From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
December 23
is the 357th day of the year (358th in
leap years
) in the
Gregorian calendar
. There are eight days remaining until the end of the year.
- 1913
- The
Federal Reserve
Act is signed into
law
by US President
Woodrow Wilson
, creating the Federal Reserve Bank.
- 1914
?
World War I
:
Australian
and
New Zealand
troops land in
Cairo
,
Egypt
.
- 1916
-
World War I
:
Battle of Maghdaba
-
Allied
forces defeat
Turkish
forces on
Egypt
's
Sinai Peninsula
.
- 1920
- The
UK
government
agrees on the
Government of Ireland Act
, which ends up splitting the
island
of
Ireland
in two.
- 1933
- A
train
crash occurs at Lagny-Pomponne in
France
, killing 204 people, and injuring 120.
- 1936
?
Colombia
becomes a signatory of the
Buenos Aires Convention
.
- 1938
- The first modern
coelacanth
fish
is discovered in
South Africa
. The species was thought to be extinct.
- 1940
-
World War II
: Greek
submarine
Papanikolis (Y-2)
sinks the Italian motor
ship
Antonietta
.
- 1941
?
World War II
: After 15 days of fighting,
Japan
takes control of
Wake Island
.
- 1947
? The
transistor
is first demonstrated.
- 1948
?
Japanese
officials who were found guilty of
war crimes
, are executed.
- 1954
- The first successful
kidney
transplant is performed by
J. Hartwell Harrison
and
Joseph Murray
.
- 1957
-
Ian Craig
of
Australia
becomes the youngest test
cricket
captain in history.
- 1958
? The
Tokyo
Tower is dedicated, becoming the world's tallest self-supporting
iron
tower.
- 1968
- The 82
sailors
from the USS
Pueblo
are released after 11
months
of internment in
North Korea
.
- 1970
? The
North Tower
of the
World Trade Center
in
New York City
is topped out at a height of 417 metres.
- 1970
- The
Democratic Republic of the Congo
officially becomes a single-party state.
- 1972
? A major earthquake hits
Nicaragua
, killing thousands of people. It was of magnitude 6.2.
- 1972
? Members of a
Uruguayan
rugby team whose plane crashed in the
Andes
, near the border between
Chile
and
Argentina
, are rescued.
- 1973
- Royal Air Maroc
airliner
crashes over
Morocco
, killing 106 people.
- 1978
- An
Alitalia
Douglas DC-9 crashes on landing, into the
Mediterranean Sea
off
Palermo
,
Sicily
, killing 108 people. 22 people are saved and transported to land in fishing boats.
- 1979
?
Soviet
forces occupy
Kabul
,
Afghanistan
.
- 1982
- The
United States Environmental Protection Agency
announces that it has detected dangerous levels of
dioxin
in the
soil
of Times Beach,
Missouri
.
- 1986
?
Voyager
becomes the first
aircraft
without an aerial or ground refuelling to fly non-stop around the world.
- 1990
? In a referendum, most of
Slovenia
's voters support independence from
Yugoslavia
.
- 1991
?
Germany
recognises
Croatia
's independence.
- 968
-
Emperor Zhenzong of Song
of
China
(d.
1022
)
- 1173
-
Louis I, Duke of Bavaria
(d.
1231
)
- 1525
-
John I, Duke of Mecklenburg
(d.
1576
)
- 1537
?
John III of Sweden
, King of
Sweden
(d.
1592
)
- 1582
?
Severo Bonini
, composer (d.
1663
)
- 1597
?
Martin Opitz von Boberfeld
, German poet (d.
1639
)
- 1613
?
Carl Gustaf Wrangel
, Swedish soldier (d.
1676
)
- 1689
-
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier
, French
composer
(d.
1755
)
- 1690
-
Pamheiba
,
Indian
Emperor
(d.
1755
)
- 1713
-
Maruyama Gondazaemon
, Japanese
sumo
wrestler (d.
1749
)
- 1732
?
Richard Arkwright
, industrialist, and inventor of the
Water Frame
(d.
