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Day of the year
August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar ; 130 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.1305 - William Wallace , Scottish patriot, is executed for high treason by Edward I of England .1328 - Battle of Cassel : French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers.1541 - French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada .1555 - Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands .1595 - Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Calugareni .1708 - Meidingnu Pamheiba is crowned King of Manipur .1775 - King George III declares that the American colonies exist in a state of open and avowed rebellion.1784 - Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee ) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin ; it wasn’t accepted into the United States , and only lasted for four years.1793 - French Revolution : a levée en masse was decreed by the National Convention .1799 - Napoleon leaves Egypt for France en route to seize power.1813 - At the Battle of Grossbeeren , the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army.1833 - Slavery abolished in the British colonies.1839 - The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares to war with Qing China . The ensuing 3-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War .1864 - The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan , Alabama , thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico .1866 - Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague .1889 - First wireless message from a ship to the shore received.1896 - First Cry of the Philippine Revolution is made in Pugad Lawin (Quezon City ), in the province of Manila .1904 - The automobile tire chain is patented.1914 - World War I : Japan declares war on Germany and bombs Qingdao , China .1914 - World War I: the Battle of Mons ; the British Army begins withdrawal.
1923 - Capt. Lowell Smith and Lt. John P. Richter performed the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B , setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours.1929 - Hebron Massacre : Arab attack of the Jewish community in the British Mandate of Palestine resulted in 133 Jews killed, 67 in Hebron .1939 - World War II : Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact . In a secret addition to the pact, Baltic states , Finland , Ukraine and Poland are divided between the two nations.1940 - World War II: The Germans start bombing London .1942 - World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad .1943 - World War II: Kharkov liberated.1944 - World War II: Marseille liberated.1944 - World War II King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-Nazi government of General Antonescu , who is arrested. Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies .
1944 - Freckleton Air Disaster - A United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton , England killing 61 people.
1946 - Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German Land Schleswig-Holstein .1948 - World Council of Churches is formed.1952 - The Arab League is formed.1958 - Chinese Civil War : The Second Taiwan Strait crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army 's bombardment of Quemoy .1962 - First live television connection between the United States and Europe, via the Telstar satellite.1966 - Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon .1973 - The Intelsat communication satellite is launched.1975 - Successful Communist coup in Laos .1977 - The Gossamer Condor wins the Kremer prize for human powered flight.1979 - Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defects to the United States .1982 - Bachir Gemayel is elected Lebanese President amidst the raging civil war.1985 - Hans Tiedge , top counter-spy of West Germany , defects to East Germany .1985 - Famous shipwreck RMS Titanic is found.1989 - Singing Revolution : two million people from Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius -Tallinn road, holding hands (Baltic Way ).1989 - All of Australia 's 1,645 domestic airline pilots resign after the airlines threaten to fire them and sue them over a dispute.
1990 - Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War .1990 - Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union .
1990 - West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on October 3 .
1996 - Osama bin Laden issues message entitled 'A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places.'2000 - A Gulf Air Airbus A320 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain , killing 143.2000 - Nicaragua becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty . This essentially deprecated the Buenos Aires Convention treaty, because as of this date, all members of the BA Convention were also signatories to Berne .
2005 - TANS Peru Flight 204 crashes near Pucallpa , Peru , killing 41.2006 - Natascha Kampusch , who was abducted at the age of 10, managed to escape from her captor Wolfgang Priklopil , after 8 years of captivity.
