April 23 Events

215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
1014 - Battle of Clontarf: Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
1348 - The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III of England is announced on St George's Day.
1521 - Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
1533 - The Church of England annuls the marriage between Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII of England.
1597 - Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance.
1660 - Treaty of Oliwa is established between Sweden and Poland.
1661 - King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
1827 - William Rowan Hamilton presents his Theory of systems of rays.
1867 - William Lincoln patents the zoetrope, a machine which shows animated pictures by mounting a strip of drawings in a wheel.
1920 - The national council in Turkey denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces a temporary constitution.
1923 - Inauguration ceremonies take place of Gdynia as a temporary military port and fishers' shelter.
1932 - The 153-year old De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, the Netherlands burns down.
1935 - Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
1940 - A fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi kills 198 people.
1942 - World War II: Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
1948 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Haifa, the major port of Israel, is captured from Palestinian forces.
1954 - Hank Aaron hits his first major league home run.
1956 - Elvis Presley makes his first appearance in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1967 - A group of young radicals are expelled from the Nicaraguan Socialist Party (PSN). This group goes on to found the Socialist Workers Party (POS).
1968 - The United Kingdom produces its first decimalised coins, a 5p and a 10p coin.
1968 - Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
1974 - A Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 crashes in Bali, Indonesia, killing 107.
1979 - Fighting in London between the Anti-Nazi League and the Metropolitan Police's Special Patrol Group results in the death of protestor Blair Peach.
1981 - Stefano Bontade, Mafia boss in Sicily, is murdered in Palermo, the opening shot in a Mob War orchestrated by Salvatore Riina.
1984 - First announcement of discovery of the HIV virus.
1985 - Coca Cola changes its 99 year old formula to the sweeter "New Coke". (It is doomed to failure and the company is later forced to reintroduce the original).
1990 - Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
1993 - Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
1994 - Physicists discover the top quark subatomic particle.
1995 - Association of Autonomous Astronauts founded.
1997 - Omaria massacre in Algeria; 42 villagers killed.
2003 - Beijing closes all schools for two weeks due to the SARS virus.

April 23 Births

1185 - King Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
1484 - Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian philosopher (d. 1558)
1500 - Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian (d. 1565)
1516 - Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
1564 - William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright [uncertain] (d. 1616)
1598 - Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
1628 - Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (d. 1704)
1676 - King Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
1720 - Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (d. 1797)
1725 - Saint Gerard Majella, Catholic saint
1775 - William Turner, English ornithologist (d. 1851)
1791 - James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
1792 - John Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
1805 - Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher (d. 1879)
1813 - Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator from Illinois and Presidential candidate (d. 1861)
1823 - Abd-ul-Mejid, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1861)
1858 - Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
1861 - Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, British general (d. 1936)
1867 - Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Danish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1928)
1876 - Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian (d. 1925)
1880 - Michel Fokine, Russian choreographer and dancer (d. 1942)
1882 - Albert Coates, British composer (d. 1953)
1889 - Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
1893 - Frank Borzage, American film director (d. 1952)
1893 - Allen Dulles, American Central Intelligence Agency director (d. 1969)
1895 - Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand writer (d. 1982)
1897 - Lucius Clay, American general (d. 1978)
1897 - Lester B. Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1972)
1899 - Dame Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (d. 1982)
1899 - Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1979)
1900 - Joseph Green, Polish-born actor and director (d. 1996)
1901 - E.B. Ford, British ecological geneticist (d. 1988)
1902 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
1904 - Duncan Renaldo, Spanish-American actor (d. 1985)
1907 - Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor
1910 - Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
1918 - Maurice Druon, French author
1921 - Warren Spahn, baseball player (d. 2003)
1923 - Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas
1923 - Avram Davidson, American writer (d. 1993)
1928 - Shirley Temple, American actress and politician
1932 - Jim Fixx, American athlete and writer (d. 1984)
1932 - Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
1932 - Estelle Harris, American actress
1935 - Bunky Green, American musician
1935 - Ray Peterson, American singer (d. 2005)
1936 - Roy Orbison, American singer and musician (d. 1988)
1939 - Lee Majors, American actor
1941 - Jacqueline Boyer, French singer
1941 - Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland
1942 - Sandra Dee, American actress (d. 2005)
1943 - Tony Esposito, Canadian hockey player
1943 - Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
1943 - Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
1947 - Bernadette Devlin, Irish politician
1948 - Pascal Quignard, French author
1949 - Joyce DeWitt, American actress
1954 - Michael Moore, American filmmaker
1955 - Judy Davis, Australian actress
1955 - Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
1958 - Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, music composer, art director and allsherjargo<eth>i (chief go<eth>i) of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagi<eth> (Icelandic Ásatrú Association)
1958 - Tove Jensen, Swedish porn actress
1958 - Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 - Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
1960 - Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (d. 1991)
1961 - George Lopez, American actor and comedian
1967 - Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
1968 - Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (d. 2001)
1972 - Patricia Manterola, Mexican singer
1974 - Carlos Dengler, Bassist of American band Interpol
1975 - Jón <THORN>ór Birgisson, Guitar player and lead singer of the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós
1977 - John Cena, American professional wrestler and rapper
1979 - Jaime King, American actress
1979 - Lauri Ylönen, Singer of The Rasmus
1983 - Daniela Hantuchová, Slovakian tennis player
1986 - Gabriel Butler, American supermodel
1989 - Nicole Vaidis¼ová, Czech tennis player

