October 23
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Events
- 42 BC - Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi - Brutus's army is decisively defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian. He commits suicide.
- 425 - Valentinian III is elevated as Roman Emperor, at the age of 6.
- 502 - The Synodus Palmaris, called by Gothic king Theodoric the Great, discharges Pope Symmachus of all charges, thus ending the schism of Antipope Laurentius.
- 1086 - At the Battle of az-Zallaqah, the army of Yusuf ibn Tashfin defeats the forces of Castilian King Alfonso VI
- 1641 - Outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 - anniversary commemorated by Irish Protestants for over 200 years
- 1642 - Battle of Edgehill - First major battle of the first English civil law.
- 1694 - American colonial forces, led by Sir William Phipps, fail to seize Quebec.
- 1707 - The first Parliament of Great Britain, i.e., the United Kingdom, meets.
- 1739 - War of Jenkins' Ear starts: British Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, reluctantly declares war on Spain.
- 1812 - Claude François de Malet, a French general, begins a conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon Bonaparte, claiming that the Emperor died in Russia and that he was now the commandant of Paris. De Malet is executed on October 29.
- 1813 - The Pacific Fur Company trading post in Astoria, Oregon is turned over to the rival British North West Company (the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest was dominated for the next three decades by the United Kingdom).
- 1855 - Kansas Free State forces set up a competing government under their Topeka, Kansas, constitution, which outlaws slavery in the United States territory.
- 1861 - President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C., for all military-related cases.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Westport - Union forces under General Samuel R. Curtis defeat Confederate troops led by General Sterling Price at Westport, near Kansas City.
- 1867 - 72 Senators are summoned by Royal Proclamation to serve as the first members of the Canadian Senate.
- 1870 - Franco-Prussian War: the Siege of Metz concludes with a decisive Prussian victory.
- 1906 - Alberto Santos-Dumont flies an airplane in the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe at Champs de Bagatelle, Paris, France.
- 1911 - First use of aircraft in war: an Italian pilot takes off from Libya to observe Turkish army lines during the Turco-Italian War.
- 1912 - First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo between the Serbian and Ottoman armies begins.
- 1915 - Woman's suffrage: In New York City, 25,000-33,000 women march on Fifth Avenue to advocate their right to vote.
- 1929 - Great Depression: After a steady decline in stock market prices since a peak in September, the New York Stock Exchange begins to show signs of panic.
- 1929 - The first North American transcontinental air service begins between New York City and Los Angeles, California.
- 1930 - The first miniature golf tournament was completed in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- 1935 - Dutch Schultz, Abe Landau, Otto Berman, and Bernard "Lulu" Rosenkrantz are fatally shot at a saloon in Newark, New Jersey in what will become known as The Chophouse Massacre.
- 1941 - World War II: Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov takes command of Red Army operations designed to prevent the further advance into Russia of German forces and to prevent the German armies from capturing Moscow.
- 1941 - Burning of the Odessa, Ukraine, Jews: 19,000 Jews are burned alive at Dalnik in Odessa, by Romanian and German troops. The next day, another 10,000 Jews are killed. Romanian Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolae Deleanu administered the executions.
- 1942 - World War II: The Second Battle of El Alamein starts - At El Alamein in northern Egypt, the British Eighth Army under Field Marshal Montgomery begin a critical offensive to expel the Axis armies from Egypt, never to return.
- 1942 - All 12 passengers and crewmen aboard an American Airlines DC-3 airliner are killed when it is struck by a U.S. Army Air Forces bomber near Palm Springs, California. Among the victims is award-winning composer and songwriter Ralph Rainger ("Thanks for the Memory", "Love in Bloom", "Blue Hawaii").
- 1944 - World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf begins - The largest naval battle in history begins in the Philippines; and also, the Soviet Red Army enters Hungary.
- 1946 - The United Nations General Assembly convened for the first time, at an auditorium in Flushing Meadow, New York.
- 1956 - Thousands of Hungarians protest against the Government and Soviet occupation. (The Hungarian Revolution is crushed on November 4).
- 1958 - The Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduced a new set of comic strip characters The Smurfs.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (United States) (Airmobile), in conjunction with South Vietnamese forces, launch a new operation, seeking to destroy North Vietnamese forces in Pleku Province in the II Corps Tactical Zone (the Central Highlands).
- 1973 - The Watergate Scandal: US President Richard M. Nixon agrees to turn over subpoenaed audio tapes of his Oval Office conversations about the scandal.
- 1973 - A United Nations sanctioned cease-fire officially ends the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Syria.
- 1983 - Lebanon Civil War: The U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut is hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 U.S. Marines.
- 1983 - A French army barracks in Lebanon is also hit that same morning, killing 58 troops.
- 1987 - The United States Senate rejected the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork on a 58-42 vote.
