What are the important events that happened on May 23? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
May 23: Facts & Myths About This Day
May 23 is the 143rd day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 222 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 10, 2025 – a Friday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,747,958,400 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 ‘hectatetracontatrigon’ day.
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Gemini is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 270 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 4,536 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
Do people and celebrities interest you? Discover all the May 23 famous birthdays who share your special day. Learn some fun facts about your birthday!
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May 23 Historical Events
- 1568 –The Netherlands declare their independence from Spain.
- 1701 –After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
- 1788 –South Carolina ratifies the Constitution as the 8th American state.
- 1805 –Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Cathedral of Milan.
- 1915 –World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1945 –World War II: The Flensburg government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces at Flensburg in Northern Germany.
- 1951 –Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with the People’s Republic of China.
- 1958 –Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
- 1990 –Jordan Mack was born.
- 1995 –The first version of the Java programming language is released.
Who were born on May 23?
- 1734 –Franz Anton Mesmer, Austrian physician/hypnotist (d. 1815)
- 1884 –Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist (d. 1965)
- 1890 –Herbert Marshall, English actor (d. 1966)
- 1896 –Felix Martin Julius Steiner, German Waffen-SS officer (d. 1966)
- 1913 –Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican singer
- 1928 –Pauline Julien, French Canadian singer (d. 1998)
- 1958 –Mitch Albom, American writer
- 1978 –Mike González, American baseball player
- 1981 –Gwenno Saunders, Welsh dancer and singer (The Pipettes)
- 1985 –Wim Stroetinga, Dutch racing cyclist
Who died on May 23?
- 1498 –Girolamo Savonarola, Italian religious reformer and ruler of Florence (b. 1452)
- 1670 –Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
- 1783 –James Otis, American lawyer and patriot (b. 1725)
- 1934 –Bonnie Parker, American outlaw (b. 1910)
- 1937 –John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1839)
- 1981 –George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1992 –Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
- 2006 –Clifford Antone, American businessman (b. 1949)
- 2006 –Ian Copeland, American music promoter (b. 1949)
- 2010 –Leonida Georgievna, Grand Duchess of Russia (b. 1914)
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