What happened today in history
January
What happened on January 23
On January 23 history recorded 56 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 94 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 56events
- 160births
- 94deaths
- 10observances
Highlights
Highlights
1264King Louis IX of France issued the Mise of Amiens, a settlement between King Henry III of England and barons led by Simon de Montfort heavily favouring the former, which later led to the Second Barons' War.
Louis IX, also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians, is the sole king of France to be canonised as a saint of the Catholic Church, and is also the
1368The Hongwu Emperor (pictured) ascended the throne, initiating the Ming dynasty, which would rule China for three centuries.
The Hongwu Emperor, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
1556One of the deadliest earthquakes in history struck Shaanxi, China, resulting in at least 100,000 direct deaths.
One of the deadliest earthquakes in history occurred in the early morning of 23 January 1556 in Huaxian, Shaanxi, during the Ming dynasty.
January 23
On this day
IV century
- 393
393Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
X century
XIII century
- 1229
1229The episcopal seat is moved from Nousiainen to Koroinen (located near the current centre of Turku) by the permission of Pope Gregory IX. The date is starting to be considered as the founding of Turku. - 1264
1264In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons' War.
XIV century
XVI century
- 1546
1546Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel. - 1556
1556The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000. - 1565
1565The Deccan Sultanates defeat Rama Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire at the Battle of Talikota, resulting in over 100,000 casualties and the destruction of the capital Vijayanagara. - 1570
1570James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such. - 1571
1571The Royal Exchange opens in London. - 1579
1579The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
XVII century
XVIII century
- 1719
1719The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire. - 1755
1755Moscow University is established (12 January 1755 O.S.). - 1789
1789Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.) when Bishop John Carroll, Rev. Robert Molyneux, and Rev. John Ashton purchase land for the proposed academy for the education of youth. - 1793
1793Second Partition of Poland. - 1795
1795After crossing the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry capture 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of surrender of naval vessels to land forces.
XIX century
- 1846
1846Slavery in Tunisia is abolished. - 1849
1849Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor. - 1870
1870In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre. - 1879
1879Anglo-Zulu War: The Battle of Rorke's Drift ends. - 1899
1899The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first president. - 1900
1900Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
XX century
- 1904
1904Ålesund Fire: The Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style. - 1909
1909RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day. - 1912
1912The First International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague. - 1919
1919The First Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Velykomykhailivka. - 1920
1920The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies. - 1922
1922The first successful treatment with insulin is given to 14-year-old diabetic Leonard Thompson. - 1937
1937The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime. - 1941
1941Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler. - 1942
1942World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan's invasion of Australia's Territory of New Guinea. - 1943
1943World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army. - 1945
1945World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal, the evacuation of areas along the eastern Baltic coast. - 1950
1950The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. - 1957
1957American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the "Frisbee". - 1958
1958After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela. - 1960
1960The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean. - 1963
1963The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese Army stationed in Tite. - 1964
1964The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified. - 1967
1967Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established. - 1967
1967Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty-one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age. - 1968
1968USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by the Korean People's Navy. - 1982
1982World Airways Flight 30 overshoots the runway at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, and crashes into Boston Harbor. Two people are missing and presumed dead. - 1986
1986The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. - 1987
1987Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan sends a "letter of death" to Somali President Siad Barre, proposing the genocide of the Isaaq people. - 1997
1997Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State. - 1998
1998Netscape announces Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.
XXI century
- 2001
2001Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Chinese Communist Party to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution. - 2002
2002U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered. - 2003
2003A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted. - 2018
2018A 7.9 Mw earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities. - 2018
2018A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds "dozens" of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials. - 2018
2018The China–United States trade war begins when President Donald Trump places tariffs on Chinese solar panels and washing machines. - 2022
2022Mutinying Burkinabè soldiers led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba depose and detain President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré amid widespread anti-government protests. - 2024
2024Northwestern Air Flight 738 crashes after takeoff from Fort Smith Airport, Northwest Territories, Canada, killing six people.
Best known
Born on January 23
Best known
Died on January 23
667Ildefonsus
Spanish scholar, theologian and bishop
1002Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor from 996 to 1002
1199Yaqub al-Mansur
Ruler of the Almohad Caliphate from 1184 to 1199
1252Isabella, Queen of Armenia
Queen of Cilician Armenia from 1219 to 1252
1297Florent of Hainaut
Prince of Achaea from 1289 to 1297
1423Margaret of Bavaria
Duchess consort of Burgundy
Holidays and observances
- Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands)
- Christian feast day: Abakuh
- Christian feast day: Marianne of Molokai
- Christian feast day: Emerentiana
- Christian feast day: Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Christian feast day: Ildefonsus of Toledo
- Christian feast day: Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Christian feast day: January 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Jayanti (Assam, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal, India)
- World Freedom Day (Taiwan and South Korea)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on January 23?
56 documented historical events happened on January 23, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: King Louis IX of France issued the Mise of Amiens, a settlement between King Henry III of England and barons led by Simon de Montfort heavily favouring the former, which later led to the Second Barons' War. On the same day, in another year: The Hongwu Emperor (pictured) ascended the throne, initiating the Ming dynasty, which would rule China for three centuries. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on January 23?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on January 23, including Dan Duryea, Hideki Yukawa, Django Reinhardt. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on January 23?
94 people with a Wikipedia article died on January 23, including Ildefonsus, Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, Yaqub al-Mansur. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on January 23?
10 observances are celebrated on January 23 around the world: Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands), Christian feast day: Abakuh, Christian feast day: Marianne of Molokai, Christian feast day: Emerentiana, Christian feast day: Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Christian feast day: Ildefonsus of Toledo. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
Keep exploring
Free app
Every day’s history, in your pocket
Almanaccolo greets you each morning with the almanac of the day, sunrise and sunset times and your saved events.
- Today’s almanac, every morning
- Save the events that strike you
- Sunrise, sunset and weather for your city
- Free, no account required
Source: Wikipedia · Calendar