Vintage News · Odd history for August 23

What Happened On August 23

Q: What happened on August 23?

1923: Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter perform the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours. 1898: The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departed London. 1898: The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London. 1839: The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for the First Opium War with Qing China. 1784: Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years. 1572: French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. 2006: Natascha Kampusch (pictured), who had been abducted at the age of ten in Vienna, escaped from her captor's house in Strasshof an der Nordbahn after more than eight years in captivity. 1933: The Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane made landfall in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and went on to cause at least 47 deaths in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. 1914: In their first major action of the First World War, the British Expeditionary Force engaged German troops in Mons, Belgium. 2023: Chandrayaan-3 mission initiates first Moon landing in Indian history.

70 events and 250 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 23 August →

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10 odd things that happened on August 23

1923 First ever
Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter perform the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1898 First ever
The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departed London.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1898 First ever
The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1839 First ever
The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for the First Opium War with Qing China.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1784 Oddly true
Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1572 Oddly true
French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2006 Oddly true
Natascha Kampusch (pictured), who had been abducted at the age of ten in Vienna, escaped from her captor's house in Strasshof an der Nordbahn after more than eight years in captivity.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1933 Oddly true
The Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane made landfall in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and went on to cause at least 47 deaths in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1914 First ever
In their first major action of the First World War, the British Expeditionary Force engaged German troops in Mons, Belgium.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2023 First ever
Chandrayaan-3 mission initiates first Moon landing in Indian history.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2023Chandrayaan-3 mission initiates first Moon landing in Indian history. Wikipedia →
2023A business jet carrying key leadership members of the Russian private military company Wagner Group crashes, killing all ten people on board. Wikipedia →
2013A riot at the Palmasola prison complex in Santa Cruz, Bolivia kills 31 people. Wikipedia →
2012A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, killing six people and injuring 28 others. Wikipedia →
2011A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate) earthquake occurs in Virginia. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington, D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at 200 million–300 million USD. Wikipedia →
2011Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War. Wikipedia →
2010The Manila hostage crisis occurs near the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, Philippines, killing 9 people including the perpetrator while injuring 9 others. Wikipedia →
2007The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia. Wikipedia →
2006Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of ten, escapes from her captor Wolfgang Přiklopil, after eight years of captivity. Wikipedia →
2000Gulf Air Flight 072 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143. Wikipedia →
1994Eugene Bullard, the only African American pilot in World War I, is posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Wikipedia →
1991The World Wide Web is opened to the public. Wikipedia →
1990Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War. Wikipedia →
1990Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union. Wikipedia →
1990West and East Germany announce that they will reunite on October 3. Wikipedia →
1989Singing Revolution: Two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius–Tallinn road, holding hands. Wikipedia →
1985Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany. Wikipedia →
1977Waylon Jennings arrested in a drug raid. Wikipedia →
1975The start of the Wave Hill walk-off by Gurindji people in Australia, lasting eight years, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 Paul Kelly song and an annual celebration. Wikipedia →
1975The Pontiac Silverdome opens in Pontiac, Michigan, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Detroit, Michigan. Wikipedia →
1973A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term "Stockholm syndrome". Wikipedia →
1970Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins. Wikipedia →
1966Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon. Wikipedia →
1958Chinese Civil War: The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of Quemoy. Wikipedia →
1954The first flight of the Lockheed C-130 multi-role aircraft takes place. Wikipedia →
1954The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departs from Marseille, France. Wikipedia →
1948The World Council of Churches is formed by 147 churches from 44 countries. Wikipedia →
1946Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German Länder (states) of Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: Soviet–Japanese War: The USSR State Defense Committee issues Decree no. 9898cc "About Receiving, Accommodation, and Labor Utilization of the Japanese Army Prisoners of War". Wikipedia →
1944World War II: Marseille is liberated by the Allied forces. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-Nazi government of Marshal Antonescu, who is later arrested. Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies. Wikipedia →
1944Freckleton air disaster: A United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England, killing 61 people. Wikipedia →
1943World War II: Kharkiv is liberated by the Soviet Red Army for the second time after the Battle of Kursk. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad. Wikipedia →
1939World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret protocol to the pact, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania are divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence". Wikipedia →
1929Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attacks on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine occur, continuing until the next day, resulting in the death of 65–68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city. Wikipedia →
1927Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after a lengthy, controversial trial. Wikipedia →
1923Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter perform the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours. Wikipedia →
1921British airship R-38 experiences structural failure over Hull in England and crashes in the Humber Estuary; of her 49 British and American training crew, only four survive. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: The British Expeditionary Force and the French Fifth Army begin their Great Retreat before the German Army. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: Japan declares war on Germany. Wikipedia →
1904The automobile tire chain is patented. Wikipedia →
1898The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London. Wikipedia →
1873The Albert Bridge in Chelsea, London opens. Wikipedia →
1866The Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague. Wikipedia →
1864American Civil War: The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico except Galveston, Texas. Wikipedia →
1839The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for the First Opium War with Qing China. Wikipedia →
1831Nat Turner's rebellion of enslaved Virginians is suppressed. Wikipedia →
1813At the Battle of Großbeeren, the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army. Wikipedia →
1799Napoleon Bonaparte leaves Egypt for France en route to seizing power. Wikipedia →
1784Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years. Wikipedia →
1782British forces under Edward Despard complete the reconquest of the Black River settlements on the Mosquito Coast from the Spanish. Wikipedia →
1775American Revolutionary War: King George III delivers his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion. Wikipedia →
1703Edirne event: Sultan Mustafa II of the Ottoman Empire is dethroned. Wikipedia →
1655Battle of Sobota: The Swedish Empire led by Charles X Gustav defeats the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Wikipedia →
1628George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, is assassinated by John Felton. Wikipedia →
1600Battle of Gifu Castle: The eastern forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the western Japanese clans loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori, leading to the destruction of Gifu Castle and serving as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara. Wikipedia →
1595Long Turkish War: Wallachian prince Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Călugăreni and achieves a tactical victory. Wikipedia →
1572French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Wikipedia →
1541French explorer Jacques Cartier lands near Quebec City in his third voyage to Canada. Wikipedia →
1521Christian II of Denmark is deposed as king of Sweden and Gustav Vasa is elected regent. Wikipedia →
1514The Battle of Chaldiran ends with a decisive victory for the Sultan Selim I, Ottoman Empire, over the Shah Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty. Wikipedia →
1382The Golden Horde, led by Khan Tokhtamysh, begins the Siege of Moscow, which ends four days later with the storming of the city and the death of Muscovite Prince Ostei. Wikipedia →
1328Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers. Wikipedia →
1305William Wallace is put on trial and subsequently hanged, drawn and quartered. Wikipedia →
1268The Battle of Tagliacozzo: The army of Prince Conradin is nearly destroyed by Charles of Anjou, ending Hohenstaufen control over the Kingdom of Sicily and leaving the Angevins in control. Wikipedia →
1244Siege of Jerusalem: The city surrenders to the Khwarazmiyya, ending Christian control of Jerusalem for the next 672 years. Wikipedia →
476Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic – Scirian foederati), is proclaimed rex Italiae ("King of Italy") by his troops. Wikipedia →
406The Western Roman army under Stilicho corners and defeats the Ostrogothic army in the battle of Faesulae. Wikipedia →
79Mount Vesuvius begins stirring, on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.