Events
Pre-1600
*
1430 –
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
is captured at the
Siege of Compiègne
The siege of Compiègne (1430) was conducted by Duke Philip III of Burgundy after the town of Compiègne had refused to transfer allegiance to him under the terms of a treaty with Charles VII. The siege is perhaps best known for Joan of Arc's ca ...
by troops from the
Burgundian faction.
*
1498
Year 1498 ( MCDXCVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1498th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 498th year of the 2nd millennium, the 98t ...
–
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
is burned at the stake in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, Italy.
*
1533 – The marriage of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
to
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
is declared null and void.
*
1568
Year 1568 ( MDLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 6– 13 – In the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, the delegates of Unio Tr ...
– Dutch rebels led by
Louis of Nassau, defeat
Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg
Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg (c. 1525 – 1568) was Baron of Barbançon, founder of the House of Arenberg and stadtholder of the Dutch provinces of Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel from 1549 until his death.
He was the son of L ...
, and his loyalist troops in the
Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
.
1601–1900
*
1609
Events
January–June
* January – The Basque witch trials begin.
* January 15 – One of the world's first newspapers, ''Avisa Relation oder Zeitung'', begins publication in Wolfenbüttel (Holy Roman Empire).
* January 3 ...
– Official ratification of the
Second Virginia Charter takes place.
*
1618 – The
Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...
.
*
1706 –
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
, defeats a French army under
Marshal
Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy at the
Battle of Ramillies
The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon a ...
.
*
1788 –
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
ratifies the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
as the eighth American state.
*
1793 –
Battle of Famars
The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North l ...
during the
Flanders Campaign
The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Au ...
of the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
.
*
1829 –
Accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...
patent granted to
Cyrill Demian in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
.
*
1844
In the Philippines, it was the only leap year with 365 days, as December 31 was skipped when 1845 began after December 30.
Events
January–March
* January 15 – The University of Notre Dame, based in the city of the same name, receives ...
– Declaration of the
Báb
The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
; Baháʼís celebrate the day as a holy day.
*
1846 –
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...
: President
Mariano Paredes
Mariano Paredes may refer to:
* Mariano Paredes (President of Mexico) (1797–1849), conservative Mexican general and president
* Mariano Paredes (President of Guatemala) (1800–1856), 4th President of Guatemala
* Mariano Paredes (artist)
Mari ...
of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
*
1863
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...
– The
General German Workers' Association
The General German Workers' Association (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiter-Verein, ADAV) was a German political party founded on 23 May 1863 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony by Ferdinand Lassalle. It was the first organized mass working-cla ...
, a precursor of the modern
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been ...
, is founded in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
,
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Sax ...
.
*
1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the
North-West Mounted Police
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territo ...
, the forerunner of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
.
*
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
–
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
: Sergeant
William Harvey Carney is awarded the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...
for his heroism in the
Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
1901–present
*
1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...
– The
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, it ...
Abdul Hamid II
Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
publicly announces the creation of the
Ullah Millet for the
Aromanians
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...
of the empire, which had been established one day earlier. For this reason, the
Aromanian National Day is usually celebrated on May 23, although some do so on
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
*11 ...
instead.
*
1907
Events
January
* January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000.
February
* February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...
– The
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
Parliament of Finland
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...
gathers for its first plenary session.
*
1911
A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia.
* ...
– The
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...
is dedicated.
*
1915
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction".
* January ...
–
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
: Italy joins the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
, fulfilling its part of the
Treaty of London.
*
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...
– In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...
, which resulted in the outbreak of the
Constitutionalist Revolution
The Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 (sometimes also referred to as Paulista War or Brazilian Civil War) is the name given to the uprising of the population of the Brazilian state of São Paulo against the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 whe ...
several weeks later.
*
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
– American
bank robbers
Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The c ...
are ambushed by police and killed in
Bienville Parish, Louisiana
Bienville Parish (french: link=no, Paroisse de Bienville, ) is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,981. The parish seat is Arcadia.
The highest natural poi ...
.
* 1934 – The
Auto-Lite strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the
Ohio National Guard
The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to f ...
and 6,000 picketers.
*
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
– The
U.S. Navy submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
USS ''Squalus'' sinks off the coast of
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
*
1945 –
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
:
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
, head of the
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe ...
, commits suicide while in
Allied custody.
* 1945 – World War II: Germany's
Flensburg Government under
Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government fo ...
is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.
*
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
–
Thomas C. Wasson
Thomas Campbell Wasson (February 8, 1896 – 23 May 1948) was an American diplomat who was assassinated while serving as the Consul General for the United States in Jerusalem. He was also a member of the United Nations Truce Commission.
Bio ...
, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
*
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
– Cold War: The Western
occupying powers approve the
Basic Law and establish a new German state, the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
.
*
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
–
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
ans sign the
Seventeen Point Agreement with China.
*
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
– A
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
caused by
an earthquake in Chile the previous day kills 61 people in
Hilo, Hawaii
Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement ...
.
*
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
J ...
