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May 23: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – May 23 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 23rd May 1275: Cessation of persecution of French Jews was ordered by King Edward I of England today.
2. 23rd May 1420: Jews from Syria and Austria were expelled today.
3. 23rd May 1430: French soldier and national heroin Joan of Arc was today captured at Compiegne and sold to the English.
4. 23rd May 1493: King Charles VIII of France and Maximilian I of (Habsburg) Austria signed the Peace of Senlis today.
5. 23rd May 1544: Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV today recognized King Christian of Denmark.
6. 23rd May 1568: The Netherlands today declared its independence from Spain.
7. 23rd May 1568: Dutch rebels today beat the Spanish in the battle of Heiligerlee, Groningen. Thousands were killed in the battle.
8. 23rd May 1576: The Hveen Island was today given to astronomer Tycho Brahe to build the Uraniborg Observatory.
9. 23rd May 1609: The official ratification of the second charter of Virginia took place today.
10. 23rd May 1644: John Mauritius Nassau resigned today as head of Civil rights activists.
11. 23rd May 1647: William II was today sworn in as the viceroy of Holland.
12. 23rd May 1660: King Charles returned to England from exile from Scheveningen.
18th Century – What Happened on May 23 – The 1700s
13. 23rd May 1701: Captain William Kidd was convicted of piracy and murder of William Moore and was hanged in London.
14. 23rd May 1706: During the war of Spanish succession, the first Duke of Marlborough John Churchill defeated the French at the Battle of Ramillies. The battle casualty was 17,000.
15. 23rd May 1785: The founding father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin today announced his invention of bifocals.
16. 23rd May 1788: South Carolina today ratified the US Constitution. It became the 8th state to do so.
19th Century – May 22 This Day That Year – The 1800s
17. 23rd May 1813: Military and political leader of South America, Simon Bolivar led an invasion of Venezuela and entered Merida. He was proclaimed as El Liberator (The Liberator).
18. 23rd May 1853: Buenos Aires today gained independence from Argentina.
19. 23rd May 1861: The citizens of Virginia today voted 3 to 1 favoring cessation from the Union.
20. 23rd May 1863: In Battle Creek in Michigan, the Seventh-day Adventurist Church was organized today.
21. 23rd May 1865: After Abraham Lincoln was shot dead, the flag was flown at full mast for the first time today.
22. 23rd May 1867: Outlaw Jesse James and his gang robbed $4,000 from the bank in Richmond Missouri. Two people died.
23. 23rd May 1873: In Canada, the North West Mounted Police Force was formed today.
24. 23rd May 1873: In San Francisco, postcards were sold for the first time today.
25. 23rd May 1878: US today names attorney John Henry Smith as its minister to Liberia.
26. 23rd May 1882: There was a 6-inch snowfall in eastern Iowa.
27. 23rd May 1887: This day marks the arrival of the first transcontinental train in Vancouver, British Columbia.
28. 23rd May 1894: Groundbreaking ceremonies for Love Canal were hosted today by William Love.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 23rd – The 1900s
29. 23rd May 1900: William Harvey Carney was today awarded the Medal of Honour for his actions at the Battle in the Civil War. He became the first African/American to get such a medal.
30. 23rd May 1900: The “Associated Press News Services” was formed in New York today.
31. 23rd May 1901: H. Spencer aboard Commando won the 35th Belmont in 2:21.
32. 23rd May 1901: Royal Assent was accorded for the Ottawa Mint Act today.
33. 23rd May 1901: Revolutionary and leader of Filipino rebels, Emilio Aguinaldo was today captured by the United States.
34. 23rd May 1903: The first automobile trip across the United States left San Francisco for New York today. It arrived in New York on the 26th of May.
35. 23rd May 1903: The first direct primary election law was today adopted by Wisconsin.
36. 23rd May 1907: In Finland the single-chamber parliament assembles for its first plenary session today.
37. 23rd May 1908: A Dirigible exploded over the San Francisco Bay today. 16 passengers fell off the dirigible but none were killed.
38. 23rd May 1911: The New York public library building situated on the 5th avenue was today dedicated to President William Howard Taft.
39. 23rd May 1915: During World War I, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary.
40. 23rd May 1917: The 1908 Conscription draft was today approved by the Dutch 2nd Chamber.
41. 23rd May 1920: Pope Benedictus XV published the encyclical Pacem Dei today.
42. 23rd May 1922: Animator Walt Disney today incorporated Laugh-O-Gram Films, his first film company.
43. 23rd May 1923: Belgium launched its SABENS airline with its first flight from Brussels to Lympne in England.
44. 23rd May 1926: The Lebanese constitution was formed today under French mandate.
45. 23rd May 1928: There was a bomb attack on the Italian embassy in Buenos Aires. 22 people lost their lives in the attack.
46. 23rd May 1931: In Bedfordshire in England, Whipsnade Zoo opened today.
47. 23rd May 1934: Bank robber Clyde Barrow and outlaw Bonnie Parker, were today killed by police in an ambush near Sailes in Louisiana.
48. 23rd May 1939: British Parliament made plans for the independence of Palestine by 1949.
49. 23rd May 1939: The dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler today proclaimed that he wants to move into Poland.
50. 23rd May 1939: Submarine USS Squalus sank in the Gulf of Maine. Divers using newly developed helix air systems were able to rescue 33 crew members from a depth of 74 meters. 26 crew members drowned.
51. 23rd May 1940: Spitfire and Luftwaffe were engaged in the first great dogfight today.
52. 23rd May 1941: Rudolf Harbig ran 1KM in 2:21.5 and created a world record.
