On this day: November 23

Events on November 23

• 1635 Dutch pacification campaign on Formosa: Soldiers from the Dutch East India Company razed the village of Mattau, now part of modern-day Tainan, Taiwan. Wikipedia
• 1644 In opposition to licensing and censorship during the English Civil War, John Milton's Areopagitica was published, arguing for the right to free expression. Wikipedia
• 1700 A papal conclave, which had been deadlocked due to concerns over how a successor would respond to the impending death of Charles II of Spain, ended with the election of Clement XI. Wikipedia
• 1733 African slaves in the Danish West Indies began an insurrection in one of the earliest and longest slave revolts in the Americas. Wikipedia
• 1863 American Civil War: Battle of Chattanooga begins: Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant reinforce troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and counter-attack Confederate troops. Wikipedia
• 1867 The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England, for involvement in a scheme to free two Irish nationalists from custody in which a police officer was killed. Wikipedia
• 1876 William "Boss" Tweed, a New York City politician who had been arrested for embezzlement, was handed over to US authorities after having escaped from prison and fled to Spain. Wikipedia
• 1890 King William III of the Netherlands dies without a male heir and a special law is passed to allow his daughter Princess Wilhelmina to succeed him. Wikipedia
• 1924 The New York Times published evidence from Edwin Hubble stating that the Andromeda Nebula, previously believed to be part of the Milky Way, is in fact another galaxy. Wikipedia
• 1940 World War II: Romania becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: The Lotta Svärd Movement is disbanded under the terms of the armistice treaty in Finland after the Continuation War. Wikipedia
• 1959 French President Charles de Gaulle declares in a speech in Strasbourg his vision for "Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals". Wikipedia
• 1963 The first episode of Doctor Who, the world's longest-running science fiction television show, was broadcast on BBC television, starring William Hartnell as the first incarnation of the title role. Wikipedia
• 1976 Jacques Mayol became the first person to freedive to a depth of 100 metres (330 ft). Wikipedia
• 1980 An earthquake struck the Irpinia region of Italy, killing at least 2,483 people, injuring more than 7,700 and leaving 250,000 homeless. Wikipedia
• 1991 Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury announces in a statement that he is HIV-positive. He dies the following day. Wikipedia
• 1996 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is hijacked, then crashes into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 125. Wikipedia
• 2002 Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-113 to the International Space Station carrying the Expedition 6 crew and the P1 truss. Wikipedia
• 2003 Rose Revolution: Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as President of Georgia following weeks of mass protests over disputed election results. Wikipedia
• 2005 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is elected president of Liberia and becomes the first woman to lead an African country. Wikipedia
• 2007 MS Explorer became the first cruise ship to sink in the Southern Ocean. Wikipedia
• 2009 A crowd of people on their way to register Esmael Mangudadatu's candidacy for governor of Maguindanao, Philippines, were kidnapped and killed by supporters of his rival, resulting in 58 deaths. Wikipedia
• 2010 Bombardment of Yeonpyeong: North Korean artillery attack kills two civilians and two marines on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea. Wikipedia
• 2011 Arab Spring: After months of protests in Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to transfer power to Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Wikipedia
• 2018 Founders of Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana issue an apology following a series of offensive advertisements on social media promoting a fashion show in Shanghai, China, which was canceled. Wikipedia
• 2019 The last Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia, Imam, dies, making the species officially extinct in the country. Wikipedia

Born on November 23

• 912 Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 973) Wikipedia
• 1190 Pope Clement IV (died 1268) Wikipedia
• 1221 Alfonso X of Castile (died 1284) Wikipedia
• 1496 Clément Marot, French poet (died 1544) Wikipedia
• 1760 François-Noël Babeuf, French journalist and activist (died 1797) Wikipedia
• 1804 Franklin Pierce, American general, lawyer, and politician, 14th President of the United States (died 1869) Wikipedia
• 1837 Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist and thermodynamicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1923) Wikipedia
• 1860 Hjalmar Branting, Swedish journalist and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Sweden, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1925) Wikipedia
• 1875 Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian journalist and politician (died 1933) Wikipedia
• 1876 Manuel de Falla, Spanish pianist and composer (died 1946) Wikipedia
• 1887 Boris Karloff, English actor (died 1969) Wikipedia
• 1887 Henry Moseley, English physicist and chemist (died 1915) Wikipedia
• 1896 Klement Gottwald, Czechoslovak politician, President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (died 1953) Wikipedia
• 1920 Paul Celan, Romanian-French poet and translator (died 1970) Wikipedia
• 1926 Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philosopher (died 2011) Wikipedia
• 1933 Krzysztof Penderecki, Polish composer and conductor (died 2020) Wikipedia
• 1941 Franco Nero, Italian actor and producer Wikipedia
• 1950 Charles Schumer, American lawyer and politician Wikipedia
• 1962 Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan union leader and politician, President of Venezuela Wikipedia
• 1966 Vincent Cassel, French actor and producer Wikipedia
• 1982 Asafa Powell, Jamaican sprinter Wikipedia
• 1992 Miley Cyrus, American singer-songwriter and actress Wikipedia

Died on November 23

• 955 Eadred, English king (born 923) Wikipedia
• 1572 Bronzino, Italian painter and poet (born 1503) Wikipedia
• 1682 Claude Lorrain, French-Italian painter and engraver (born 1604) Wikipedia
• 1814 Elbridge Gerry, American merchant and politician, 5th Vice President of the United States (born 1744) Wikipedia
• 1890 William III of the Netherlands (born 1817) Wikipedia
• 1937 Jagadish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist, biologist, botanist, and archaeologist (born 1858) Wikipedia
• 1976 André Malraux, French theorist and author (born 1901) Wikipedia
• 1990 Roald Dahl, British novelist, poet, and screenwriter (born 1916) Wikipedia
• 1991 Klaus Kinski, German-American actor and director (born 1926) Wikipedia
• 1995 Louis Malle, French-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1932) Wikipedia
• 2006 Alexander Litvinenko, Russian spy and defector (born 1962) Wikipedia
• 2006 Philippe Noiret, French actor (born 1930) Wikipedia
• 2012 Larry Hagman, American actor, director, and producer (born 1931) Wikipedia
• 2015 Douglass North, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1920) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Alexander Nevsky (Repose, Russian Orthodox Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro – one of Saints of the Cristero War (Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Columbanus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Felicitas of Rome Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Paulinus of Wales Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Pope Clement I (Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Trudo (or Trond) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Wilfetrudis (or Vulfetrude) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: November 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Labor Thanksgiving Day (Japan) Wikipedia
• Repudiation Day (Frederick County, Maryland, United States) Wikipedia
• St George's Day (Georgia) or Giorgoba (Georgia) Wikipedia

Sources

• Wikipedia — “November 23” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/November 23” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — 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) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “November 23” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for November 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.