April 23 Deaths

303 - Saint George, Roman soldier and Christian martyr
725 - Wihtred, King of Kent
871 - Ethelred of Wessex
1014 - Brian Boru, High King of Ireland (killed in battle)
1016 - Ethelred II of England
1124 - King Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078)
1151 - Queen Adeliza of England (b. 1103)
1217 - King Inge II of Norway (b. 1185)
1407 - Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326)
1616 - Miguel Cervantes, Spanish author (b. 1547)
1616 - William Shakespeare, English writer and actor (b. 1564)
1625 - Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (b. 1567)
1702 - Margaret Fell, English Quaker leader (b. 1614)
1740 - Thomas Tickell, English writer (b. 1685)
1781 - James Abercrombie, British general (b. 1706)
1792 - Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer (b. 1741)
1794 - Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (executed) (b. 1721)
1850 - William Wordsworth, English poet (b. 1770)
1889 - Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, French writer (b. 1808)
1895 - Carl Ludwig, German physician (b. 1815)
1936 - Teresa de la Parra, Venezuelan writer (b. 1889)
1951 - Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
1952 - Julius Freed, American inventor and banker (b. 1887)
1975 - William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908)
1979 - Blair Peach, New Zealand-born anti-fascist (b. 1946)
1983 - Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908)
1984 - Red Garland, American jazz pianist (b. 1923)
1985 - Sam Ervin, American politician (b. 1896)
1986 - Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905)
1986 - Jim Laker, English cricketer (b. 1922)
1986 - Otto Preminger, Austrian-born film director (b. 1906)
1990 - Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1911)
1991 - Johnny Thunders, American musician (b. 1952)
1992 - Satyajit Ray, Indian filmmaker (b. 1921)
1993 - César Chávez, American labor activist (b. 1927)
1995 - Howard Cosell, American sports journalist (b. 1918)
1995 - John C. Stennis, U.S. Senator from Mississippi (b. 1904)
1996 - P. L. Travers, Australian author (b. 1899)
1997 - Denis Compton, English cricketer (b. 1918)
1998 - James Earl Ray, American assassin (b. 1928)
2002 - Linda Lovelace, American actress (b. 1949)
2003 - James H. Critchfield, American Central Intelligence agent (b. 1917)
2003 - Fernand Fonssagrives, French photographer (b. 1910)
2005 - Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
2005 - Al Grassby, Australian immigration minister (b. 1928)
2005 - Sir John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
2005 - Romano Scarpa, Italian-born comic artist (b. 1927)
2005 - Earl Wilson, baseball player (b. 1934)

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