53. 23rd May 1943: Dortmund was today attacked by 826 Allied bombers.
54. 23rd May 1944: Pontecorvo in Italy was today occupied by British and Canadian troops.
55. 23rd May 1944: China launches a counter-offensive at the Hunan front.
56. 23rd May 1945: Members of the Nazi Flensburg government, Admiral Karl Donitz included, by the allies bringing about the formal dissolving of Nazi Germany.
57. 23rd May 1945: Helgoland, the German Island surrendered to the British today.
58. 23rd May 1945: William Joyce known as Lord Haw-Haw, who broadcast Nazi propaganda from Germany to Britain was arrested today at the Danish boundary.
59. 23rd May 1945: Hitler’s second in command Henrich Himmler committed suicide while in the custody of Allied forces by consuming a tiny vial of poison.
60. 23rd May 1947: The PC Hooft Prize was instituted for literature.
61. 23rd May 1949: The American, British, and French-occupied zones of Germany formed the Federal Republic of (West) Germany.
62. 23rd May 1951: China formally established its sovereignty over Tibet by the signing of the seventeen-point peace agreement in Beijing today.
63. 23rd May 1956: In San Francisco, the World Trade Center was dedicated in the Ferry Building today.
64. 23rd May 1958: The “Great Leap Forward” movement was started today by the revolutionary leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong.
65. 23rd May 1960: Israel today announced the capture of Adolf Eichmann, the SS officer of Nazi Germany.
66. 23rd May 1962: General Raoul Salan, the O A S leader was sentenced to life today.
67. 23rd May 1964: Dale Greig ran the female marathon in 3:27:45 and created a world record.
68. 23rd May 1965: In Austria, Franz Jones was elected President of Austria today.
69. 23rd May 1965: On the Shire River in Malawi a pontoon ferry overturned killing 150 people.
70. 23rd May 1966: Following the nation’s seamen’s strike which started a week ago, the British government declared a state of emergency which would provide the Royal Navy to clear the ports and allow free movement of goods.
71. 23rd May 1967: The government today banned submarines in South Africa.
72. 23rd May 1969: In the 22nd Cannas Film Festival, “If…” directed by Lindsay Anderson won the Gran Prix du Festival International du Film today.
73. 23rd May 1970: The USSR performed an underground nuclear test today.
74. 23rd May 1970: Britannia Bridge over the Menai Straits was partially destroyed when a fire broke out.
75. 23rd May 1974: Mario Sossi, an officer of the Italian Red Brigade was freed today.
76. 23rd May 1974: Great Britain today performed its nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site.
77. 23rd May 1977: Moluccan extremists hijacked a train in the Netherlands and held 105 school children and 50 others as hostages. The children were released four days later and the siege ended on June 11th.
78. 23rd May 1977: The US Supreme Court today refused to hear appeals of H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and John Mitchell in the Watergate case.
79. 23rd May 1977: Benin adopted its constitution today.
80. 23rd May 1978: There was a general strike in Peru.
81. 23rd May 1979: Karl Carstens was today elected as president of West Germany.
82. 23rd MAY 1979: The first edition of “Wisden Cricket Monthly” was issued today.
83. 23rd May 1981: In Barcelona, fascists took 200 people as hostages.
84. 23rd May 1986: Heavier sanctions against South Africa were vetoed by the US and Western Europe.
85. 23rd May 1991: Subsided clinics were barred from discussing abortion by the US Supreme Court today.
86. 23rd May 1992: In Italy, Judge Giovanni Falcone, who was earlier a senior mafia prosecutor was assassinated today.
87. 23rd May 1992: The Coast Guard was today ordered by US President George Bush to intercept boats carrying Haitian refugees.
88. 23rd May 1994: In a bustle around Mina in Saudi Arabia, 270 pilgrims lost their lives.
89. 23rd May 1998: In Northern Ireland the Good Friday peace agreement was accepted in a referendum with 3 to 1 support.
21st Century – May 23 This Day In History – The 2000s
90. 23rd May 2004: Four people were killed and three others were injured when a part of terminal 2E of the Charles de Gaulle Air Port in Paris collapsed.
91. 23rd May 2005: The BBC workers today went on a strike over the proposed 4000 (approximately) job cuts. Much of the Television and Radio networks were operational with a skeleton staff.
92. 23rd May 2008: The 29-year-old territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia was resolved today with the International Court of Justice awarding Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Blanca to Singapore.
93. 23rd May 2008: Twelve South American countries signed a treaty at a summit in Brazil to create a Union of South American Nations which is aimed to bolster economic and political ties.
94. 23rd May 2010: A landslide in China derailed a passenger train in Jiangxi in which 19 people were killed. Another train crashed into rocks and mud debris on the tracks injuring seventy-one people.
95. 23rd May 2012: The art collection including portraits and pop art furniture of Gunter Sacs was today auctioned for $ 40 million.
96. 23rd May 2013: The United States Boy Scouts today loosened the Gay ban when the national council allowed openly gay members. It however retained the ban on openly gay adult scout leaders.
97. 23rd May 2014: The UN Security Council’s resolution to establish a Criminal Court for war crimes in Syria was today vetoed by Russia and China.
98. 23rd May 2017: Chinese archaeologists today announced their findings of the earliest use of barely in making beer in the Shaanxi province of China between 3400-2900 BC.
99. 23rd May 2017: Following the Manchester bombing in the UK the terror threat level was raised to critical today.
100. 23rd May 2017: President Donald Trump of the US met Pope Francis at the Vatican today.
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