– Seventy-eight people are killed when
Aviogenex Flight 130 crashes on approach to
Rijeka Airport
Rijeka Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Rijeka, it, Aeroporto di Fiume; ) is the international airport serving Rijeka, Croatia. It is located near the town of Omišalj on the island of Krk, 17 km from the Rijeka railway station. Most of the traf ...
in present-day
Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
(then the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
).
* 1971 – The
Intercontinental Hotel in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
opens, becoming the second-tallest building in the city.
*
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
– Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
, his wife and three body guards are killed by the
Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near
Capaci,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. His friend and colleague
Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of
Italian Mafia
Organized crime in Italy and its criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially Southern Italy, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions since at least the 19th century.
There are six ...
prosecutions.
*
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
– The first version of the
Java programming language
Java is a high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible. It is a general-purpose programming language intended to let programmers ''write once, run anywh ...
is released.
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
– The
Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
is accepted in a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
with roughly 75% voting yes.
*
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
– The "55 parties" clause of the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...
is reached after its ratification by
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
.
*
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
– Alaskan
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and peri ...
Mount Cleveland erupts.
*
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
– The
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...
(ICJ) awards
Middle Rocks
The Middle Rocks ( ms, Batuan Tengah; Jawi: باتون تڠه; ) are two uninhabited small rocks separated by of open water at the eastern opening of the Strait of Singapore on the western edge of the South China Sea. The islands were disput ...
to
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
and
Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, ending a 29-year
territorial dispute
A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions
Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...
between the two countries.
*
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
– A freeway bridge carrying
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
over the
Skagit River
The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000& ...
collapses in
Mount Vernon, Washington
Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,219 at the 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon- Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...
.
*
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
– Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in
a killing spree near the campus of
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
.
*
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
– At least 46 people are killed as a result of
floods
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.
*
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
– Two suicide bombings, conducted by the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...
, kill at least 45 potential army recruits in
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...
,
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
.
* 2016 – Eight bombings are carried out by the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...
in
Jableh
)
, settlement_type = City
, motto =
, image_skyline = Jableh Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption = General view of city and port • Roman Amphitheater• Al ...
and
Tartus
)
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Tartus corniche Port of Tartus • Tartus beach and boulevard Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa • Al-Assad Stadium&n ...
, coastline cities in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. One hundred eighty-four people are killed and at least 200 people injured.
*
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
– Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
declares
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Martia ...
in
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
, following the
Maute's attack in Marawi.
*
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
– A
cable car falls from a mountain near
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest l ...
in northern Italy, killing 14 people.
* 2021 –
Ryanair Flight 4978
Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, operated by the Polish subsidiary Buzz. On 23 May 2021, while in Belarusian airspace, it was ...
is forced to land by
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
ian authorities to detain dissident journalist
Roman Protasevich
Roman Dmitriyevich Protasevich (russian: Роман Дмитриевич Протасевич; born 5 May 1995), or Raman Dzmitryyevich Pratasyevich ( be, Раман Дзмітрыевіч Пратасевіч, translit=Raman Dzmitryjevič Prat ...
.
*
2022 –
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
is sworn in as the 31st
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princip ...
after winning the
2022 Australian federal election
The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth cons ...
, ending 9 years of
conservative rule.
Births
Pre-1600
*
635 –
K'inich Kan Bahlam II, Mayan king (d. 702)
*
675 –
Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of
Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India
*
1052 –
Philip I of France (d. 1108)
*
1100
Year 1100 ( MC) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1100th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 100th year of the 2nd millennium, the 100th and ...
–
Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
*
1127
Year 1127 ( MCXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* March 2 – Charles I (the Good), count of Flanders, is murdered; he leaves no chil ...
–
Uijong of Goryeo, Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (d. 1173)
*
1330 –
Gongmin of Goryeo
Gongmin of Goryeo (23 May 1330 – 27 October 1374), also known by his Mongolian name, Bayan Temür., was 31st ruler of Goryeo from 1351 to 1374. He was the second son of King Chungsuk.
Biography
Early life
Goryeo had been a semi-autonomou ...
, Korean ruler (d. 1374)
*
1586
Events
* January 18 – The 7.9 Tenshō earthquake strikes the Chubu region of Japan, triggering a tsunami and causing at least 8,000 deaths.
* June 16 – The deposed and imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II ...
–
Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (d. 1666)
1601–1900
*
1606 –
Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)
*
1614
Events
January–June
* February – King James I of England condemns duels, in his proclamation ''Against Private Challenges and Combats''.
* April 5 – Pocahontas is forced into child marriage with English colonist John Rolfe in Ja ...
–
Bertholet Flemalle, Flemish Baroque painter (d. 1675)
*
1617 –
Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...
, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
*
1629 –
William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1663)
*
1707 –
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...
, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
*
1718 –
William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
*
1729
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hano ...
–
Giuseppe Parini
Giuseppe Parini (23 May 1729 – 15 August 1799) was an Italian enlightenment satirist and poet of the neoclassic period.
Biography
Parini (originally spelled Parino) was born in Bosisio (later renamed Bosisio Parini in his honour) in Brian ...
, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)
*
1730 –
Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia
en, Augustus Ferdinand
, house = House of Hohenzollern
, father = Frederick William I of Prussia
, mother =Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia
, death_date =
, death_place = Berlin, Kingdom ...
