What happened on November 23

50 documented historical events happened on November 23, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Dutch pacification campaign on Formosa: Soldiers from the Dutch East India Company (flag depicted) razed the village of Mattau, now part of modern-day Tainan, Taiwan. On the same day, in another year: In opposition to licensing and censorship during the English Civil War, John Milton's Areopagitica was published, arguing for the right to free expression. 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.

160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on November 23, including Paul Celan, Fred Buscaglione, Elyakim Schlesinger. 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.

109 people with a Wikipedia article died on November 23, including Eadred, William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. 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.

12 observances are celebrated on November 23 around the world: Christian feast day: Alexander Nevsky (Repose, Russian Orthodox Church), Christian feast day: Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro – one of Saints of the Cristero War (Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church), Christian feast day: Columbanus, Christian feast day: Felicitas of Rome, Christian feast day: Paulinus of Wales, Christian feast day: Pope Clement I (Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church). 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.