23 February encyclopedia topics

23 February - 2 reference results

February 23

Events

1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type.
1660 - Charles XI becomes King of Sweden.
1778 - American Revolution: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
1820 - Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
1836 - The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.
1847 - Mexican-American War: Battle of Buena Vista - In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1854 - The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
1861 - President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after an assassination attempt in Baltimore, Maryland.
1870 - Military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
1883 - Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.
1887 - The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
1898 - Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse", a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully placing Captain Alfred Dreyfus in jail.
1900 - In South Africa, the Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart's Hill.
1903 - Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
1904 - The United States gains control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million.
1905 - Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.
1909 - The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
1917 - First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.
1918 - First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser's German troops near Narva and Pskov. Since 1923 this date become the Day of Red Army in honour of this victory.
1919 - Benito Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy.
1927 - The Federal Radio Commission (later renamed the Federal Communications Commission) begins to regulate the use of radio frequencies.
1934 - Léopold III becomes King of Belgium.
1941 - Plutonium was first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
1943 - A fire breaks out at St. Joseph's Orphanage Co Cavan , Ireland , killing 36 people (35 of whom were children)
1944 - Forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people to Central Asia.
1945 - World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize.
1945 - World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.
1945 - World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań, the city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
1945 - World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed by a raid of 379 British bombers.
1945 - World War II: The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is bombed by Allied forces. It would later be re-opened in 1975.
1947 - The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.
1954 - The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.
1955 - First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
1957 - The founding congress of the Senegalese Popular Bloc is opened in Dakar.
1958 - Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
1966 - A military coup in Syria replaces the previous government.
1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
1975 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States.
1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament would decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
1981 - 23-F, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
1983 - The Spanish Socialist government of Felipe González and Miguel Boyer nationalizes Rumasa, a holding of José María Ruiz Mateos.
1983 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
1987 - Supernova 1987a: A supernova is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
1991 - Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabia border and enter Iraq, thus starting the ground-phase of the war.
1991 - In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
1992 - The Socialist Labour Party is founded in Georgia.
1997 - A large fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.
1998 - Kissimmee Tornado Outbreak: Tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.
1998 - Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders.
1999 - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
1999 - An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.
2005 - Slovakia Summit 2005 begins, marking the first occasion when a sitting American President visits Slovakia; George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin are in attendance.
2005 - Vote of the controversial French law on colonialism, repealed start of 2006.
2006 - Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill.
2007 - Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
2007 - A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
2008 - a B-2 Spirit of the USAF crashes at Guam. The crew survived but the aircraft was written off, making it the most expensive air crash in human history (the aircraft alone cost $1.2Bn). The B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash; not one B-2 ever crashed.

