May 23rd in History

Michael Dobson | May 23

Photo: The accordion is patented, May 23, 1829. Shown: Lässe Pihlajamaa, Finnish accordionist

Today in History

  • Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians (1430)
  • Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon is annulled without Papal approval (1533)
  • The Netherlands declare independence from Spain (1568)
  • South Carolina becomes the 8th US state (1788)
  • The accordion is patented (1829)
  • The Federal Republic of Germany comes into existence (1949)
  • Explorer 1 stops transmitting (1958)
  • The Who release Tommy (1969)
  • Java 1.0 is released (1995)

Birthdays

  • Carl Linnaeus, botanist (1707)
  • Franz Mesmer, hypnotist (1734)
  • Ambrose Burnside, Union general (1824)
  •  عبد البهاء‎ (`Abdu’l-Bahá), Bahá’í leader (1844)
  • Otto Lilienthal, aviator (1848)
  • Douglas Fairbanks, actor (1883)
  • Scott O’Dell, author (1898)
  • Margaret Wise Brown, wrote Goodnight Moon (1910)
  • Scatman Crothers, entertainer (1910)
  • Artie Shaw, bandleader and clarinet player (1910)
  • Helen O’Connell, singer (1920)
  • James Blish, science fiction writer (1921)
  • Rosemary Clooney, singer and actress (1928)
  • Joan Collins, actress (1933)
  • Robert Moog, synthesizer inventor (1934)
  • Анато́лий Ка́рпов (Anatoly Karpov), chess grandmaster (1951)
  • Marvelous Marvin Hagler, boxer (1954)
  • Drew Carey, comedian (1958)
  • Jewel, singer-songwriter (1974)

Deaths

  • Girolamo Savonarola, preacher and philosopher (1498)
  • Captain William Kidd, pirate (1701)
  • Kit Carson, trailblazer (1868)
  • Henrik Ibsen, playwright (1906)
  • Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, criminals (1934)
  • John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil (1937)
  • Heinrich Himmler, reichsführer (1945)
  • Moms Mabley, comedienne (1975)
  • George Jessel, comedian (1981)
  • Sterling Hayden, actor (1986)
  • Sam Snead, golfer (2002)
  • Lloyd Bentsen, politician (2006)
  • Paul Fussell, essayist and historian (2012)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Declaration of the Báb (Bahá’í Faith)
  • Labour Day (Jamaica)
  • Linnaeus Day (Sweden)
  • National Day (Morocco)
  • World Turtle Day (international)
  • Rosalia (ancient Rome)
  • Vulcan’s Day (ancient Rome)
Informal and made-up holidays include Fairy Bluebell Day, the Festival of Saint Sarah the Egyptian (France), Lucky Penny Day, National Taffy Day, Pickle Day, Sea Turtle Day, and World Crohn’s and Colitis Day