1792
)
- 1750
? King
Frederick Augustus I of Saxony
(d.
1827
)
- 1777
?
Tsar
Alexander I of Russia
(d.
1825
)
- 1783
-
Giovanni Bechet
, Italian poet and patriot (d.
1851
)
- 1790
?
Jean Francois Champollion
, French Egyptologist, deciphered the
Rosetta Stone
(d.
1832
)
- 1793
-
Dost Mohammad Khan
, ruler of
Afghanistan
(d.
1863
)
- 1797
-
Adrien-Henri de Jussieu
, French
botanist
and
physician
(d.
1853
)
- 1799
-
Karl Bryullov
, Russian painter (d.
1852
)
- 1804
?
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
, French literary critic (d.
1869
)
- 1805
?
Joseph Smith, Jr
., founder of
Mormonism
and the
Latter Day Saint movement
(d.
1844
)
- 1810
-
Edward Blyth
, English
zoologist
and
ornithologist
(d.
1873
)
- 1819
?
Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate
,
Dutch
poet
and
clergyman
(d.
1889
)
- 1822
?
Wilhelm Bauer
, engineer (d.
1875
)
- 1839
-
Janos Murkovics
,
Slovenian
-Hungarian
writer
and
clergyman
(d.
1889
)
- 1841
-
Ignacio Agramonte
,
Cuban
revolutionary
(d.
1873
)
- 1854
-
Henry B. Guppy
, English
botanist
(d.
1926
)
- 1856
-
James Buchanan Duke
, American industrialist (d.
1925
)
- 1858
-
Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko
, Russian
theatre
director
,
writer
and
playwright
(d.
1943
)
- 1864
?
Zorka of Montenegro
, Princess of
Serbia
(d.
1890
)
- 1867
?
Madam C. J. Walker
, first
African American
millionaire
(d.
1919
).
- 1878
-
Mikheil Tsereteli
, Georgian
historian
,
philologist
and
sociologist
(d.
1965
)
- 1881
-
Juan Ramon Jimenez
, Spanish
poet
(d.
1958
)
- 1885
?
Pierre Brissaud
, French artist (d.
1964
)
- 1886
-
Albert Ehrenstein
, Austrian-German
poet
(d.
1950
)
- 1887
-
John Cromwell
, American
actor
and
director
(d.
1979
)
- 1891
?
Alexandr Rodchenko
, Russian painter and photographer (d.
1956
)
- 1896
?
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
, Italian writer (d.
1957
)
- 1900
-
Arnold Bode
, German
artist
(d.
1977
)
- 1902
?
Charan Singh
,
Prime Minister of India
(d.
1987
)
- 1903
-
Boleslaw Kominek
, Polish Roman Catholic
Archbishop
of
Wroclaw
(d.
1974
)
- 1907
?
Manuel Lopes
,
Cape Verdean
writer and
poet
(d.
2005
)
- 1907
?
Avraham Stern
, Zionist group leader (d.
1942
)
- 1908
?
Yousuf Karsh
, Armenian-Canadian portrait photographer (d.
2002
)
- 1910
-
Kurt Meyer
, German
SS
officer (d.
1961
)
- 1911
?
Niels Kaj Jerne
, Danish
immunologist
(d.
1994
)
- 1911
-
James Gregory
, American actor (d.
2002
)
- 1911
-
Marie Olav
, Estonian
chess
player (d.
1994
)
- 1916
?
Dino Risi
, Italian
director
and
screenwriter
(d.
2008
)
- 1918
?
Helmut Schmidt
,
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
,
1974
-
1982
(d.
2015
)
- 1918
?
Jose Greco
, dancer (d.
2000
)
- 1922
?
Calder Willingham
, writer (d.
1995
)
- 1922
?
Micheline Ostermeyer
, French athlete and musician (d.
2001
)
- 1923
?
James Stockdale
,
United States Navy
admiral (d.
2005
)
- 1923
?
Gunther Schifter
, Austrian music journalist (d.
2008
)
- 1924
-
Bob Kurland
, American
basketball
player (d.
