December 23Birthdays & History

On this day: December 23 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 484The Arian Vandal Kingdom ceases its persecution of Nicene Christianity.Africa
2. 558Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks.Europe
3. 583Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque.Latin America
4. 962The Sack of Aleppo as part of the Arab–Byzantine wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo.Middle EastEurope
5. 1299The Ilkhanate ruler Ghazan defeats a Mamluk army that opposes his invasion into Syria in the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar near Homs.Middle East
6. 1598Arauco War: Governor of Chile Martín García Óñez de Loyola is killed in the Battle of Curalaba by Mapuches led by Pelantaru.Latin America
7. 1688As part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees from England to Paris after being deposed in favor of his son-in-law and nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary.Europe
8. 1773Moscow State Academy of Choreography is founded under the reign of Catherine II. It is the second ballet school in Russia after Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.Europe
9. 1783George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.North America
10. 1793The Battle of Savenay: A decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution.Europe
11. 1815The novel Emma by Jane Austen is first published.Europe
12. 1823The poem "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," is published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel.North America
13. 1876First day of the Constantinople Conference which resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.Middle EastEurope
14. 1893The opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed.Europe
15. 1905The Tampere conference, where Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin meet for the first time, is held in Tampere, Finland.Europe
16. 1913The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System.North America
17. 1914World War I: During the Battle of Sarikamish, Ottoman forces mistook one another for Russian troops. The following friendly fire incident leaves 2,000 Ottomans dead and many more wounded.Middle EastEurope
18. 1914World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.OceaniaMiddle East
19. 1916World War I: Battle of Magdhaba: Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in the Sinai Peninsula.Middle East
20. 1919Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 becomes law in the United Kingdom, allowing women to serve as lawyers, civil servants, and in other professions, as well as to serve on juries.Europe
21. 1936Spanish Civil War: The Spanish Republic legalizes the Regional Defence Council of Aragon.Europe
22. 1936Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.Latin America
23. 1941World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupies Wake Island.Asia
24. 1947The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.North America
25. 1948Seven Japanese military and political leaders convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed by Allied occupation authorities at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan.Asia
26. 1950Korean War: General Walton Walker dies in a jeep accident and is replaced by General Matthew Ridgway in the Eighth United States Army.AsiaNorth America
27. 1954First successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.North America
28. 1955The first film adaptation of Väinö Linna's novel The Unknown Soldier, directed by Edvin Laine, premieres.Europe
29. 1960Hilkka Saarinen née Pylkkänen is murdered in the so-called "oven homicide" case in Krootila, Kokemäki, Finland.Europe
30. 1968The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.Asia
31. 1970The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 417 metres (1,368 ft), making it the tallest building in the world.North America
32. 1970The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state.Africa
33. 1972The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, surviving by cannibalism.Latin America
34. 1972A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.Latin America
35. 1972The Immaculate Reception is caught by Franco Harris to win the Pittsburgh Steelers their first ever playoff victory, after defeating the Oakland Raiders.North America
36. 1978Alitalia Flight 4128 crashes into the Tyrrhenian Sea while on approach to Falcone Borsellino Airport in Palermo, Italy, killing 108.Europe
37. 1979Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.EuropeAsia
38. 1984After experiencing an engine fire, Aeroflot Flight 3519 attempts to make an emergency landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport but crashes, killing 110 of the 111 people on board.Europe
39. 1986Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.North America
40. 1990History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.Europe
41. 2002A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.North AmericaMiddle East
42. 2003An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field in Kai County, Chongqing, China, kills at least 234.Asia
43. 2005An Antonov An-140, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan, heading across the Caspian Sea, crashes, killing 23 people.EuropeAsia
44. 2007An agreement is made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state.Asia
45. 2008A coup d'état occurs in Guinea hours after the death of President Lansana Conté.Africa
46. 2015A bomb explodes at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport, killing one airport cleaner. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks claim responsibility for the attack four days later.Middle East
47. 2023A series of massacres targeting Berom civilians unfold in the Plateau State in Nigeria, killing over 200 people and further injuring over 500. No group claims responsibility.Africa
48. 2025The crash of Harmony Jets Flight 185 killed all eight people on board, including the Libyan Army chief Mohammed al-Haddad in Ankara, Turkey.AfricaMiddle East

Source: Wikipedia "December 23" / CC BY-SA 4.0