Births
686 - Charles Martel , grandfather of Charlemagne (d. 741 )1486 - Sigismund von Herberstein , Austrian diplomat and historian (d. 1566 )1524 - François Hotman , French lawyer and writer (d. 1590 )1623 - Stanisław Lubieniecki , Polish astronomer (d. 1675 )1724 - Abraham Yates , American Continental Congressman (d. 1796 )1741 - Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse , French explorer (d. 1788 )1754 - King Louis XVI of France (d. 1793 )1769 - Georges Cuvier , French biologist and statesman (d. 1832 )1783 - William Tierney Clark , English civil engineer (d. 1852 )1785 - Oliver Hazard Perry , U.S. naval officer (d. 1819 )1805 - Anton von Schmerling , Austrian statesman (d. 1893 )1814 - James Roosevelt Bayley , first Bishop of Newark, New Jersey , and the eighth Archbishop of Baltimore (d. 1877 )1829 - Moritz Cantor , German mathematician (d. 1920 )1836 - Marie Henriette of Austria , Queen of the Belgians (d. 1902 )1843 - William Southam , Canadian newspaper publisher (d. 1932 )1846 - Alexander Milne Calder , American sculptor (d. 1923 )1847 - Sarah Frances Whiting , American physicist and astronomer (d. 1927 )1849 - William Ernest Henley , British poet, critic, and editor (d. 1903 )1852 - Arnold Toynbee , English economist and social reformer (d. 1883 )1852 - Clímaco Calderón , President of Colombia . (d. 1913 )
1854 - Moritz Moszkowski , Polish/German composer (d. 1925 )1864 - Eleftherios Venizelos , Prime Minister of Greece (d.1936 )1868 - Edgar Lee Masters , American author (d. 1950 )1875 - William Eccles , English radio pioneer (d. 1966 )1875 - Eugene Lanceray , Russian artist (d. 1946 )
1880 - Alexander Grin , Russian writer (d. 1932 )1883 - Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV , U.S. general (d. 1953 )1884 - Will Cuppy , American humorist (d. 1949 )1884 - Ogden L. Mills , U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, 1927-1932 (d. 1937 )
1900 - Ernst Krenek , Austrian-born composer (d. 1991 )1900 - Malvina Reynolds , American folk singer/songwriter (d. 1978 )
1901 - John Sherman Cooper , U.S. Senator from Kentucky (d. 1991 )1903 - William Primrose , Scottish violist (d. 1982 )1905 - Constant Lambert , British composer (d. 1951 )1908 - Hannah Frank , Scottish Artist and Sculptor1910 - Giuseppe Meazza , Italian footballer (d. 1979 )1911 - Birger Ruud , Norwegian athlete (d. 1998 )1912 - Gene Kelly , American dancer and actor (d. 1996 )1917 - Tex Williams , American singer (d. 1985 )1919 - Vladimir Abramovich Rokhlin , Russian mathematician (d. 1984 )1921 - Kenneth Arrow , American economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner1922 - George Kell , baseball player1922 - Jean Darling , American child actress
1922 - Pierre Gauvreau , Quebec painter, television writer and producer
1923 - Edgar F. Codd , English computer scientist (d. 2003 )1924 - Ephraim Kishon , Israeli writer (d. 2005 )1924 - Robert Solow , American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1925 - Robert Mulligan , American movie and television director1927 - Dick Bruna , Dutch illustrator1928 - Marian Seldes , American actress1929 - Vera Miles , American actress1930 - Michel Rocard , Prime Minister of France 1931 - Hamilton O. Smith , American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1932 - Houari Boumedienne , President of Algeria (d. 1978 )1932 - Mark Russell , American comedian, musician, and political commentator
1933 - Robert Curl , American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate1933 - Pete Wilson , Governor of California
1934 - Barbara Eden , American actress and singer1934 - Sonny Jurgensen , American football player
1936 - Henry Lee Lucas , American serial killer (d. 2001 )1943 - Nelson DeMille , American novelist1944 - Antonia Novello , former United States Surgeon General 1946 - Keith Moon , English singer and drummer (The Who ) (d. 1978 )1947 - Willy Russell , British playwright1947 - David Robb , British actor
1948 - Andrei Pleşu , Romanian writer, essayist1948 - Daniel Ruettiger "Rudy", University of Notre Dame football legend
1949 - Katiana Balanika , Greek actress and singer1949 - Geoff Capes , English Strongman
1949 - Shelley Long , American actress
1949 - Rick Springfield , Australian singer and actor
1951 - Akhmad Kadyrov , President of Chechnya (d. 2004 )1951 - Queen Noor of Jordan
1951 - Jimi Jamison , American singer (Survivor )
1952 - Vicky Leandros , Greek singer and politician1953 - Bobby G , British singer (Bucks Fizz )1954 - Charles Busch , American director, writer, actor and drag queen1956 - Andreas Floer , German mathematician (d. 1991 )1956 - Valgerd Svarstad Haugland , Norwegian politician
1956 - Skipp Sudduth , American actor
1957 - Tasos Mitropoulos , Greek footballer and politician1958 - Julio Franco , Atlanta Braves , oldest regular position player in MLB history1959 - George Kalovelonis , Greek tennis player1960 - Rodney Alan Greenblat , American graphic artist1960 - Chris Potter , Canadian actor
1961 - Dean DeLeo , American musician (Stone Temple Pilots )1961 - Gary Mabbutt , English footballer
1962 - Martin Cauchon , Canadian politician1963 - Hans-Henning Fastrich , German field hockey player1963 - Kenny Wallace , American race car driver
1963 - Park Chan-wook , Korean director and screenwriter
1964 - Kong Hee , Singaporean, Founder and Senior Pastor of the City Harvest movement in Asia1965 - Roger Avary , Canadian-born screenwriter, director, and producer1966 - Rik Smits , Dutch-American basketball player1968 - Chris DiMarco , American golfer1969 - Keith Tyson , English artist1969 - Jeremy Schaap , American sportswriter
1969 - Geneviève Brouillette , Quebec television and film actress
1970 - Jay Mohr , American actor and comedian1970 - River Phoenix , American actor (d. 1993 )
1971 - Demetrio Albertini , Italian footballer1971 - BoneCrusher , American rapper
1972 - Martin Grainger , English footballer1972 - Raul Casanova , Puerto Rican baseball player
1974 - Ray Park , Scottish actor1974 - Shifty , American musician (Crazy Town )
1974 - Benjamin Limo , Kenyan runner
1974 - Christian Beranek , American graphic novelist and actor
1975 - Eliza Carthy , English singer and fiddler1975 - Jarkko Ruutu , Finnish ice hockey player
1976 - Scott Caan , American actor1977 - Douglas Sequeira , Costa Rican footballer1978 - Kobe Bryant , American basketball player1978 - Julian Casablancas , American musician
1979 - Edgar Sosa , Mexican boxer1980 - Denny Bautista , Dominican baseball player1980 - Rex Grossman , American football player
1981 - Ozzy Lusth , American Survivor contestant1981 - Stephan Loboué , Ivorian footballer
1981 - Carmen Luvana , American pornographic actress.