, Prussian prince and general (d. 1813)
*
1734
Events
January– March
* January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Georgia in America.
* February 16 – ...
–
Franz Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer (; ; 23 May 1734 – 5 March 1815) was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorised the existence of a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects; this he called " ani ...
, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)
*
1741
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
*February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a speech ...
–
Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)
*
1789
Events
January–March
* January – Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès publishes the pamphlet ''What Is the Third Estate?'' ('), influential on the French Revolution.
* January 7 – The 1788-89 United States presidential electio ...
–
Franz Schlik
Franz Joseph von Schlik of Bassano and Weisskirchen (Prague, 23
May 1789 – Vienna, 17 March 1862) was a Count and General officer, general in the Austrian Empire. He was one of the most successful Austrian generals during the ...
, Austrian earl and general (d. 1862)
*
1790
Events
January–March
* January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City.
* January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which t ...
–
Jules Dumont d'Urville
Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his nam ...
, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
* 1790 –
James Pradier
James Pradier (born Jean-Jacques Pradier, ; 23 May 1790 – 4 June 1852) was a Genevan-born French sculptor best known for his work in the neoclassical style.
Life and work
Born in Geneva (then Republic of Geneva), Pradier was the son of a Prot ...
, French neoclassical sculptor (d. 1852)
*
1794
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark).
* January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United Stat ...
–
Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
*
1795 –
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respon ...
, English architect, designed the
Upper Brook Street Chapel and
Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
*
1800 –
Rómulo Díaz de la Vega
José María Rómulo Díaz de la Vega Fuentes (23 May 1800 — 3 October 1877) as commander of the garrison in Mexico City was the ''de facto'' president of Mexico in 1855 after the resignation of President Martin Carrera during the revolution ...
, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1877)
*
1810 –
Margaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movem ...
, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)
*
1817
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Sailing through the Sandwich Islands, Otto von Kotzebue discovers New Year Island.
* January 19 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, starts crossing the ...
–
Manuel Robles Pezuela
Manuel Robles Pezuela (23 May 1817 - 23 March 1862) was a military engineer, military commander, and eventually interim president of Mexico during a civil war, the War of Reform, being waged between conservatives and liberals, in which he served ...
, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president (d. 1862)
*
1820 –
James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the
Eads Bridge
The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to the north, and ...
(d. 1887)
* 1820 –
Lorenzo Sawyer
Lorenzo Sawyer (May 23, 1820 – September 7, 1891) was an American lawyer and judge who was appointed to the Supreme Court of California in 1860 and served as the ninth Chief Justice of California from 1868 to 1870. He served as a United States ...
, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
*
1824
May 7: The almost completely deaf Beethoven premieres his Ninth Symphony
Events
January–March
* January 8 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of the Royal Society, with only one vote against h ...
–
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...
, American general and politician, 30th
Governor of Rhode Island
The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Democrat Dan McKee. In their capac ...
(d. 1881)
*
1834 –
Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis, Latvian architect (d. 1891)
* 1834 –
Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)
*
1837 –
Anatole Mallet, Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1919)
* 1837 –
Józef Wieniawski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1912)
*
1838
Events
January–March
* January 10 – A fire destroys Lloyd's Coffee House and the Royal Exchange in London.
* January 11 – At Morristown, New Jersey, Samuel Morse, Alfred Vail and Leonard Gale give the first public demonstration o ...
–
Amaldus Nielsen, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
*
1840
Events
January–March
* January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded.
* January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom.
* Janu ...
–
George Throssell, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd
Premier of Western Australia
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...
(d. 1910)
*
1844
In the Philippines, it was the only leap year with 365 days, as December 31 was skipped when 1845 began after December 30.
Events
January–March
* January 15 – The University of Notre Dame, based in the city of the same name, receives ...
–
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
*
1848
1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...
–
Otto Lilienthal
Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making ...
, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
*
1855
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city.
* January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru.
* January 23
** The first bridge over the Mississippi River open ...
–
Isabella Ford
Isabella Ormston Ford (23 May 1855 – 14 July 1924) was an English social reformer, suffragist and writer. She became a public speaker and wrote pamphlets on issues related to socialism, feminism and worker's rights. After becoming concerned wi ...
, English author and activist (d. 1924)
*
1861
Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry.
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City.
** The first stea ...
–
József Rippl-Rónai, Hungarian painter (d. 1927)
*
1863
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...
–
Władysław Horodecki, Polish architect (d. 1930)
*
1864
Events
January–March
* January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster (" Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song ...
–
William O'Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
*
1865
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City.
* January 13 – American Civil War : Second Battle of Fort Fisher ...
–
Epitácio Pessoa
Epitácio Lindolfo da Silva Pessoa (; 23 May 1865 – 13 February 1942) was a Brazilian politician and jurist who served as 11th president of Brazil between 1919 and 1922, when Rodrigues Alves was unable to take office due to illness, after bein ...
, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th
President of Brazil
The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...
(d. 1942)
*
1875
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of th ...
–
Alfred P. Sloan
Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. ( ; May 23, 1875February 17, 1966) was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. Sloan, first as a senior executive and l ...
, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)
*
1882 –
William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)
*
1883
Events
January–March
* January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States.
* January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people.
* Janua ...
–
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...
, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
*
1884 –
Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
*
1887 –
Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)
* 1887 –
Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)
* 1887 –
C. R. M. F. Cruttwell
Charles Robert Mowbray Fraser Cruttwell (23 May 1887 – 14 March 1941) was a British historian and academic who served as dean and later principal of Hertford College, Oxford. His field of expertise was modern European history, his most ...
, English historian (d. 1941)
[ ]
*
1888
In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...
–
Adriaan Roland Holst, Dutch writer (d. 1976)
* 1888 –
Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
*
1889 –
Ernst Niekisch
Ernst Niekisch (23 May 1889 – 23 May 1967) was a German writer and politician. Initially a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he later became a prominent exponent of National Bolshevism.
Early life
Born in Trebnitz (Silesia), and b ...
, German educator and politician (d. 1967)
*
1890
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa.
** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River.
* January 2
** The steamship '' ...
–
Herbert Marshall
Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...
, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
*
1891
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany.
** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence.
** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...
–
Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet,
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate (d. 1974)
*
1892 –
Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer
Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, (23 May 1892 – 9 June 1975), styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as Jack Spencer, was a British peer. He was the pate ...
, British peer (d. 1975)
*
1896 –
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner (23 May 1896 – 12 May 1966) was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served in the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS, and commanded several SS divisions and corps. He was awarded t ...
, Russian-German
SS officer (d. 1966)
*
1897 –
Jimmie Guthrie
James Guthrie (23 May 1897 – 8 August 1937) was a Scottish motorcycle racer.
A motorcycle garage proprietor and professional motorcycle racer from Hawick Roxburghshire, Jimmie Guthrie was known as the “''Flying Scotsman'',” with a hard-c ...
, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1937)
*
1898
Events
January–March
* January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...
–
Scott O'Dell
Scott O'Dell (May 23, 1898 – October 15, 1989) was an American writer of 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books. He wrote historical fiction, primarily, including several children's novels a ...
, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)
* 1898 –
Josef Terboven
Josef Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving '' Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the ''Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation.
Early life
Terboven was born in E ...
, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
*
1899 –
Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (d. 2015)
*
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
–
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and lawyer who served as head of the General Government in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War.
Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Par ...
, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
* 1900 –
Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)
1901–present
*
1908 –
John Bardeen
John Bardeen (; May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American physicist and engineer. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the tra ...
, American physicist and engineer,
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate (d. 1991)
* 1908 –
Hélène Boucher
Hélène Boucher (23 May 1908 - 30 November 1934) was a well-known French pilot in the early 1930s, when she set several women's world speed records and the all-comers record for 1,000 km (621 mi) in 1934. She was killed in an accident ...
, French pilot (d. 1934)
*
1910
Events
January
* January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
–
Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including '' Goodnight Moon'' and '' The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" fo ...
, American author and educator (d. 1952)
* 1910 –
Hugh Casson
Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (23 May 1910 – 15 August 1999) was a British architect. He was also active as an interior designer, as an artist, and as a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for t ...
, English architect and academic (d. 1999)
* 1910 –
Scatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show '' Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hal ...
, American actor and comedian (d. 1986)
* 1910 –
Franz Kline
Franz Kline (May 23, 1910 – May 13, 1962) was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Mot ...
, American painter and academic (d. 1962)
* 1910 –
Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...
, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
*
1911
A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia.
* ...
–
Lou Brouillard
Lucien Pierre Brouillard, better known as Lou Brouillard, (May 23, 1911 – September 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional boxer who held the World Welterweight Title and a version of the World Middleweight Title. , Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
* 1911 –
Paul Augustin Mayer
Paul Augustin Mayer, OSB (23 May 1911 – 30 April 2010) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He held various positions in the Roman Curia from 1971 to 1991.
Biography
Mayer was born in Altötting, Germany, which is located ne ...
, German cardinal (d. 2010)
* 1911 –
Betty Nuthall
Betty May Nuthall Shoemaker (née Nuthall; 23 May 1911 – 8 November 1983) was an English tennis player. Known for her powerful forehand, according to Wallis Myers of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Nuthall was ranked in the wor ...
, English tennis player (d. 1983)
*
1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6
** German geophysicist Alfred ...
–
Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
* 1912 –
John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
*
1914 –
Harold Hitchcock, English visionary landscape artist (d. 2009)
* 1914 –
Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
* 1914 –
Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth
Barbara Mary Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, (23 May 1914 – 31 May 1981) was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries. She urged Western governments to share their prosperity with the rest of th ...
, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (d. 1981)
*
1915
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction".
* January ...
–
S. Donald Stookey
Stanley Donald Stookey (May 23, 1915 – November 4, 2014) was an American inventor. He had 60 patents in his name related to glass and ceramics, some patents solely his and others shared as joint patents with other inventors. His discoveries an ...
, American physicist and chemist, invented
CorningWare (d. 2014)
*
1917 –
Edward Norton Lorenz
Edward Norton Lorenz (May 23, 1917 – April 16, 2008) was an American mathematician and meteorologist who established the theoretical basis of weather and climate predictability, as well as the basis for computer-aided atmospheric physics and m ...
, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
*
1918
This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide.
Events
Below, the events ...
–
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton (23 May 1918 – 23 April 1997) was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most o ...
, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
*
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
–
Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
* 1919 –
Ruth Fernández
Ruth Fernández (23 May 1919 – 9 January 2012) was a Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate. According to the "Comisiones Nacionales para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario" ''(National Commission for the Celebrat ...
, Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the
Puerto Rican Senate
The Senate of Puerto Rico ( es, Senado de Puerto Rico) is the upper house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The Senate, together with the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, control th ...
(d. 2012)
* 1919 –
Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
*
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
–
Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell (May 23, 1920 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer, actress, and hostess, described as "the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s".
Early life
Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell grew up in Toledo, Ohio. By the time ...
, American singer (d. 1993)
*
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in Brazil.
** The Spanish liner ''Santa Isabel'' bre ...
–
Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family.
Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...
, British jazz musician and broadcaster (d. 2008)
*
1923 –
Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
* 1923 –
Irving Millman, American virologist and microbiologist (d. 2012)
*
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...
–
Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)
*
1925 –
Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist,
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate (d. 2008)
*
1926 –
Basil Salvadore D'Souza
Basil Salvadore D'Souza ( knn, बासिल साल्वादोर डी सोझा ( Devanagari), ಬಸಿಲ್ ಸಲ್ವದೊರೆ ದ ಒಜ ( Kannada); 23 May 1926 – 5 September 1996) was the Bishop of the Roman Cat ...
, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
* 1926 –
Joe Slovo
Joe Slovo (born Yossel Mashel Slovo; 23 May 1926 – 6 January 1995) was a South African politician, and an opponent of the apartheid system. A Marxist-Leninist, he was a long-time leader and theorist in the South African Communist Pa ...
, Lithuanian-South African activist and politician (d. 1995)
*
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
–
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song " Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano" ...
, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
* 1928 –
Nigel Davenport
Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and '' Chariots of F ...
, English actor (d. 2013)
* 1928 –
Nina Otkalenko
Nina Grigoryevna Otkalenko (née Pletnyova; russian: Нина Григорьевна Откаленко; 23 May 1928 – 13 May 2015) was a Soviet middle-distance runner. She won a European title in the 800 m at the inaugural 1954 European Athlet ...
, Russian runner (d. 2015)
*
1929 –
Ulla Jacobsson
Ulla Jacobsson (23 May 1929 – 20 August 1982) was a Swedish actress. She had the lead role in One Summer of Happiness (1951) and played the only female speaking role in the film '' Zulu'' (1964).
Early life
Jacobsson was born in Mölndal ...
, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
*
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
–
Friedrich Achleitner
Friedrich Achleitner (23 May 1930 – 27 March 2019) was an Austrian poet and architecture critic. As a member of the Wiener Gruppe, he wrote concrete poems and experimental literature. His magnum opus is a multi-volume documentation of 20th-cen ...
, German poet and critic (d. 2019)
*
1931 –
Barbara Barrie, American actress
*
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...
–
Kevork Ajemian
Kevork Vartani Ajemian (''Adjemian'') (in Armenian Գևորգ Աճեմյան, in Western Armenian Գէորգ Աճեմեան) (May 23, 1932 – December 27, 1998) was a prominent Lebanese-Armenian writer, journalist, novelist, theorist and public a ...
, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)
*
1933
Events
January
* January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.
* January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
–
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...
, English actress
* 1933 –
Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
*
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
–
Robert Moog
Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...
, electronic engineer and inventor of the
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
(d. 2005)
*
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
–
Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
*
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
–
Ingeborg Hallstein
Ingeborg Hallstein (born 23 May 1936) is a German coloratura soprano, known for the purity and range of her voice. She had an international career as a guest singer on the opera houses of Europe and was a member of the Bavarian State Opera from 1 ...
, German soprano and actress
* 1936 –
Charles Kimbrough, American actor
*
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
–
Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
* 1939 –
Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
*
1940 –
Bjorn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (d. 2002)
* 1940 –
Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
* 1940 –
Cora Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
*
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...
–
Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
* 1941 –
Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive
*
1942 –
Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
* 1942 –
Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
*
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 ...
–
Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st
Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands
The prime minister of Solomon Islands is Solomon Islands' head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Since April 2019, the prime minister has been Manasseh Sogava ...
(d. 2016)
*
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in ...
–
John Newcombe
John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a fo ...
, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
*
1945 –
Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
*
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones.
* January 10
** The ...
–
David Graham David Graham may refer to:
Authors and intellectuals
* David Graham (American poet), American writer and poet
*David Graham (author) (1919–1994), pen name of British writer Robert Hale
* David Graham (Canadian academic), Canadian academic admini ...
, Australian golfer
*
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
–
Jane Kenyon
Jane Kenyon (May 23, 1947 – April 22, 1995) was an American poet and translator. Her work is often characterized as simple, spare, and emotionally resonant. Kenyon was the second wife of poet, editor, and critic Donald Hall who made her the subj ...
