What are the important events that happened on February 23? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
February 23: Facts & Myths About This Day
February 23 is the 54th day of the year 2021 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 311 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 10, 2021 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,614,038,400 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 ‘pentacontatetragon’ day.
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Pisces is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Amethyst is the modern birthstone for this month. Bloodstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 343 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 2,986 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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February 23 Historical Events
- 303 –Roman Emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
- 1660 –Charles XI becomes King of Sweden.
- 1836 –The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.
- 1918 –First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser’s German troops near Narva and Pskov. In honor of this victory, the date is celebrated from 1923 onward as “Red Army Day”; it is renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is colloquially known as “Men’s Day”.
- 1927 –German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.
- 1945 –World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed in a raid by 379 British bombers.
- 1981 –In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
- 1983 –The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
- 1991 –Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
- 1997 –A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.
Who were born on February 23?
- 1868 –W. E. B. Du Bois, American civil rights leader (d. 1963)
- 1901 –Edgar Ende, German painter (d. 1965)
- 1928 –Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
- 1938 –Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
- 1944 –Johnny Winter, American musician
- 1954 –Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
- 1955 –Flip Saunders, American basketball coach
- 1955 –Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio personality, and writer
- 1974 –Leko, American DJ
- 1982 –Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor
Who died on February 23?
- 155 –Polycarp, Christian bishop of Smyrna (b. 69)
- 1603 –Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
- 1766 –Stanisław I Leszczyński, King of Poland (b. 1677)
- 1800 –Joseph Warton, English literary critic (b. 1722)
- 1934 –Edward Elgar, English composer (b. 1857)
- 1960 –Arthur Legat, Belgian racing driver (b. 1898)
- 1961 –Davey Crockett, American baseball player (b. 1875)
- 1974 –Harry Ruby, American composer and writer (b. 1895)
- 2000 –Stanley Matthews, English footballer (b. 1915)
- 2003 –Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (b. 1910)
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