russian writer (b. 1911)
1998 - Joe Orlando, Italian-American comics writer, artist and editor (b. 1927)
1998 - Michelle Thomas, American actress (b. 1969)
2000 - Victor Borge, Danish comedian and pianist (b. 1909)
From 2001
2004 - P. V. Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister of India (b. 1921)
2005 - Lajos Baroti, Hungarian footballer (b. 1914)
2007 - Oscar Peterson, American jazz pianist and composer (b. 1925)
2009 - Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Tibetan politician (b. 1910)
2010 - K. Karunakaran, Indian politician (b. 1918)
2013 - Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian inventor of the AK-47 (b. 1919)
2013 - Yusef Lateef, American saxophonist (b. 1920)
2013 - Robert W. Wilson, American philanthropist and businessman (b. 1926)
2014 - K. Balachander, Indian director and producer (b. 1930)
2014 - Jeremy Lloyd, English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor (b. 1930)
2014 - Jacques Chancel, French journalist and writer (b. 1928)
2015 - Hocine Ait Ahmed, Algerian politician (b. 1926)
2015 - Don Howe, English footballer (b. 1935)
2015 - Bulent Ulusu, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1923)
2015 - Jean-Marie Pelt, French biologist, botanist and pharmacist (b. 1933)
2015 - Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist (b. 1941)
2016 - Anis Amri, Tunisian suspected terrorist (2016 Berlin attack) (b. 1992)
2016 - Heinrich Schiff, Austrian cellist and conductor (b. 1951)
2016 - Piers Sellers, English-American astronaut (b. 1955)
2017 - Maurice Hayes, Irish politician (b. 1927)
Observances
Akihito's birthday (Japan)
Saint Thorlak's Day (Iceland)
HumanLight (secular humanism in the United States)
Festivus
Kiran Diwas (Uttar Pradesh)
Victory Day (Egypt)
Children's Day (Sudan and South Sudan)
Days of the year