August 23rd in History

“The Discovery of Nat Turner,” by William Henry Shelton

Today in History

  • British monarch George III declares that the American colonies are in an open state of rebellion (1775)
  • Parts of North Carolina (modern eastern Tennessee) establish the independent state of Franklin; it only last four years (1784)
  • Nat Turner’s slave rebellion is suppressed (1831)
  • The First Opium War between the United Kingdom and China begins (1839)
  • César Chavez’s Salad Bowl strike begins (1970)
  • A Swedish bank robbery gone wrong leads to the term “Stockholm syndrome” (1973)
  • The World Wide Web goes publish (1991)
  • Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown in Libya (2011)

Birthdays

  • Louis XVI of France, monarch (1754)
  • Oliver Hazard Perry, US naval commander who originated “Don’t Give Up the Ship” (1785)
  • Alexander Calder, sculptor (1846)
  • Arnold Toynbee, historian (1852)
  • Edgar Lee Masters, poet (1868)
  • Jonathan Wainwright, US general (1883)
  • Will Cuppy, humorist (1884)
  • Harry Frank Guggenheim, publisher (1890)
  • Ernie Bushmiller, cartoonist (1905)
  • Gene Kelly, actor and dancer (1912)
  • Tex Williams, singer-songwriter (1917)
  • Barbara Eden, actress (1931)
  • Mark Russell, comedian and pianist (1932)
  • Sonny Jurgensen, fotboll player (1934)
  • Keith Moon, drummer (1946)
  • Shelley Long, actress (1949)
  • Rick Springfield, singer-songwriter (1949)
  • Queen Noor of Jordan, royal consort (1951)
  • River Phoenix, actor (1970)
  • Kobe Bryant, basketball player (1978)

Deaths

  • Caesarion, Egyptian king, son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra (30 BCE)
  • William Wallace, Scottish rebel (1305)
  • Increase Mather, minister (1723)
  • Oliver Hazard Perry, US naval commaner (1819)
  • Sacco and Vanzetti, anarchists (1927)
  • Oscar Hammerstein II, composer and filmmaker (1960)
  • Hoot Gibson, actor and filmmaker (1962)
  • Francis X. Bushman, actor (1966)
  • R. D. Laing, psychiatrist (1989)
  • David Rose, composer (1990)
  • Alfred Eisenstaedt, photographer (1995)

Holidays and Observances

  • Battle of Kursk Day (Russia)
  • Day of the National Flag (Ukraine)
  • Black Ribbon Day (European Union, remembrance of victims of Stalin and the Nazis)
  • International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
  • National Day for Physicians (Iran)
  • Umhlanga Day (Swaziland)

August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years). There are 130 days remaining until the end of the year.