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 144th day of the year 2020 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 222 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 10, 2020 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,590,192,000 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 ‘hectatetracontatetragon’ 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 265 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 2,710 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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May 23 Historical Events
- 1533 –The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
- 1609 –Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
- 1618 –The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years’ War.
- 1813 –South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador (“The Liberator”).
- 1900 –American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney becomes the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor, for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
- 1915 –World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1934 –The Auto-Lite Strike culminates in the “Battle of Toledo”, a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
- 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?
- 1617 –Elias Ashmole, English antiquarian (d. 1692)
- 1834 –Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter (d. 1890)
- 1884 –Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist (d. 1965)
- 1917 –Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
- 1939 –Jack McCarthy, American poet
- 1943 –Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
- 1956 –Mark Shaw, New Zealand rugby footballer
- 1966 –Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 –Jacopo Gianninoto, Italian musician
- 1977 –Annabel Kosten, Dutch freestyle swimmer
Who died on May 23?
- 1304 –Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
- 1524 –Ismail I, Shah of Persia (b. 1487)
- 1815 –Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
- 1934 –Bonnie Parker, American outlaw (b. 1910)
- 1949 –Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter (b. 1872)
- 1967 –Lionel Groulx, French Canadian priest and historian (b. 1878)
- 1991 –Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
- 1994 –Joe Pass, American jazz guitarist (b. 1929)
- 2002 –Sam Snead, American golfer (b. 1912)
- 2003 –Jean Yanne, French actor and director (b. 1933)
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