# On this day: December 23

December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years), with 8 days left until the end of the year.

## December 23 in one line

Headline entries for December 23, from Wikipedia: in 1888, During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh severed part of his left ear and gave it to a woman in a brothel in Arles, France; born 1933: Akihito, Emperor of Japan; died 1834: Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and demographer (born 1766). In 2026 it is a Wednesday, in 2027 a Thursday.

## Events on December 23

- 583 Yohl Ikʼnal acceded to the throne of the Maya city-state of Palenque. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yohl_Ik%CA%BCnal)
- 1688 As part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees from England to Paris after being deposed in favor of his son-in-law and nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Revolution)
- 1776 American Revolutionary War: American troops, overwhelmed by British reinforcements, retreated from the Battle of Iron Works Hill. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iron_Works_Hill)
- 1783 George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington's_resignation_as_commander-in-chief)
- 1793 The Battle of Savenay: A decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_the_Vend%C3%A9e)
- 1815 Jane Austen's novel Emma was first published, the last novel released during her lifetime. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_(novel))
- 1823 The poem "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," is published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas)
- 1876 First day of the Constantinople Conference which resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople_Conference)
- 1888 During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh severed part of his left ear and gave it to a woman in a brothel in Arles, France. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh)
- 1893 The opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel_(opera))
- 1914 World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo)
- 1916 First World War: Allied forces gained a strategic victory at the Battle of Magdhaba on the Sinai Peninsula. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Magdhaba)
- 1919 The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act was enacted, lifting most of the existing common-law restrictions on women in the United Kingdom. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Disqualification_(Removal)_Act_1919)
- 1941 World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupies Wake Island. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wake_Island)
- 1947 The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor)
- 1957 Leading the Australia national cricket team, Ian Craig became the youngest-ever Test cricket captain at the time. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Craig)
- 1958 Tokyo Tower, then the world's tallest freestanding tower, opened. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Tower)
- 1970 The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo)
- 1972 The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, surviving by cannibalism. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_Air_Force_Flight_571)
- 1979 Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabul)
- 1984 An engine fire caused Aeroflot Flight 3519 to crash shortly after takeoff from Krasnoyarsk, USSR, killing all but one of the 111 people on board. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_3519)
- 1986 Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_Voyager)
- 1990 About 88 percent of eligible voters in Slovenia voted to secede from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Slovenian_independence_referendum)
- 1997 The Pioneer Helmet, one of only six Anglo-Saxon helmets to be discovered, was first placed on public display. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Helmet)
- 2002 A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-1_Predator)
- 2008 The Guinean military engineered a coup d'état, announcing that it planned to rule the country for two years prior to a new presidential election. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Guinean_coup_d'%C3%A9tat)

## Born on December 23

- 1777 Alexander I of Russia (died 1825) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Russia)
- 1790 Jean-François Champollion, French philologist, orientalist, and scholar (died 1832) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Champollion)
- 1804 Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French author, critic, and academic (died 1869) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Augustin_Sainte-Beuve)
- 1805 Joseph Smith, American religious leader, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (died 1844) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith)
- 1812 Samuel Smiles, Scottish-English author (died 1904) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Smiles)
- 1867 Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist (died 1919) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker)
- 1896 Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Italian lieutenant and author (died 1957) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Tomasi_di_Lampedusa)
- 1902 Charan Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of India (died 1987) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charan_Singh)
- 1911 Niels Kaj Jerne, English-Danish physician and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niels_Kaj_Jerne)
- 1916 Dino Risi, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2008) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_Risi)
- 1918 Helmut Schmidt, German soldier, economist, and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (died 2015) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Schmidt)
- 1929 Chet Baker, American jazz trumpet player, flugelhorn player, and singer (died 1988) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chet_Baker)
- 1933 Akihito, Emperor of Japan [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito)
- 1940 Mamnoon Hussain, Pakistani businessman and politician, 12th President of Pakistan (died 2021) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamnoon_Hussain)
- 1943 Queen Silvia of Sweden [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Silvia_of_Sweden)
- 1945 Adly Mansour, Egyptian lawyer, judge, and politician, President of Egypt [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adly_Mansour)
- 1950 Vicente del Bosque, Spanish footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicente_del_Bosque)
- 1962 Stefan Hell, Romanian-German physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Hell)
- 1963 Donna Tartt, American author [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Tartt)
- 1964 Eddie Vedder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Vedder)
- 1967 Carla Bruni, Italian-French singer-songwriter and model [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla_Bruni)
- 2002 Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor and musician [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finn_Wolfhard)

## Died on December 23

- 679 Dagobert II, Frankish king (probable; b. 650) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagobert_II)
- 918 Conrad I, king of East Francia (born 890) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_I_of_Germany)
- 1230 Berengaria of Navarre, queen of England (born 1165) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berengaria_of_Navarre)
- 1834 Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and demographer (born 1766) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Robert_Malthus)
- 1948 Executions resulting from convictions at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hideki_Tojo)
- 1953 Lavrentiy Beria, Soviet general and politician, head of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (born 1899) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria)
- 1972 Andrei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-104 (born 1888) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Tupolev)
- 2000 Victor Borge, Danish-American comedian, pianist, and conductor (born 1909) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Borge)
- 2004 P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (born 1921) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._V._Narasimha_Rao)
- 2007 Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (born 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Peterson)
- 2013 Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and weapons designer, designed the AK-47 rifle (born 1919) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kalashnikov)
- 2015 Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1941) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_G._Gilman)
- 2021 Joan Didion, American writer (born 1934) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Didion)
- 2024 Dési Bouterse, Surinamese general and politician, 9th President of Suriname (born 1945) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9si_Bouterse)

## Holidays and observances

- Birthday of the Queen Silvia, an official flag flying day (Sweden) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_flying_days_in_Sweden)
- Children's Day (South Sudan and Sudan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day)
- Christian Feast Day: Abassad (Coptic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abassad)
- Christian Feast Day: Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs (Coptic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behnam%2C_Sarah%2C_and_the_Forty_Martyrs)
- Christian Feast Day: Dagobert II [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagobert_II)
- Christian Feast Day: John Cantius [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cantius)
- Christian Feast Day: O Emmanuel [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Antiphons)
- Christian Feast Day: Psote (Coptic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psote)
- Christian Feast Day: Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland; The last day of preparations before Christmas. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas)
- Christian Feast Day: Victoria [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria%2C_Anatolia%2C_and_Audax)
- Christian Feast Day: December 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_23_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Day of all level operational control structures servicemen (Ukraine) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_of_Ukraine)
- Festivus, a secular holiday made popular by the sitcom Seinfeld [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus)
- HumanLight (Secular humanism in United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HumanLight)
- Kisan Diwas (Uttar Pradesh, India) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charan_Singh)
- Night of the Radishes (Oaxaca City, Mexico) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Radishes)
- Tibb's Eve (Newfoundland and Labrador) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibb's_Eve)
- Tom Bawcock's Eve (Mousehole, Cornwall) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Bawcock's_Eve)
- Victory Day (Egypt) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Egypt)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “December 23”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_23) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/December 23”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/December_23) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“December 23”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_23) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_23?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for December 23 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## December 23 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Wednesday | 2026-W52 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2027 | Thursday | 2027-W51 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2028 | Saturday | 2028-W51 | 🌓 First Quarter |
| 2029 | Sunday | 2029-W51 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2030 | Monday | 2030-W52 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on December 23

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on December 23 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← December 22](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-22/) · [December 24 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-24/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/december-23/