What Happened on August 23?

All

events

births

deaths

holidays

EVENTS ON AUGUST 23

First Opium War

Year: 1839

The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for the First Opium War with Qing China.

American Civil War

Year: 1864

American Civil War: The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico except Galveston, Texas.

Austro-Prussian War

Year: 1866

The Austro-Prussian War ends with the Treaty of Prague.

Nat Turner's Rebellion

Year: 1831

Nat Turner's rebellion of enslaved Virginians is suppressed.

Battle of Großbeeren

Year: 1813

At the Battle of Großbeeren, the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army.

North Carolina

Year: 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.

Napoleon

Year: 1799

Napoleon Bonaparte leaves Egypt for France en route to seizing power.

Albert Bridge, London

Year: 1873

The Albert Bridge in Chelsea, London opens.

Southern Cross Expedition

Year: 1898

The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Year: 1927

Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after a lengthy, controversial trial.

BIRTHS ON AUGUST 23

Vera Miles

Year of birth: 1930

Vera Miles, American actress

Michel Rocard

Year of birth: 1930

Michel Rocard, French civil servant and politician, 160th Prime Minister of France (died 2016)

Zoltán Czibor

Year of birth: 1929

Zoltán Czibor, Hungarian footballer (died 1997)

Peter Thomson (golfer)

Year of birth: 1929

Peter Thomson, Australian golfer (died 2018)

Dick Bruna

Year of birth: 1927

Dick Bruna, Dutch author and illustrator (died 2017)

Marian Seldes

Year of birth: 1928

Marian Seldes, American actress (died 2014)

Hamilton O. Smith

Year of birth: 1931

Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Barbara Eden

Year of birth: 1931

Barbara Eden, American actress and singer

Robert Curl

Year of birth: 1933

Robert Curl, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2022)

Sonny Jurgensen

Year of birth: 1934

Sonny Jurgensen, American football player and sportscaster

DEATHS ON AUGUST 23

Deodoro da Fonseca

Year of death: 1892

Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (born 1827)

Kuroda Kiyotaka

Year of death: 1900

Kuroda Kiyotaka, Japanese general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1840)

Heinrich Berté

Year of death: 1924

Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (born 1856)

Rudolph Valentino

Year of death: 1926

Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (born 1895)

William Thompson (boxer)

Year of death: 1880

William Thompson, British boxer (born 1811)

Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy

Year of death: 1867

Auguste-Marseille Barthélemy, French poet and author (born 1796)

Alexander Wilson (ornithologist)

Year of death: 1813

Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (born 1766)

Oliver Hazard Perry

Year of death: 1819

Oliver Hazard Perry, American commander (born 1785)

August Neidhardt von Gneisenau

Year of death: 1831

August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Prussian field marshal (born 1760)

Ferenc Kazinczy

Year of death: 1831

Ferenc Kazinczy, Hungarian author and poet (born 1759)

HOLIDAYS ON AUGUST 23

Day of the National Flag (Ukraine)

August 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: August 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

1944 Romanian coup d'état

European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observances: Liberation from Fascist Occupation Day (Romania)