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 2021 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 222 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 10, 2021 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 450,480 hours 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.
Hey! How’s your lovelife today? Get a free love reading
with the most frank answers. Start to seize love opportunities in your life! Did I mention it’s F-R-E-E?
(Sponsored link; 18+ only)
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 254 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 3,075 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! (Sponsored link)
May 23 Historical Events
- 1498 –Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy, on the orders of Pope Alexander VI.
- 1568 –The Netherlands declare their independence from Spain.
- 1609 –Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
- 1915 –World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1939 –The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
- 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.
- 1990 –Jordan Mack was born.
- 1995 –Oklahoma City bombing: In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building are imploded.
- 1995 –The first version of the Java programming language is released.
- 1998 –The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
Who were born on May 23?
- 1718 –William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (d. 1783)
- 1790 –Jules Dumont d'Urville, French explorer (d. 1842)
- 1883 –Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (d. 1939)
- 1908 –John Bardeen, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
- 1928 –Pauline Julien, French Canadian singer (d. 1998)
- 1957 –Jimmy McShane, Northern Irish singer (Baltimora) (d. 1995)
- 1965 –Athanasios Skourtopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1965 –Tom Tykwer, German film director
- 1966 –Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Dutch TV host and producer
- 1977 –Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
Who died on May 23?
- 1886 –Leopold von Ranke, German historian (b. 1795)
- 1906 –Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer (b. 1828)
- 1981 –Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
- 1981 –George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1988 –Aya Kitō, Japanese diarist (b. 1962)
- 1992 –Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
- 2006 –Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer (b. 1921)
- 2006 –Lloyd Bentsen, American politician (b. 1921)
- 2010 –Gane Todorovoski, Macedonian literary critic, poet, & publicist (b. 1929)
- 2010 –José Lima, Dominican baseball player (b. 1972)
Holy Toledo! Did you know that coffee and word games are an excellent combination to sharpen your vocabulary? Let’s give it a quick spin. Within 30 seconds, how many words can you think of from these letters SWKEFSAOFCUB? Check your answers here: Word finder SWKEFSAOFCUB. (Sponsored by WordFinder.Cafe)