On this day: April 23

Events on April 23

• 1014 The Vikings were defeated by the Irish at the Battle of Clontarf. Wikipedia
• 1014 Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle. Wikipedia
• 1467 Ottoman wars in Europe: Albanian leader Skanderbeg defeated an Ottoman army under Ballaban Badera to raise the siege of Krujë. Wikipedia
• 1724 Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104, illustrating the topic of the Good Shepherd in pastoral music. Wikipedia
• 1815 The Second Serbian Uprising: A second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia
• 1918 First World War: The British Royal Navy launched unsuccessful raids on Ostend and Zeebrugge in German-occupied Belgium. Wikipedia
• 1918 World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. Wikipedia
• 1919 The Estonian Constituent Assembly is held in Estonia, which marks the birth of the Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu. Wikipedia
• 1920 The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the country's unicameral legislature, first met in Ankara in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence. Wikipedia
• 1920 The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara. The assembly denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces the preparation of a temporary constitution. Wikipedia
• 1941 World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht. Wikipedia
• 1942 Second World War: In retaliation for the Royal Air Force's bombing of Lübeck, the Luftwaffe began a series of air raids across England, beginning with Exeter. Wikipedia
• 1945 World War II: Adolf Hitler's designated successor, Hermann Göring, sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of Nazi Germany. Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels advise Göring that the telegram is treasonous. Wikipedia
• 1945 World War II: The US Army's 90th Infantry Division liberated Flossenbürg concentration camp in Germany, freeing 1,500 prisoners. Wikipedia
• 1951 Cold War: American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia. Wikipedia
• 1961 During the Algiers putsch by French generals, President Charles de Gaulle announces he has assumed emergency powers, and calls on troops and civilians to support him. Wikipedia
• 1966 Aeroflot Flight 2723 crashes into the Caspian Sea off the Absheron Peninsula, killing 33 people. Wikipedia
• 1968 Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university. Wikipedia
• 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacre approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Wikipedia
• 1990 Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Wikipedia
• 1993 Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum. Wikipedia
• 1993 Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province. Wikipedia
• 1999 NATO bombs the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia, as part of their aerial campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Wikipedia
• 2005 The first YouTube video, titled "Me at the zoo", is published by co-founder Jawed Karim. Wikipedia
• 2018 A man intentionally struck pedestrians with a van on Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada, leading to 11 deaths. Wikipedia
• 2018 A vehicle-ramming attack kills 11 people and injures 15 in Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested. Wikipedia

Born on April 23

• 1185 Afonso II of Portugal (died 1223) Wikipedia
• 1564 William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet (died 1616) Wikipedia
• 1791 James Buchanan, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of the United States (died 1868) Wikipedia
• 1857 Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (died 1919) Wikipedia
• 1858 Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1947) Wikipedia
• 1867 Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1928) Wikipedia
• 1894 Frank Borzage, American actor and director (died 1962) Wikipedia
• 1897 Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (died 1972) Wikipedia
• 1899 Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1979) Wikipedia
• 1902 Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1998) Wikipedia
• 1907 Lee Miller, American model and photographer (died 1977) Wikipedia
• 1918 Maurice Druon, French author and screenwriter (died 2009) Wikipedia
• 1928 Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (died 2014) Wikipedia
• 1932 Rafał Gan-Ganowicz, Polish mercenary, activist, and journalist (died 2002) Wikipedia
• 1936 Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter (died 1988) Wikipedia
• 1941 Michael Lynne, American film producer, co-founded New Line Cinema (died 2019) Wikipedia
• 1954 Michael Moore, American director, producer, and activist Wikipedia
• 1977 John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor Wikipedia
• 1984 Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess player Wikipedia
• 1990 Dev Patel, English actor Wikipedia
• 1995 Gigi Hadid, American fashion model and television personality Wikipedia
• 2018 Prince Louis of Wales, British royal Wikipedia

Died on April 23

• 303 Saint George, Roman soldier and martyr Wikipedia
• 711 Childebert III, Frankish king (born 670) Wikipedia
• 990 Ekkehard II, Swiss monk and abbot Wikipedia
• 1016 Æthelred the Unready, English son of Edgar the Peaceful (born 968) Wikipedia
• 1200 Zhu Xi, Chinese philosopher (born 1130) Wikipedia
• 1262 Aegidius of Assisi, companion of Saint Francis of Assisi Wikipedia
• 1605 Boris Godunov, Russian ruler (born 1551) Wikipedia
• 1616 William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet (born 1564) Wikipedia
• 1702 Margaret Fell, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (born 1614) Wikipedia
• 1850 William Wordsworth, English poet and author (born 1770) Wikipedia
• 1951 Charles G. Dawes, American banker and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (born 1865) Wikipedia
• 1990 Paulette Goddard, American actress (born 1910) Wikipedia
• 1992 Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1921) Wikipedia
• 2007 Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (born 1931) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Adalbert of Prague Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilleus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Saint George Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Giles of Assisi Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gerard of Toul Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Ibar of Beggerin (Meath) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Toyohiko Kagawa (Episcopal and Lutheran Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Saint George's Day and its related observances: Saint George's Day (Catalonia) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Saint George's Day and its related observances: Saint George's Day (England) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Teresa Maria Manetti Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: April 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Canada Book Day (Canada) Wikipedia
• Castile and León Day (Castile and León) Wikipedia
• International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day Wikipedia
• Khongjom Day (Manipur) Wikipedia
• National Sovereignty and Children's Day (Turkey and Northern Cyprus) Wikipedia
• Navy Day (China) Wikipedia
• World Book Day Wikipedia
• UN English Language Day (United Nations) Wikipedia
• UN Spanish Language Day (United Nations) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “April 23” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.