On this day: 23 December
Events, births and deaths on 23 December. Every date is checked against Wikidata.
Years ago today
1 year ago2025
- Events · Harmony Jets Flight 185
- Deaths · Masashi Ozaki
10 years ago2016
Nothing recorded for that year.
100 years ago1926
- Births · Robert Bly
- Births · Jorge Medina Estévez
- Deaths · Swami Shraddhanand
1000 years ago1026
Within 100 years of that
- 968 · Births · Emperor Zhenzong of Song
Events · 17
- 1598Disaster of Curalaba — indigenous 1598 uprising against Hispanics in Chile
- 1783George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief — George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783
- 1793Battle of Savenay — 1793 battle
- 18541854 Ansei-Tōkai earthquake — earthquake in Japan
- 1876Constantinople Conference — 1876–77 conference of the Great Powers
- 1913Federal Reserve System — central banking system of the United States
- 1916Battle of Magdhaba — 1916 WWI battle on the Sinai peninsula
- 1956Arima Kinen — Horse race in Japan
- 19721972 Nicaragua earthquake — December 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua
- 1972Immaculate Reception — famous American football play in 1972-73 NFL playoffs
- 1978Alitalia Flight 4128 — aviation accident
- 1984Aeroflot Flight 3519 — aviation accident
- 1990Slovenian independence referendum, 1990 — December 1990 independence referendum in Slovenia
- 2005Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 — aviation accident
- 20082008 Guinean coup d'état — military coup shortly after President Lansana Conté died
- 20152015 Sabiha Gökçen Airport bombing — terrorist incident in Turkey
- 2025Harmony Jets Flight 185 — 2025 aviation accident in Turkey
Births · 60
- 968Emperor Zhenzong of Song — Chinese emperor from 997 to 1022
- 1597Martin Opitz — German poet
- 1605Tianqi Emperor — emperor of the Ming Dynasty
- 1732Richard Arkwright — textile entrepreneur; developer of the spinning frame (known as the water frame)
- 1750Friedrich August I of Saxony — King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827 (1750-1827)
- 1777Alexander I of Russia — The tenth Emperor of Russia (1777–1825)
- 1790Jean-François Champollion — French classical scholar (1790-1832)
- 1793Dost Mohammad Khan — first Emir of Afghanistan (1823-1863)
- 1804Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve — French literary critic (1804–1869)
- 1805Joseph Smith — American religious leader and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (1805–1844)
- 1810Karl Richard Lepsius — German archaeologist, egyptologist and librarian (1810-1884)
- 1810Edward Blyth — English zoologist and pharmacist (1810–1873)
- 1812Samuel Smiles — Scottish writer and journalist (1812-1904)
- 1827Wilhelm von Tegetthoff — Austro-Hungarian admiral (1827-1871)
- 1867Madam C. J. Walker — American entrepreneur (1867-1919)
- 1896Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa — Sicilian Prince and writer (1896-1957)
- 1902Charan Singh — Prime Minister of India (1979-1980)
- 1908Yousuf Karsh — Armenian-Canadian photographer (1908–2002)
- 1910Kurt Meyer — German general (1910–1961)
- 1911Niels Kaj Jerne — Danish immunologist
- 1916Dino Risi — Italian film director (1916-2008)
- 1918Helmut Schmidt — Chancellor of West Germany (1974–1982)
- 1926Robert Bly — American poet, author, and activist (1926–2021)
- 1929Chet Baker — American jazz trumpeter and vocalist (1929-1988)
- 1933Akihito — Emperor of Japan from 1989 to 2019
Deaths · 60
- 484Huneric — King of the Vandals
- 679(Julian date)Dagobert II — Frankish king
- 910(Julian date)Saint Naum — Bulgarian writer & missionary
- 918Conrad I of Germany — king of East Francia
- 1193(Julian date)Saint Thorlak — Icelandic Roman Catholic prelate and saint
- 1230(Julian date)Berengaria of Navarre — Medieval English queen consort
- 1304Matilda of Habsburg — German noble
- 1383Beatrice of Bourbon, Queen of Bohemia — Bohemian queen
- 1384(Julian date)Thomas Preljubović — Ruler of Epirus in Ioannina
- 1392(Julian date)Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York — Duchess of York
- 1588Henry I of Lorraine, duke of Guise — Duke of Guise (1550-1588)
- 1631Michael Drayton — English poet
- 1638Barbara Longhi — painter from Italy (1552-1638)
- 1646François Maynard — French writer
- 1652John Cotton — English minister, theologian, immigrant to Massachusetts (1585-1652)
- 1722Pierre Varignon — French mathematician
- 1771Marguerite d'Youville — Canadian saint (1701-1771)
- 1789Charles-Michel de l'Épée — French priest and educator of the deaf
- 1795Henry Clinton — British army officer and politician (1730–1795)
- 1805Peter Osbeck — Swedish explorer and naturalist (1723-1805)
- 1834Thomas Robert Malthus — British political economist (1766–1834)
- 1907Pierre Janssen — French astronomer (1824-1907)
- 1931Wilson Bentley — American photographer (1867-1931)
- 1939Anthony Fokker — Dutch aviation pioneer and an aircraft manufacturer (1890-1939)
- 1948Hideki Tojo — Japanese general and politician (1884–1948)
Dates verified against Wikidata (CC0). Titles and descriptions come from Wikidata.