What are the important events that happened on December 23? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
December 23: Facts & Myths About This Day
December 23 is the 358th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 8 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 10, 2024 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,734,912,000 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectapentacontaoctagon’ day.
Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 37 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,385 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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December 23 Historical Events
- 962 –Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo
- 1688 –As part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees England to Paris after being deposed in favour of his nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary.
- 1823 –A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, is published anonymously.
- 1919 –Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 becomes law in the UK.
- 1936 –Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1936 –First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.
- 1938 –Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa.
- 1972 –A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.
- 1982 –The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces it has identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri.
- 1990 –History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia’s overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
Who were born on December 23?
- 1173 –Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1231)
- 1805 –Joseph Smith, Jr., American religious leader (d. 1844)
- 1923 –Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
- 1935 –Esther Phillips, American singer (d. 1984)
- 1963 –Jim Harbaugh, American football player
- 1964 –Eddie Vedder, American musician (Pearl Jam)
- 1967 –Tim Fountain, British playwright
- 1971 –Corey Haim, Canadian actor (d. 2010)
- 1971 –Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite
- 1980 –Elvin Ng, Singaporean actor
Who died on December 23?
- 910 –Naum of Preslav, Bulgarian scholar
- 1575 –Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese military commander (b. 1531)
- 1795 –Sir Henry Clinton, British general (b. 1730)
- 1946 –John A. Sampson, American gynecologist (b. 1873)
- 1946 –Kiki Preston, American socialite (b. 1898)
- 1953 –Lavrenty Beria, Soviet politician (b. 1899)
- 1970 –Charles Ruggles, American actor (b. 1886)
- 1997 –Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (b. 1908)
- 2005 –Norman D. Vaughan, American polar explorer and musher (b. 1905)
- 2007 –William Francis Ganong, American physiologist (b. 1924)
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