Major Events
- 1490 First dated edition of Maimonides "Mishneh Torah", a code of Jewish religious law is published
- 1775 Patrick Henry proclaims "Give me liberty or give me death" in speech in favor of Virginian troops joining US Revolutionary war
- 1919 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party re-establishes a five-member Politburo which becomes the center of political power in the Soviet Union. Original members Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev and Nikolai Krestinsky.
- 1933 German Reichstag hastily passes the Enabling Act and President Paul von Hindenburg signs it the same day, granting Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers
- 1945 Battle of Okinawa: US Navy ships bomb the Japanese island of Okinawa in preparation for the Allied invasion; it would become the largest battle of the Pacific War in World War II
- 2019 Syrian Democratic Forces announce that the last Islamic State territory has been retaken raising flags in Baghuz, Syria and ending the five-year Islamic State "caliphate"
- More March 23 Events
Mar 23 in Film & TV
- 1940 1st radio broadcast of "Truth or Consequences" on CBS
Mar 23 in Music
- 1743 George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" premieres at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Mar 23 in Sport
- 1980 Australian cricketer Allan Border becomes the first and only batsman to reach 150 in each innings of a test, in the 3rd test vs Pakistan in Lahore
Did You Know?
Margaret of Anjou
James Bradley
Michael Joseph Savage
Rex Tillerson
Joan Crawford
Akira Kurosawa
Wernher von Braun
Keri Russell
Perez Hilton
Chaka Khan
Roger Bannister
Craig Breedlove
Moses Malone
Mo Farah
Kyrie Irving
Famous Weddings
- 1779 Botanist Joseph Banks (36) weds Dorothea Hugessen
- 1923 Writer Anaïs Nin (Delta of Venus) marries banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in Havana, Cuba
- 1985 American 'Piano Man' Billy Joel (34) weds American supermodel Christie Brinkley (31), on a yacht moored alongside the Statue of Liberty; divorce in 1994
Famous Divorces
- 1769 Augustus FitzRoy, English Duke of Grafton divorces the Duchess of Grafton, (formerly Hon. Anne Liddell) by an Act of Parliament
- 2015 TV personality Kris Jenner and athlete Bruce Jenner divorce after 13 years of marriage
More March 23 Weddings
Agrippina the Younger
Peter the Cruel
Julius III
Nicolas Fouquet
Bhagat Singh
Elizabeth TaylorArticles, Photos and Quiz
Tsar Goes a Step Too Far
For over 300 years Russia’s famous Romanov family possessed fabulous wealth and power, but it wasn’t enough to keep them out of reach of assassins.
March 23, 1801
Battle of Okinawa
British navy vessel HMS Formidable on fire during the Battle of Okinawa after being struck by a kamikaze
March 23, 1945