2013
)
- 1925
-
Pierre Beregovoy
,
Prime Minister of France
(d.
1993
)
- 1925
?
Mohammed Mzali
,
Prime Minister
of
Tunisia
(d.
2010
)
- 1926
?
Robert Bly
, American poet
- 1929
-
Chet Baker
, American
jazz
trumpeter
(d.
1988
)
- 1931
-
Lev Durov
, Russian actor (d.
2015
)
- 1933
?
Akihito
,
Emperor
of
Japan
- 1934
-
Claudio Scimone
, Italian conductor
- 1935
?
Paul Hornung
,
American football
player
- 1935
-
Esther Phillips
, American singer (d.
1984
)
- 1936
?
Frederic Forrest
, American actor
- 1937
-
Barney Rosenzweig
, American
screenwriter
and
producer
- 1937
-
Nelson Shanks
, American
artist
(d.
2015
)
- 1939
-
La Lupe
, Cuban-American
singer-songwriter
(d.
1992
)
- 1939
-
Nancy Graves
, American sculptor, painter and printmaker (d.
1995
)
- 1940
?
Jorma Kaukonen
, Finnish-American musician (
Jefferson Airplane
)
- 1941
?
Tim Hardin
, musician
- 1941
- Nigel Anthony, English actor
- 1942
?
Quentin Bryce
, 25th
Governor-General of Australia
- 1942
-
M. M. Ruhul Amin
, Bangladeshi judge (d.
2017
)
- 1942
-
Lars-Erik Berenett
, Swedish actor (d.
2017
)
- 1943
?
Mikhail Gromov
, Russian mathematician
- 1943
?
Harry Shearer
, American actor, voice actor (
This Is Spinal Tap
,
The Simpsons
)
- 1943
?
Silvia
,
Queen
of
Sweden
- 1943
-
Elizabeth Hartman
, American actress (d.
1987
)
- 1944
?
Wesley Clark
, American General and former NATO
Supreme Allied Commander
- 1945
-
Adly Mansour
, Interim
President
of
Egypt
- 1946
-
Ray Tabano
, American musician
- 1946
?
John Sullivan
, English
television
writer
(d.
2011
)
- 1947
?
Susan Lucci
,
soap opera
actress
- 1948
-
David Davis
, British politician
- 1948
-
Jim Ferguson
, American
guitarist
,
composer
, writer and
journalist
- 1948
?
Jack Ham
,
American football
player
- 1949
-
Adrian Belew
, American
guitarist
- 1950
?
Michael C. Burgess
, American politician
- 1950
?
Vicente del Bosque
, Spanish football manager
- 1950
-
Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt
, English
general
- 1951
?
Anthony Phillips
, British musician (
Genesis
)
- 1952
?
William Kristol
, American conservative commentator
- 1952
-
David Loebsack
, American politician
- 1953
-
Andres Alver
,
Estonian
architect
- 1953
-
Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia
,
Russian
aristocrat
- 1955
?
Carol Ann Duffy
, Scottish
poet
and
playwright
- 1956
?
Dave Murray
, English musician (
Iron Maiden
)
- 1957
?
Trisha Goddard
, English
television
presenter
- 1958
?
Victoria Williams
, singer
- 1961
?
Carol Smillie
, Scottish television personality
- 1962
-
Stefan Hell
, Romanian-German
physicist
and
chemist
,
Nobel Prize
winner
- 1962
-
Kang Je-gyu
, South Korean
movie director
,
producer
and
screenwriter
- 1963
?
Jim Harbaugh
,
American football
quarterback
- 1964
?
Eddie Vedder
, musician (
Pearl Jam
)
- 1966
-
Badi Assad
,
Brazilian
singer
,
guitarist
and
composer
- 1967
?
Carla Bruni
-Sarkozy, Italian-French singer, model and former First Lady of
France
- 1968
-
Quincy Jones III
, English-Swedish
singer-songwriter
and
producer
- 1968
-
Barry Kooser
, American
artist
and
animation
filmmaker
- 1968
-
Manuel Rivera-Ortiz
, Puerto Rican photographer
- 1968
-
Sandra Roelofs
, Dutch-born former First Lady of
Georgia
- 1968
-
Olga Shishigina
, Kazakhstani hurdler
- 1969
?