Births

1417 - Pope Paul II (d. 1471)
1583 - Jean-Baptiste Morin, French scientist (d. 1656)
1633 - Samuel Pepys, English naval administrator and man of letters, posthumously famous as a diarist (d. 1703)
1646 - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (d. 1709)
1648 - Arabella Churchill, English mistress of James II of England (d. 1730)
1680 - Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, French colonizer and Governor of Louisiana (d. 1767)
1685 - Georg Friedrich Handel, German/British Baroque composer (d. 1759)
1723 - Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (d. 1791)
1729 - Josiah Hornblower, American statesman (d. 1809)
1743 - Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German-born banker (d. 1812)
1809 - William Sprague, American minister and politician from Michigan (d. 1868)
1842 - Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher (d. 1906)
1850 - César Ritz, Swiss hotelier (d. 1918)
1868 - W.E.B. DuBois, American civil rights leader (d. 1963)
1873 - Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (d. 1929)
1874 - Konstantin Päts, Estonian president (d. 1956)
1878 - Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and art theorist (d. 1935)
1883 - Karl Jaspers, German philosopher (d. 1969)
1889 - Victor Fleming, American director (d. 1949)
1889 - Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
1891 - Harold Horder, Australian Rugby League player (d. 1978)
1899 - Erich Kästner, German writer (d. 1974)
1899 - Norman Taurog, American film director (d. 1981)
1901 - Edgar Ende, German painter (d. 1965)
1904 - Terence Fisher, English film director (d. 1980)
1904 - William L. Shirer, American historian (d. 1993)
1904 - Leopold Trepper, Soviet spy (d. 1982)
1908 - William McMahon, twentieth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
1914 - Theofiel Middelkamp, Dutch cyclist (d. 2005)
1915 - Jon Hall, American actor (d. 1979)
1915 - Paul Tibbets, US Air Force retired Brigadier General and Pilot of B-29 "Enola Gay" over Hiroshima (d. 2007)
1918 - Richard G. Butler, American fascist (d. 2004)
1920 - Paul Gérin-Lajoie, French Canadian politician
1923 - Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan politician
1924 - Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African born physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
1924 - Claude Sautet, French film director (d. 2000)
1927 - Régine Crespin, French operatic soprano (d. 2007)
1928 - Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
1928 - Vasili Lazarev, cosmonaut (d. 1990)
1929 - Elston Howard, American Baseball Player
1931 - Tom Wesselmann, American collage artist (d. 2004)
1932 - Majel Barrett, American actress
1937 - Tom Osborne, American football coach and politician
1938 - Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
1940 - Peter Fonda, American actor
1941 - Ron Hunt, baseball player
1943 - Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
1944 - Bernard Cornwell, English historical novelist
1944 - John Sandford, American novelist
1944 - Johnny Winter, American musician
1945 - Allan Boesak, South African activist
1946 - Rusty Young, American country-rock guitarist (Poco)
1947 - John McWethy, American journalist (d. 2008)
1947 - Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician
1948 - Doug Moench, American comic book writer
1949 - Marc Garneau, French Canadian astronaut
1950 - Maxi, Irish singer and radio personality
1951 - Ed Jones, American football player
1951 - Patricia Richardson, American actress
1952 - Brad Whitford, American musician (Aerosmith)
1953 - Satoru Nakajima, Japanese racing driver
1954 - Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
1955 - Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio personality, and writer
1955 - Howard Jones, British pop singer
1958 - Tony Barrell, English writer and journalist
1958 - David Sylvian, English musician (Japan, Nine Horses)
1959 - Richard Dodds, British field hockey player
1960 - Alan Griffin, Australian politician
1960 - Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
1961 - Kelly Hansen, American drummer (Summer Lights)
1962 - Michael Wilton, American musician (Queensrÿche)
1963 - Bobby Bonilla, former baseball player
1963 - Radosław Sikorski, Polish politician
1964 - John Norum, Norwegian guitarist (Europe)
1965 - Kristin Davis, American actress
1965 - Michael Dell, American computer manufacturer
1965 - Helena Suková, former Czech tennis player
1965 - Veronica Webb, American supermodel and actress
1967 - Tamsin Greig, English actress
1967 - Chris Vrenna, American musician, producer and sound engineer Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker
1968 - Justin Bell, British racing driver
1969 - Marc Wauters, Belgian cyclist
1969 - Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer
1970 - Marie-Josée Croze, French Canadian actress
1970 - Niecy Nash, American actress
1971 - Jeong Chan, South Korean actor
1971 - Don Maxwell, Canadian cricketer
1971 - Melinda Messenger, English television presenter
1971 - Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player
1972 - Steve Holy, American country singer
1972 - Rondell White, American baseball player
1973 - Jack Case, American artist
1973 - Lars-Olof Johansson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)
1974 - Leko, American DJ
1974 - Jaime Villarreal, Mexican musician
1974 - Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer
1975 - Michael Cornacchia, American actor
1975 - Robert Lopez, American composer
1975 - Natalia Verbeke, Argentine actress
1976 - Kelly Macdonald, British actress
1976 - Scott Elarton, American baseball player
1977 - Kristina Šmigun, Estonian cross-country skier
1978 - René Pérez, Puerto Rican musician (Calle 13)
1978 - Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
1979 - D-Roc, American rapper (Ying Yang Twins)
1980 - Karan Singh Grover, an Indian television actor
1981 - Gareth Barry, English footballer
1981 - Charles Tillman, American football player
1982 - Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor
1982 - Karan Singh Grover, Indian Television Actor
1983 - Mirco Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
1983 - Mido, Egyptian footballer
1983 - Emily Blunt, British actress
1983 - Aziz Ansari, Indian American Comedian
1986 - Holly Brook, American musician
1986 - Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese pop star (KAT-TUN)
1986 - Jerod Mayo, American Football player
1989 - Evan Bates, American ice dancer
1994 - Dakota Fanning, American actress