, American poet and translator (d. 1995)
*
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
–
Myriam Boyer
Myriam Boyer (born 23 May 1948) is a French actress. She appeared in more than eighty films and television shows since 1970. At the age of 18, she married with whom she had a son, Clovis Cornillac
Clovis Cornillac (born 16 August 1968) is a F ...
, French actress, director, and producer
*
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
–
Daniel DiNardo
Daniel Nicholas DiNardo (born May 23, 1949) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the second and current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Houston serving since 2006. He previously served as bishop of the D ...
, American cardinal
* 1949 –
Alan García
Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the Peruvian Apri ...
, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th
President of Peru (d. 2019)
*
1950 –
Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician,
Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are the joint heads of government of the Northern Ireland Executive and have overall responsibility for the running of the Executive Office. Despite the different titles for the tw ...
(d. 2017)
*
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
–
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Che ...
, Russian chess player
* 1951 –
Antonis Samaras
Antonis Samaras ( el, Αντώνης Σαμαράς, ; born 23 May 1951) is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samaras ...
, Greek economist and politician, 185th
Prime Minister of Greece
The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...
*
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
–
Martin Parr
Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...
, English photographer and journalist
*
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
–
Gerry Armstrong, Northern Irish international footballer
* 1954 –
Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor (d. 2021)
*
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...
–
Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
–
Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
* 1956 –
Ursula Plassnik
Ursula Plassnik (born 23 May 1956) is an Austrian diplomat and politician. She was Foreign Minister of Austria between October 2004 and December 2008. She has served as the Austrian ambassador to Switzerland from 2016 to 2021.
Early life and c ...
, Austrian politician and diplomat,
Foreign Minister of Austria
This article lists the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Austria, from 30 October 1918 up to today. During the time of the ''Anschluss'' to Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945, Austria had no government in its own right. The current Austrian Foreign Mini ...
* 1956 –
Buck Showalter
William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III (born May 23, 1956) is an American professional baseball manager for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diam ...
, American baseball player, coach, and manager
*
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
–
Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
* 1958 –
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, '' The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
, American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur
* 1958 –
Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
*
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
–
Marcella Mesker
Marcella Mesker (born 23 May 1959) is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.
Mesker was active on the WTA Tour from 1979 to 1988 and reached the final of the Australian Open Women's Doubles in 1979. She also reached the se ...
, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
*
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
–
Linden Ashby
Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960) is an American actor and director. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox soap opera ''Melrose Place'' (1997–1999) and Sheriff Noah Stilinski on all ...
, American actor
*
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
–
Daniele Massaro
Daniele Emilio Massaro (; born 23 May 1961) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward.
He is mainly remembered for his highly successful career with AC Milan during the late 1980s and 1990s, under managers Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio ...
, Italian footballer and manager
* 1961 –
Norrie May-Welby, Scottish Australian gender activist
*
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
–
Karen Duffy, American actress
*
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
–
Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician
*
1964 –
Ruth Metzler
Ruth Metzler (born Arnold, 23 May 1964) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she headed the Federal Department of Justice and P ...
, Swiss lawyer and politician
*
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
–
Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel
Charles Fuqua Manuel Jr. (born January 4, 1944), is an American former professional baseball playe ...
, Spanish footballer
* 1965 –
Tom Tykwer
Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films '' Run Lola Run'' (1998), ''Heaven'' (2002), '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' ...
, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
* 1965 –
Melissa McBride
Melissa Suzanne McBride (born May 23, 1965) is an American actress. Her breakout role was Carol Peletier on the AMC series '' The Walking Dead'' (2010–2022). She has garnered critical acclaim and received multiple awards and nominations for ...
, American actress
* 1965 –
Paul Sironen, Australian rugby league player
*
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...
–
Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
* 1966 –
Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
*
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
–
Luís Roberto Alves
Luís Roberto Alves dos Santos Gavranić (born 23 May 1967) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He is best known in Mexico as Zague, in honor to his father who was called the same and also played as a forward ...
, Mexican footballer
* 1967 –
Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
*
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* J ...
–
Guinevere Turner
Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She has written such films as ''American Psycho'' and '' The Notorious Bettie Page'' and played the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in '' Preaching to the Per ...
, American actress and screenwriter
*
1970 –
Bryan Herta
Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapolis ...
, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded
Bryan Herta Autosport
Bryan Herta Autosport is an American auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. It is owned by former IndyCar driver Bryan Herta. The team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon.
In 2016 ...
*
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
J ...
–
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...
, English journalist and politician, former
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Ch ...
*
1972 –
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...
, Brazilian race car driver
* 1972 –
Martin Saggers
Martin John Saggers (born 23 May 1972) is an English county cricket umpire and a retired English cricketer. He played international cricket for the England cricket team, including appearing in three Test matches and spent the majority of his ...
, English cricketer and umpire
*
1973 –
Maxwell
Maxwell may refer to:
People
* Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist
* Justice Maxwell (disambiguation)
* Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of ...
, American singer-songwriter and producer
*
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
–
Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
* 1974 –
Manuela Schwesig, German politician,
German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
*
1976 –
Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
*
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
–
Richard Ayoade, British actor, director and writer
*
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
–
Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
*
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 ...