Martha Byrne
,
soap opera
actress
- 1969
-
Rob Pelinka
, American
basketball
player, agent and
lawyer
- 1970
?
Catriona LeMay Doan
,
Canadian
speed skater
- 1971
?
Corey Haim
, Canadian actor (d.
2010
)
- 1971
?
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
, British socialite (d.
2017
)
- 1971
-
Jo Johnson
, British politician
- 1974
?
Agustin Delgado
,
Ecuadorean
footballer
- 1976
-
Joanna Hayes
, American hurdler
- 1977
?
Matt Baker
, British television presenter
- 1977
?
Alge Crumpler
,
American football
player
- 1978
?
Andra Davis
,
American football
player
- 1978
?
Victor Martinez
,
Venezuelan
baseball
player
- 1978
?
Estella Warren
, Canadian actress and model
- 1978
?
Esthero
, Canadian musician and singer
- 1979
?
Kenny Miller
, Scottish
footballer
- 1979
-
Holly Madison
, American model and actress
- 1981
-
Agnes Milowka
, Polish-Australian diver, explorer, writer and
photographer
(d.
2011
)
- 1981
?
Beth
,
Spanish
singer
- 1981
?
Mario Santana
, Argentine
footballer
- 1983
?
Michael Chopra
, English
footballer
- 1983
-
Lisa Dobriskey
, English middle-distance runner
- 1984
-
Alison Sudol
, American
actress
,
singer
and
songwriter
- 1985
-
Harry Judd
, English
drummer
(
McFly
)
- 1987
?
Owen Franks
, New Zealand
rugby
player
- 1988
-
Eri Kamei
, Japanese singer
- 1988
-
Yuka Kashino
, Japanese singer and dancer
- 1989
-
Lils Koger
,
Estonian
painter and
architect
- 1990
?
Anna Maria Perez de Tagle
, American actress
- 1992
-
Spencer Daniels
, American actor
- 1992
-
Jeff Schlupp
, German-Ghananian
footballer
- 1996
-
Bartosz Kapustka
, Polish
footballer
- 2002
-
Finn Wolfhard
, Canadian actor
- 130
?
Emperor Keiko
of
Japan
(b.
60
)
- 484
-
Huneric
,
Vandal
king
- 558
-
Childebert I
,
King
of
Paris
- 668
-
Mor Gabriel
,
Syriac
bishop
and
saint
(b.
594
)
- 679
-
Dagobert II
, Frankish king (b.
650
)
- 910
-
Saint Naum of Ohrid
,
Macedonian
missionary and scholar (b.
830
)
- 918
-
Conrad I of Germany
(b.
890
)
- 1193
?
Saint Thorlak
, patron Saint of
Iceland
(b.
1133
)
- 1230
-
Berengia of Navarre
(b.
1165
)
- 1572
?
Johann Sylvan
, German theologian
- 1575
?
Akiyama Nobutomo
, Japanese
military
commander (b.
1531
)
- 1588
-
Henry I, Duke of Guise
(b.
1550
)
- 1631
?
Michael Drayton
, English
poet
(b.
1563
)
- 1652
?
John Cotton
, English-born American minister (b.
1585
)
- 1722
-
Pierre Varignon
, French
mathematician
(b.
1654
)
- 1745
-
Jan Dismas Zelenka
, Bohemian
composer
(b.
1679
)
- 1795
-
Henry Clinton
, English
general
and
politician
(b.
1730
)
- 1831
-
Emilie Plater
,
Lithuanian
countess
and freedom fighter (b.
1806
)
- 1850
-
Samuel Bell
,
Governor
of
New Hampshire
(b.
1770
)
- 1851
-
Giovanni Bechet
, Italian poet and patriot (b.
1783
)
- 1872
-
George Catlin
, American painter (b.
1796
)
- 1902
?
Frederick Temple
,
Archbishop of Canterbury
(b.