1982 - Natalie Coughlin , American swimmer1982 - YTCracker , American musician
1982 - Scott Palguta , Professional soccer player
1984 - Glen Johnson , English footballer1986 - Neil Cicierega , American cartoonist and musician1987 - Nikki Gil , Filipina actress, host and singer
1988 - Daniel Schwaab , German footballer1995 - Eliza Pineda , Filipina child actress
Deaths
93 - Gnaeus Julius Agricola , Roman Governor of Britain (b. 40 )634 - Abu Bakr , Arabian caliph1106 - Magnus, Duke of Saxony 1176 - Emperor Rokujo of Japan (b. 1164 )1305 - William Wallace , Scottish patriot1387 - King Olav IV of Norway (b. 1370 )1507 - Jean Molinet , French writer (b. 1435 )1519 - Philibert Berthelier , Swiss patriot1540 - Guillaume Budé , French scholar1591 - Luis Ponce de León , Spanish poet and mystic (b. 1527 )1618 - Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero , Dutch writer (b. 1585 )1628 - George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham , English statesman (b. 1592 )1652 - John Byron, 1st Baron Byron , English royalist politician (b. 1600 )1706 - Colonel Edward Nott, Esq. , British Crown Governor of Virginia (b. 1654 )1723 - Increase Mather , New England Puritan minister (b. 1639 )1806 - Charles Augustin de Coulomb , French physicist (b. 1736 )1813 - Alexander Wilson , Scottish-born ornithologist (b. 1766 )1819 - Oliver Hazard Perry , American naval officer (b. 1785 )1853 - Alexander Calder , first mayor of Beaumont, Texas (b. 1806 )1867 - Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy , French poet (b. 1796 )1892 - Deodoro da Fonseca , 1st President of Brazil (b. 1827 )1926 - Rudolph Valentino , Italian actor (b. 1895 )1927 - Nicola Sacco , Italian anarchist (b. 1891 )1927 - Bartolomeo Vanzetti , Italian anarchist (b. 1888 )
1937 - Albert Roussel , French composer (b. 1869 )1955 - Reginald Tate , British actor (b. 1896 )1960 - Oscar Hammerstein II , American lyricist (b. 1895 )1962 - Walter Anderson , German folklorist (b. 1885 )1962 - Hoot Gibson , American actor (b. 1892 )
1963 - Glen Gray , American jazz musician and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra (b. 1900 )1966 - Francis X. Bushman , American actor (b. 1883 )1967 - Georges Berger , Belgian racing driver (b. 1918 )1971 - The original Shamu , Sea World orca 1974 - Roberto Assagioli , Italian psychiatrist (b. 1888 )1982 - Stanford Moore , American biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913 )1987 - Didier Pironi , French racing car driver (b. 1952 )1989 - Mohammed Abed Elhai , Sudanese writer and academic (b. 1944 )1989 - R. D. Laing , Scottish psychiatrist (b. 1927 )
1990 - David Rose , American composer and orchestra leader (b. 1910 )1995 - Dwayne Goettel , Canadian musician (Skinny Puppy )(b. 1964 )1997 - John Kendrew , British molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1917 )1999 - Norman Wexler , American screenwriter (b.1926 )1999 - James White , Northern Irish writer (b. 1928 )
2000 - John Anthony Kaiser , Roman Catholic priest (b. 1932 )2001 - Kathleen Freeman , American actress (b. 1919 )2001 - Peter Maas , American novelist (b. 1929 )
2002 - Hoyt Wilhelm , American baseball player (b. 1922 )2003 - Bobby Bonds , American baseball player and manager (b. 1946 )2003 - Jack Dyer , Australian rules footballer (b. 1913 )
2003 - John Geoghan , American Catholic priest (b. 1935 )
2005 - Brock Peters , American actor (b. 1927 )2005 - Ninjalicious , Canadian author and urban explorer (b. 1973 )
2006 - Maynard Ferguson , Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader (b. 1928 )2007 - Robert Symonds , American actor (b. 1926 )
Holidays and observances
External links
