23 September
September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). There are 99 days remaining. Also an important date in pagan history celebrating fall.
Events
- 490 BC - Battle of Marathon; origin of marathon long-distance race (run by Phidippides)
- 1459 - The Battle of Blore Heath. The first major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, fought at Blore Heath, in Staffordshire, England
- 1529 - Siege of Vienna begins as Suleiman II begins his attack on the city.
- 1642 - First commencement exercises occur at Harvard University.
- 1779 - USS Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, wins a fight against the British ships of war Serapis and Countess of Scarborough off the coast of England
- 1780 - British Major John Andre arrested as a spy by American soldiers
- 1803 - Battle of Assaye
- 1806 - Lewis and Clark return, after exploring the Pacific Northwest.
- 1845 - The Knickerbocker Baseball Club, the first professional baseball team, is founded in New York.
- 1846 - Discovery of Neptune by French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams; verified by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle
- 1868 - Grito de Lares (Lares Revolt) occurs in Puerto Rico against Spanish rule.
- 1875 - William Bonney ("Billy the Kid") is arrested for the first time.
- 1884 - Herman Hollerith patents his mechanical tabulating machine
- 1912 - First Mack Sennett "Keystone Comedy" is released
- 1922 - Gdynia Seaport Construction Act passed by the Polish parliament
- 1932 - The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd renamed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- 1941 - First gas experiments at Auschwitz
- 1952 - Richard Nixon makes his "Checkers" speech
- 1962 - The Jetsons aired for the first time.
- 1969 - The Chicago 8 trial opens in Chicago, Illinois
- 1973 - Juan Peron returns to power in Argentina
- 1981 - Jack Henry Abbott, best-selling author, is arrested for murder
- 1983 - Saint Kitts and Nevis joins the United Nations.
- 1983 - Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa becomes the first boxing world heavyweight champion ever to come from Africa when he knocks out defending WBA champion Michael Dokes in Akron, Ohio.
- 1993 - Sonic the Hedgehog CD is released for the Sega Mega-CD in Japan.
- 1999 - NASA announces that it lost contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter.
- 2002 - Mozilla Firefox (Phoenix) web browser is born: version 0.1
- 2004 - At least 1,070 in Haiti reported killed by floods due to Hurricane Jeanne.
Births
- 480 BC - Euripides, playwright (d. 406 BC)
- 63 BC - Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar
- 1158 - Geoffrey Plantagenet, Duke of Brittany
- 1650 - Jeremy Collier, English bishop (d. 1726)
- 1713 - King Ferdinand VI of Spain
- 1800 - William McGuffy, educator (McGuffy's Readers)
- 1838 - Victoria Woodhull, suffragist (d. 1927)
- 1852 - William Stewart Halsted, surgeon (d. 1922)
- 1863 - Mary Eliza Church Terrell, U.S. writer, social reformer (d. 1954)
- 1865 - Baroness Emmuska Orczy, novelist (The Scarlet Pimpernel) (d. 1947)
- 1889 - Walter Lippmann, journalist
- 1895 - Johnny Mokan, basball player (d. 1985)
- 1897 - Walter Pidgeon, actor (d. 1984)
- 1899 - Louise Nevelson, artist
- 1911 - Frank Moss, U.S. Senator Utah
- 1916 - Aldo Moro, Italian politician (d. 1978)
- 1920 - Mickey Rooney, actor
- 1926 - John Coltrane, saxophonist, composer (d. 1967)
- 1930 - Ray Charles, U.S. R&B and jazz musician, singer (d. 2004)
- 1931 - Gerald Stairs Merrithew, educator, statesman
- 1931 - Pat Suzuki, actor
- 1938 - Romy Schneider, actress (d. 1982)
- 1939 - Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
- 1939 - Roy Buchanan, U.S. guitarist (d. 1988)
- 1942 - Sila María Calderón, Governor of Puerto Rico
- 1943 - Julio Iglesias, singer
- 1945 - Paul Petersen, actor
- 1946 - Franz Fischler, politician
- 1947 - Mary Kay Place, actor
- 1949 - Bruce Springsteen, singer, songwriter
- 1959 - Jason Alexander, actor
- 1959 - Lita Ford, singer, guitarist
- 1959 - Elizabeth Peña, actress
- 1970 - Ani Difranco, musician
Deaths
- 918 - King Conrad I of Germany
- 1241 - Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic historian, poet and politician
- 1835 - Vincenzo Bellini, composer (Norma)
- 1870 - Prosper Mérimée, author
- 1873 - Jean Chacornac, astronomer (b. 1823)
- 1889 - Wilkie Collins, author (The Moonstone)
- 1900 - William Marsh Rice, philanthropist, university founder
- 1939 - Sigmund Freud, psychiatrist (b. 1856)
- 1943 - Elinor Glyn, English author (b. 1864)
- 1950 - Sam Barry, Hall of Fame basketball coach
- 1973 - Pablo Neruda, poet
- 1974 - Cliff Arquette, comedian, actor ("Charley Weaver")
- 1987 - Bob Fosse, dancer, choreographer, actor
- 1988 - Tibor Sekelj, Croatian explorer (b. 1912)
- 1994 - Robert Bloch, author (Psycho)
- 1998 - Mary Frann, actress
- 2000 - Carl Rowan, U.S. journalist (b. 1925)
- 2004 - Andre Hazes, Dutch singer
Holidays and observances
September 22 · September 24 · August 23 · October 23 · more historical anniversaries