–
Scott Raynor, American drummer
*
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
–
Rasual Butler
Rasual Butler (born Felix Rasual Cheeseborough; May 23, 1979 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. In his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, he played for the Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, Los ...
, American basketball player (d. 2018)
* 1979 –
Brian Campbell
Brian Wesley Campbell (born May 23, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Stanley ...
, Canadian ice hockey player
*
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
–
Theofanis Gekas
Theofanis "Fanis" Gekas ( el, Θεοφάνης "Φάνης" Γκέκας; born 23 May 1980) is a Greek professional football official, coach and a former player, who played as a striker. He is the manager of Turkish fourth-tier TFF Third League ...
, Greek footballer
* 1980 –
Ben Ross
Benjamin David "Ben" Ross (born 23 May 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played in the National Rugby League for the St ...
, Australian rugby league player
*
1983 –
Silvio Proto
Silvestro "Silvio" Proto (born 23 May 1983) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Career
Proto spent the majority of his career with Anderlecht, for whom he made over 300 appearances, won 13 trophies and served ...
, Belgian-Italian footballer
*
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
–
Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
*
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
–
Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
* 1985 –
Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russian tennis player
* 1985 –
Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
* 1985 –
Ross Wallace
Ross Wallace (born 23 May 1985) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a winger. He has previously played for Celtic, Sunderland, Preston North End, Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday, Fleetwood Town, and once played in a full int ...
, Scottish footballer
*
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal en ...
–
Ryan Coogler
Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...
, American film director and screenwriter
* 1986 –
Alexei Sitnikov
Alexei Alexandrovich Sitnikov (russian: Алексей Александрович Ситников; born 23 May 1986) is a former competitive ice dancer. Competing for Azerbaijan with Julia Zlobina, he is the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion ...
, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
* 1986 –
Alice Tait
Alice Mary Tait, OAM (born 23 May 1986), née Alice Mary Mills, is an Australian former sprint freestyle, butterfly and individual medley swimmer who represented Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics winning two ...
, Australian swimmer
* 1986 –
Ruben Zadkovich
Ruben Anton Zadkovich ( hr, Zadković, ; born 23 May 1986) is a former Australian professional football (soccer) player, and manager of Perth Glory. He played for 6 clubs in a career that spanned between England and Australia, notably becoming a ...
, Australian footballer
*
1987 –
Gracie Otto
Gracie Otto is an Australian filmmaker and actor. She made her feature-length directing debut with the 2013 documentary '' The Last Impresario'' about prolific British theatre impresario and film producer Michael White. She has also directed a ...
, Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
* 1987 –
Bray Wyatt
Windham Lawrence Rotunda (born May 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Bray Wyatt.
Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler, fo ...
, American wrestler
*
1988 –
Rosanna Crawford, Canadian biathlete
* 1988 –
Angelo Ogbonna, Italian footballer
* 1988 –
Morgan Pressel
Morgan Pressel (born May 23, 1988) is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who played on the LPGA Tour. In 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was the 2005 American Ju ...
, American golfer
*
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
–
Ezequiel Schelotto
Ezequiel Matías Schelotto (, ; born 23 May 1989) is an Argentine-Italian footballer who plays for Aldosivi in the Argentine Primera Division. A versatile player on the right flank, he started his career as a winger and was later converted int ...
, Italian footballer
*
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
–
Dan Evans, British tennis player
* 1990 –
Kristina Kucova, Slovakian tennis player
* 1990 –
Oliver Venno
Oliver Venno (born 23 May 1990) is an Estonian volleyball player currently playing for Al Rayyan of the Qatari Volleyball League. He mostly plays at the opposite hitter position but has also played at the outside hitter position on numerous occa ...
, Estonian volleyball player
*
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
–
Aaron Donald, American football player
* 1991 –
Lena Meyer-Landrut
Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut (; born 23 May 1991), also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer. She rose to fame after representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, winning the contest with her song "Satellite". ...
, German singer-songwriter
* 1991 –
César Pinares, Chilean footballer
*
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
–
Katharina Althaus, German ski jumper
* 1996 –
Emmanuel Boateng, Ghanaian footballer
* 1996 –
Razvan Marin, Romanian footballer
*
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
–
Pedro Chirivella, Spanish footballer
* 1997 –
Coy Craft
Coy Craft (born May 23, 1997) is a former American soccer player.
Career
Youth
Craft joined the FC Dallas academy in 2011, where he played with the side that won five consecutive U.S. Soccer Development Academy Texas/Frontier Division titles ...
, American footballer
* 1997 –
Joe Gomez, English footballer
* 1997 –
Gustaf Nilsson, Swedish footballer
* 1997 –
Sam Timmins, New Zealand basketball player
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
–
Sérgio Sette Câmara, Brazilian racing driver
* 1998 –
Salwa Eid Naser
Salwa Eid Naser (née Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu, born 23 May 1998) is a Nigerian-born Bahraini sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She was the 2019 World champion with the third fastest time in history of 48.14 seconds, becoming the you ...