1821
)
- 1920
-
Walter Runeberg
, Finnish sculptor (b.
1838
)
- 1931
?
Wilson Bentley
, American scientist (b.
1865
)
- 1939
-
Anthony Fokker
, Dutch
aircraft
manufacturer (b.
1890
)
- 1948
?
Akira Muto
, Japanese military commander (b.
1892
)
- 1948
?
Hideki T?j?
, 40th
Prime Minister of Japan
, Led the
Attack on Pearl Harbour
(b.
1884
)
- 1950
-
Vincenzo Tommasini
, Italian composer (b.
1878
)
- 1953
-
Lavrentiy Beria
,
Soviet
-
Georgian
politician (b.
1899
)
- 1954
-
Rene Iche
, French sculptor and scholar (b.
1897
)
- 1961
-
Kurt Meyer
, German
SS
officer (b.
1910
)
- 1970
-
Aleksander Warma
, Estonian politician (b.
1890
)
- 1972
-
Charles Atlas
, American bodybuilder (b.
1892
)
- 1972
?
Andrei Tupolev
, Russian aircraft designer (b.
1888
)
- 1973
-
Charles Atlas
, Italian-American bodybuilder (b.
1892
)
- 1978
-
Misao Tamai
, Japanese
footballer
(b.
1903
)
- 1979
?
Peggy Guggenheim
, American
art
collector (b.
1898
)
- 1984
-
Joan Lindsay
, Australian writer (b.
1896
)
- 1992
?
Eddie Hazel
, American
musician
(b.
1950
)
- 1994
-
Sebastian Shaw
, British actor (b.
1905
)
- 1997
-
Stanley Cortez
, American
cinematographer
(b.
1908
)
- 1998
?
Anatoly Rybakov
, Russian writer (b.
1911
)
- 1998
-
Joe Orlando
, Italian-American
comics
writer, artist and editor (b.
1927
)
- 1998
-
Michelle Thomas
, American
actress
(b.
1969
)
- 2000
?
Victor Borge
, Danish comedian and pianist (b.
1909
)
- 2004
?
P. V. Narasimha Rao
,
Prime Minister of India
(b.
1921
)
- 2005
?
Lajos Baroti
, Hungarian
footballer
(b.
1914
)
- 2007
?
Oscar Peterson
, American
jazz
pianist
and
composer
(b.
1925
)
- 2009
?
Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme
, Tibetan politician (b.
1910
)
- 2010
?
K. Karunakaran
, Indian politician (b.
1918
)
- 2013
-
Mikhail Kalashnikov
, Russian inventor of the
AK-47
(b.
1919
)
- 2013
-
Yusef Lateef
, American saxophonist (b.
1920
)
- 2013
-
Robert W. Wilson
, American philanthropist and businessman (b.
1926
)
- 2014
-
K. Balachander
, Indian
director
and
producer
(b.
1930
)
- 2014
-
Jeremy Lloyd
, English
writer
,
screenwriter
, writer,
poet
and
actor
(b.
1930
)
- 2014
-
Jacques Chancel
, French
journalist
and
writer
(b.
1928
)
- 2015
-
Hocine Ait Ahmed
, Algerian
politician
(b.
1926
)
- 2015
-
Don Howe
, English
footballer
(b.
1935
)
- 2015
-
Bulent Ulusu
,
Prime Minister
of
Turkey
(b.
1923
)
- 2015
-
Jean-Marie Pelt
, French biologist, botanist and pharmacist (b.
1933
)
- 2015
-
Alfred G. Gilman
, American
pharmacologist
and
biochemist
(b.
1941
)
- 2016
-
Anis Amri
, Tunisian suspected terrorist (
2016 Berlin attack
) (b.
1992
)
- 2016
-
Heinrich Schiff
, Austrian
cellist
and
conductor
(b.
1951
)
- 2016
-
Piers Sellers
, English-American
astronaut
(b.
1955
)
- 2017
-
Maurice Hayes
, Irish politician (b.
1927
)
- 2020
?
Kay Purcell
, English actress (b.
1963
)