- 1989 - The Hungarian Republic is officially declared by president Mátyás Szűrös, replacing the communist Hungarian People's Republic.
- 1992 - Emperor Akihito becomes the first Emperor of Japan to stand on Chinese soil.
- 1998 - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement.
- 2001 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army of Northern Ireland commences disarmament after peace talks encouraged by American President William Jefferson Clinton.
- 2001 - Apple Inc. releases the first iPod.
- 2002 - Moscow Theatre Siege begins: Chechen rebels seize the House of Culture theater in Moscow and take approximately 700 theater-goers hostage.
- 2004 - Brazil's "Operation Cajuana" launches its first rocket into space, the VSB-30, just 14 months after its space program was hit a deadly launch pad accident.
- 2004 - A powerful earthquake and its aftershocks hit Niigata prefecture, northern Japan, killing 35 people, injuring 2,200, and leaving 85,000 homeless or evacuated.
Births
- 1503 - Isabella of Portugal, queen of Spain and empress of Germany (d. 1539)
- 1698 - Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect (d. 1782)
- 1705 - Maximilian Ulysses Reichsgraf von Browne, Austrian field marshal (d. 1757)
- 1715 - Peter II of Russia (d. 1730)
- 1762 - Samuel Morey, American inventor (d. 1843)
- 1766 - Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy, French marshal (d. 1847)
- 1771 - Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (d. 1813)
- 1790 - Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman (d. 1860)
- 1796 - Stefano Franscini, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1857)
- 1801 - Albert Lortzing, German composer (d. 1851)
- 1805 - John Russell Bartlett, American linguist (d. 1886)
- 1813 - Ludwig Leichhardt, German explorer (d. 1848)
- 1817 - Pierre Athanase Larousse, French lexicographer (d. 1875)
- 1835 - Adlai E. Stevenson, Vice President of the United States (d. 1914)
- 1844 - Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (d. 1923)
- 1844 - Robert Bridges, English poet (d. 1930)
- 1865 - Neltje Blanchan, American writer (d. 1918)
- 1870 - Bishop Francis Kelley, Catholic Bishop of Oklahoma (d. 1948)
- 1875 - Gilbert N. Lewis, American chemist
- 1876 - Franz Schlegelberger, German judge and politician (d. 1970)
- 1880 - Una O'Connor, Irish actress (d. 1959)
- 1885 - Lawren Harris, Canadian painter (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Onésime Gagnon, Canadian politician (d. 1961)
- 1893 - Gummo Marx, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1894 - Rube Bressler, baseball player (d. 1966)
- 1896 - André Lévêque, French engineer (d. 1930)
- 1900 - Douglas Jardine, English cricketer (d. 1958)
- 1904 - Harvey Penick, American golfer (d. 1995)
- 1905 - Felix Bloch, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983)
- 1905 - Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Ilya Frank, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1909 - Zellig Harris, American linguist
- 1919 - Manolis Andronikos, Greek archeologist, professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (d. 1992)
- 1920 - Ted Fujita, Japanese meteorologist (d. 1998)
- 1922 - Coleen Gray, American actress
- 1923 - Aslam Farrukhi, Pakistani scholar and poet
- 1923 - Ned Rorem, American composer
- 1923 - Frank Sutton, American actor (d. 1974)
- 1925 - Johnny Carson, American television host (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Fred Shero, Canadian hockey player and coach (d. 1990)
- 1927 - Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher
- 1931 - Jim Bunning, baseball player and U.S. Senator
- 1931 - Diana Dors, British actress (d. 1984)
- 1934 - Samuel Anthony, Jr. American architect
- 1935 - Chi Chi Rodriguez, Puerto Rican golfer
- 1936 - Philip Kaufman, American film director
- 1939 - Ellie Greenwich, American singer
- 1940 - Pelé, Brazilian footballer
- 1941 - Igor Smirnov, Moldovan politician
- 1942 - Michael Crichton, American writer
- 1945 - Kim Larsen, Danish singer
- 1946 - Graça Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela
- 1946 - Melquiades Martinez, U.S. Senator from Florida
- 1948 - Hermann Hauser, Austrian-born entrepreneur
- 1949 - Nick Tosches, American writer
- 1949 - Michael 'Wurzel' Burston, British musician, Former member of Motörhead
- 1951 - Charly Garcia, Argentine singer
- 1951 - Fatmir Sejdiu, President of Kosovo
- 1954 - Ang Lee, Taiwanese-born director
- 1956 - Dwight Yoakam, American singer
- 1958 - Nancy Grace, American former prosecutor
- 1959 - Sam Raimi, American film director
