Major Events
- 930 World's oldest parliament, the Icelandic Parliament is established, the Alþingi (anglicised as Althing or Althingi)
- 1868 Christopher Latham Sholes patents the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful of its kind
- 1960 First contraceptive pill is made available for purchase in the United States
- 1972 Hurricane Agnes becomes America's costliest natural disaster, affecting 15 states, with 119 deaths and $3 billion in damage
- 1974 First extraterrestrial message sent from Earth into space
- 1983 Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa meets Pope John Paul II during papal visit to Poland
- 2016 United Kingdom votes in the Brexit referendum to leave the European Union
- More June 23 Events
Jun 23 in Film & TV
- 1989 Movie "Batman" premieres directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson
Jun 23 in Music
- 1979 Supertramp's "Breakfast in America" becomes No. 1 album in the US featuring "Take the Long Way Home"
- 2021 Britney Spears requests a judge end her court-ordered conservatorship, states "I think this conservatorship is abusive. I don't think I can live a full life"
Jun 23 in Sport
- 1894 The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin
- 2003 Barry Bonds steals second base against the LA Dodgers, becoming the first player in MLB history to have 500 career homers and 500 steals
- 2021 1st ICC World Test Championship final, Southampton: New Zealand dismisses India for meagre 170; completes tricky chase of 139 on 6th day to win inaugural cricket title
Did You Know?
First editions of "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." by Washington Irving released, featuring story "Rip Van Winkle"
Oda Nobunaga
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Edward VIII
Jean Anouilh
Alan Turing
Clarence Thomas
Bob Fosse
June Carter Cash
Frances McDormand
Joss Whedon
Selma Blair
Jason Mraz
Duffy
George Weiss
Art Modell
Wilma Rudolph
Colin Montgomerie
Zinedine Zidane
Fun Fact About June 23
Longest game in Professional Baseball: Pawtucket Red Sox finally beat Rochester Red Wings 3-2 in 33 innings (game began 18th April)
Famous Weddings
- 1930 Businessman Nelson Rockefeller (21) weds Mary Todhunter Clark
- 1930 Diplomat Ralph Bunche (25) weds Ruth Harris
- 1954 American law student and future Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court Ruth Bader (21) weds American future tax law expert Martin D. Ginsburg (22), becoming Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Famous Divorces
- 1976 American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (34) divorces 2nd wife Diane Clatworthy (28), after 6-1/2 years of marriage
- 1993 Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman) files for divorce from Lawrence Mortorff
- 2016 Actress and singer Mandy Moore and singer-songwriter Ryan Adams divorce after 7 years
More June 23 Weddings
Vespasian
Jonas Salk
Betty Shabazz
Sheldon HarnickArticles, Photos and Quiz
How the Qwerty Keyboard was Born
A typewriter patent was granted on this day to the man who would go on to produce and inflict on us all the ubiquitous Qwerty keyboard.
June 23, 1868
Britain Votes for Brexit
Counting gets underway in the UK referendum on membership in the European Union
June 23, 2016