, Bahraini track and field sprinter
*1999 – James Charles (Internet personality), James Charles, American internet personality
* 1999 – Trinidad Cardona, American singer and songwriter
*2000 – Felipe Drugovich, Brazilian-Italian racing driver
Deaths
Pre-1600
* 230 – Pope Urban I, Urban I, pope of the Catholic Church
* 922 – Li Sizhao, Chinese general and governor
* 962 – Guibert of Gembloux, Frankish abbot (b. 892)
*1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1086)
*1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
*1338 – Alice de Warenne, Countess of Arundel, English noble (b. 1287)
*1370 – Toghon Temür, Mongol emperor (b. 1320)
*1423 – Antipope Benedict XIII (b. 1328)
*
1498
Year 1498 ( MCDXCVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1498th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 498th year of the 2nd millennium, the 98t ...
–
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
, Italian friar and preacher (b. 1452)
*1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shōgun (b. 1466)
*1524 – Ismail I, First Emperor of Safavid Empire (b. 1487)
*1591 – John Blitheman, English organist and composer (b. 1525)
1601–1900
*1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (b. 1605)
*1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
*1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (b. 1622)
*1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
*1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (b. 1700)
*1752 – William Bradford (Colonial printer), William Bradford, English-American printer (b. 1663)
*1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus, Bath, The Circus and Queen Square (Bath), Queen Square (b. 1704)
*1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
*1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general and diplomat (b. 1772)
*1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
*1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
*
1855
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city.
* January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru.
* January 23
** The first bridge over the Mississippi River open ...
– Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1797)
*1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (b. 1789)
*1868 – Kit Carson, American general (b. 1809)
*1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian and academic (b. 1795)
*1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (b. 1805)
*1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1798)
1901–present
*1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)
*
1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (b. 1842)
*
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
– Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
*
1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in Brazil.
** The Spanish liner ''Santa Isabel'' bre ...
– August Nilsson, Swedish shot putter and tug of war competitor (b. 1872)
*
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
– Bonnie and Clyde#Clyde Barrow, Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)
* 1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (b. 1860)
* 1934 – Bonnie and Clyde#Bonnie Parker, Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)
*1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil, Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (b. 1839)
*1938 – Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (b. 1871)
*
1942 – Panagiotis Toundas, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1886)
*
1945 –
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
, German commander and politician, Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany), Reich Minister of the Interior (b. 1900)
*
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
– Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (b. 1878)
*
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
– Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (b. 1872)
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
– Gustav Suits, Latvian-Estonian poet and politician (b. 1883)
*
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
– Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)
*
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
– Louis Coatalen, French engineer (b. 1879)
*
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
– August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (b. 1904)
*
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...
– David Smith (sculptor), David Smith, American sculptor (b. 1906)
*1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (b. 1894)
*
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
– S. Selvanayagam, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (b. 1932)
*1981 – Gene Green (baseball), Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
* 1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (b. 1911)
* 1981 – George Jessel (actor), George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1898)
* 1981 – David Lewis (Canadian politician), David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
*
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal en ...
– Sterling Hayden, American actor (b. 1916)
*
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
– Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (b. 1915)
* 1989 – Karl Koch (hacker), Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)
*
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
– Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
* 1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)
* 1991 – Fletcher Markle, Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1921)
*
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
– Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
* 1992 –
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
*1994 – Olav H. Hauge, Olav Hauge, Norwegian poet (b. 1908)
*
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
– Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1934)
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
– Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (b. 1908)
*1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1965)
*
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
– Big Bill Neidjie, Australian activist and last speaker of the Gaagudju language (b. )
* 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer and journalist (b. 1912)
*
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
– Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1921)
* 2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1921)
*
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
– Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)
* 2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1935)
*2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean soldier and politician, 9th President of South Korea (b. 1946)
*2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1972)
* 2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1970)
*2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978)
*2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
*
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
– Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (b. 1942)
* 2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish police officer and politician, 15th List of Governors of Istanbul Province, Governor of Istanbul Province (b. 1938)
* 2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
* 2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (b. 1941)
*
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
– Mikhail Egorovich Alekseev, Russian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
* 2014 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (b. 1921)
*
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
– Anne Meara, American actress, comedian and playwright (b. 1929)
* 2015 – Aleksey Mozgovoy, Ukrainian sergeant (b. 1975)
* 2015 – Alicia Nash, Salvadoran-American physicist and engineer (b. 1933)
* 2015 – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1928)
*
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
– Roger Moore, English actor (b. 1927)
*2020 – Hana Kimura, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1997)
*
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
– Ron Hill, English long-distance runner (b. 1938)
* 2021 – Eric Carle, American children's book designer, illustrator, and writer best known for ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances
*
Aromanian National Day
*Christianity, Christian Calendar of saints, feast day:
**Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
**Desiderius of Vienne
**Giovanni Battista de' Rossi
**Julia of Corsica
**Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler (Episcopal Church (USA))
**Quintian, Lucius and Julian
**William of Perth
**May 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Constitution Day (Germany)
*Labour Day (Jamaica)
*Students' Day (Mexico)
*World Turtle Day
References
External links
BBC: On This Day*
Historical Events on May 23
{{months
Days of the year
May