Major Events
- 215 BC A temple dedicated to Venus Erycina is built on Capitoline Hill to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene
- 1014 King Brian Boru of Ireland defeats Viking forces at the Battle of Clontarf, freeing Ireland from foreign control
- 1597 William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance
- 1861 Robert E. Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces (US Civil War)
- 1968 First decimal coins issued in Britain, the 5 and 10 new pence, replacing the shilling and two-shilling pieces
- 1984 AIDS-virus identified as HTLV-III (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
- More April 23 Events
Apr 23 in Music
- 1961 Singer Judy Garland appears in concert at Carnegie Hall, NYC; event is recorded for a double live album, wins Grammy Award for Album of the Year (the first such win by a female artist)
- 2016 Beyoncé releases her 6th album "Lemonade" with a 1 hour film on HBO
Apr 23 in Sport
- 2013 West Indian cricketer, Chris Gayle, smashes the fastest century in history in just 30 balls
Did You Know?
Gamma ray burst (GRB) 090423 is observed for 10 seconds, the most distant object of any kind and also the oldest known object in the universe
William Shakespeare
Maarten Tromp
J. M. W. Turner
James Buchanan
Lester B. Pearson
Timothy McVeigh
Shirley Temple
Michael Moore
Valerie Bertinelli
John Cena
John Oliver
Dev Patel
Sergei Prokofiev
Roy Orbison
Jim Bottomley
Warren Spahn
Chloe Kim
Fun Fact About April 23
Wine merchant William Sokolin breaks a bottle of 1787 Château Margaux, possibly belonging to Thomas Jefferson, worth $500,000 at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York
Famous Weddings
- 1445 Margaret of Anjou weds King Henry VI of England in Titchfield, Hampshire
- 1843 Samuel Gridley Howe, American physician and educator, marries Julia Ward, American poet and author
- 1925 Film producer Samuel Goldwyn (42) weds actress Frances Howard (21)
Famous Divorces
- 1982 Professional boxer George Foreman (33) divorces Sharon Goodson after 7 months of marriage
- 1992 British Princess Anne (the Princess Royal) and her 1st husband Captain Mark Phillips divorce after 19 years
- 1993 Motley Crue's Mike Mars files for divorce from Emi-Canyn
More April 23 Weddings
William Wordsworth
Tim Keefe
Harold Arlen
James Earl Ray
Boris YeltsinArticles, Photos and Quiz
Battle of Clontarf
Hugh Frazer's oil painting "Battle of Clontarf" from 1826
April 23, 1014
German Beer Purity Law
The German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot)
April 23, 1516
Who Wrote Shakespeare?
Could the son of a provincial glove-maker, born on this day in history, be the author of the world's greatest plays? The argument rages on.
April 23, 1564