- 1959 - "Weird Al" Yankovic, American musical parodist
- 1960 - Wayne Rainey, American motorcyclist
- 1961 - Laurie Halse Anderson, American writer
- 1961 - Don and Ron Harris, American professional wrestlers
- 1962 - Doug Flutie, American football player
- 1964 - Robert Trujillo, American bassist
- 1965 - Al Leiter, American baseball player
- 1965 - Augusten Burroughs, American writer
- 1966 - Alex Zanardi, Italian race car driver
- 1968 - Josh Warner, American artist
- 1969 - Trudi Canavan, Australian writer
- 1970 - Jasmin St. Claire, West Indian actress
- 1971 - Christopher Horner, American Cyclist
- 1974 - Sander Westerveld, Dutch footballer
- 1975 - Odalys Garcia, Cuban actress
- 1975 - Jessicka, American artist
- 1975 - Keith Van Horn, American basketball player
- 1976 - Ryan Reynolds, Canadian actor
- 1976 - Cat Deeley, English model and television personality
- 1978 - Steve Harmison, English cricketer
- 1978 - Archie Thompson, Australian footballer
- 1978 - Brandon Quinn, American actor
- 1979 - Jorge Solis, Mexican professional boxer
- 1979 - Simon Davies, Welsh footballer
- 1980 - Pedro Liriano, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 - Jeroen Bleekemolen, Dutch racing driver
- 1982 - Mirel Radoi, Romanian footballer
- 1982 - Valentin Badea, Romanian footballer
- 1983 - Filipos Darlas, Greek footballer
- 1984 - Izabel Goulart, Brazilian model
- 1986 - Jake Robinson, English footballer
- 1987 - Faye Hamlin, Swedish singer (Play)
- 1990 - Stevie Brock, American singer
- 1991 - Princess Mako of Akishino of Japan
Deaths
- 42 BC - Marcus Junius Brutus, Roman senator (b. 85 BC)
- 930 - Daigo, Emperor of Japan (b. 885)
- 1456 - Giovanni da Capistrano, Italian saint (b. 1386)
- 1550 - Tiedemann Giese, Polish Catholic bishop (b. 1480)
- 1581 - Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1529)
- 1616 - Leonhard Hutter, German theologian (b. 1563)
- 1688 - Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, French philologist (b. 1610)
- 1730 - Anne Oldfield, English actress (b. 1683)
- 1764 - Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte, French naval officer (b. 1683)
- 1774 - Michel Benoist, French Jesuit missionary and scientist (b. 1715)
- 1869 - Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1799)
- 1872 - Théophile Gautier, French writer (b. 1811)
- 1885 - Charles S. West, Texas jurist and politician (b. 1829)
- 1910 - Chulalongkorn, King of Thailand (b. 1853)
- 1915 - W. G. Grace, English cricketer (b. 1848)
- 1921 - John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor (b. 1840)
- 1939 - Zane Grey, American author (b. 1872)
- 1942 - Ralph Rainger, American composer (b. 1901)
- 1944 - Charles Glover Barkla, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
- 1950 - Al Jolson, American singer and actor (b. 1886)
- 1959 - Gerda Lundequist, Swedish actress (b. 1871)
- 1978 - Maybelle Carter, American guitarist and musical innovator (b. 1909)
- 1983 - Jessica Savitch, American journalist (b. 1947)
- 1984 - James Petrillo, leader of the U.S. musicians union (b. 1892)
- 1984 - Oskar Werner, Austrian actor (b. 1922)
- 1986 - Edward Adelbert Doisy, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1893)
- 1989 - Armida, Mexican-American stage, vaudeville and film actress (b. 1911)
- 1990 - Louis Althusser, French philosopher (b. 1918)
- 1996 - Bob Grim, baseball player (b. 1930)
- 1997 - Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (b. 1916)
- 1998 - Barnett Slepian, American physician (b. 1946)
- 2001 - Ronald William Kirby, British artist (b. 1928)
- 2002 - Adolph Green, American lyricist and playwright (b. 1915)
- 2003 - Tony Capstick, English actor, comedian, and musician (b. 1944)
- 2003 - Soong May-Ling, wife of Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek (b. 1898)
- 2004 - Robert Merrill, American baritone (b. 1919)
- 2005 - Stella Obasanjo, Nigerian first lady (b. 1945)
- 2005 - John Muth, American economist (b. 1930)
- 2006 - Lebo Mathosa, South African entertainer (b. 1977)
Holidays and observances
- R.C. Saints - Saint Giovanni da Capistrano; Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius
- Hungary - National Day (revolution of 1956 and the proclamation of the Republic of Hungary in 1989)
- Astrology: First day of sun sign Scorpio in Western tropical astrology.
- Chemistry: Mole Day
- French Republican Calendar - Céleri (Celery) Day, second day in the Month of Brumaire
- Chulalongkorn Memorial Day in Thailand
- Labour Day in New Zealand for 2006
- Islam - Beginning of Eid ul-Fitr for 2006