23 feb is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 311 days remaining until the end of the year (312 in leap years).


Events on this day.
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303 – Roman Emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
532 – Byzantine Emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia.
1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
1554 – Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile.
1739 – Richard Palmer is identified at York Castle, by his former schoolteacher, as the outlaw Dick Turpin.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
1820 – Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
1821 – Alexander Ypsilantis starts the Greek War of Independence in Iași, Wallachia, modern-day Romania.
1836 – The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.
1847 – Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista – In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
1870 – In the United States, post-Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an anti-trust law.
1885 – Sino-French War: French Army captures Dong Dang.
1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall.
1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
1896 – The Tootsie Roll is invented.
1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse", a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
1900 – In South Africa, Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart's Hill.
1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
1905 – Chicago, Illinois attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.
1909 – The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.
1918 – Last monarch of Mecklenburg-Strelitz commits suicide.
1927 – President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.
1927 – German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.
1934 – Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.
1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
1942 – World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the California coastline near Santa Barbara.
1943 – A fire breaks out at St. Joseph's Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, killing 36 people (35 of whom are children).
1943 – Greek Resistance: The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth is founded is Greece.
1944 – The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.
1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
1945 – World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free the captives of the Los Baños internment camp.
1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces.
1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is annihilated in a raid by 379 British bombers.
1947 – The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.
1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
1955 – First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
1958 – Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world F1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
1966 – In Syria, Ba'ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin Hafiz, also a Baathist.
1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
1980 – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
1981 – In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
1998 – In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.
1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
1999 – An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.
2005 – The controversial French law on colonialism is passed, requiring teachers to teach the "positive values of colonialism". After public outcry, it is repealed at the beginning of 2006.
2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit crashes on Guam. It is the first operational loss of a B-2.
2010 – Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, sparking an environmental disaster.





Births



1417 – Pope Paul II (d. 1471)
1443 – Matthias Corvinus, Hungarian king (d. 1490)
1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer (d. 1656)
1633 – Samuel Pepys, English administrator and politician (d. 1703)
1646 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (d. 1709)
1648 – Arabella Churchill, English mistress of James II of England (d. 1730)
1664 – Georg Dietrich Leyding, German composer and organist (d. 1710)
1680 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Canadian politician (d. 1767)
1685 – George Frideric Handel, German-English composer (d. 1759)
1723 – Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (d. 1791)
1729 – Josiah Hornblower, English-American engineer and politician (d. 1809)
1744 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker (d. 1812)
1752 – Simon Knéfacz, Croatian monk and author (d. 1819)
1809 – William Sprague, American minister and politician (d. 1868)
1840 – Carl Menger, Austrian economist (d. 1921)
1840 – Frederick Wicks, English author and inventor (d. 1910)
1842 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher (d. 1906)
1850 – César Ritz, Swiss businessman, founded The Ritz London Hotel and Hôtel Ritz Paris (d. 1918)
1852 – Dục Đức, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1883)
1868 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (d. 1963)
1868 – Anna Hoffman-Uddgren, Swedish actress and director (d. 1947)
1873 – Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (d. 1929)
1874 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian politician, 1st President of Estonia (d. 1956)
1877 – Frederic L. Paxson, American historian (d. 1948)
1878 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and theorist (d. 1935)
1882 – Max Hainle, German swimmer (d. 1961)
1883 – Karl Jaspers, German philosopher (d. 1969)
1886 – Antonio Alice, Argentine painter (d. 1943)
1889 – Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
1889 – Victor Fleming, American director, cinematographer, and producer (d. 1949)
1889 – John Gilbert Winant, American politician, 60th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1947)
1891 – Harold Horder, Australian rugby player (d. 1978)
1892 – Kathleen Harrison, English character actress (d. 1995)
1896 – J. N. Arumugam, Ceylon Tamil civil servant (d. 1960s)
1899 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (d. 1974)
1899 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (d. 1981)
1901 – Edgar Ende, German painter (d. 1965)
1904 – Terence Fisher, English director (d. 1980)
1904 – William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (d. 1993)
1904 – Leopold Trepper, Soviet spy (d. 1982)
1907 – Lee Hyo-seok, South Korean writer (d. 1942)
1908 – William McMahon, Australian politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
1914 – Theofiel Middelkamp, Dutch cyclist (d. 2005)
1915 – Jon Hall, American actor (d. 1979)
1915 – Paul Tibbets, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
1918 – Richard Girnt Butler, American engineer, founded the Aryan Nations (d. 2004)
1919 – William McLean Hamilton, Canadian politician (d. 1989)
1920 – Paul Gérin-Lajoie, Canadian lawyer and politician
1923 – Miljenko Smoje, Croatian journalist (d. 1995)
1923 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay
1923 – Yannis Grivas, Greek judge and politician, 176th Prime Minister of Greece
1923 – Mary Francis Shura, American author (d. 1991)
1924 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African-American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
1924 – Claude Sautet, French director and author (d. 2000)
1924 – Lee Hu-rak, South Korean politician (d. 2009)
1926 – Merv Hunter, Australian politician (d. 2013)
1927 – Régine Crespin, French soprano (d. 2007)
1928 – Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
1928 – Vasily Lazarev, Russian astronaut (d. 1990)
1929 – Jaan Einasto, Estonian astro physicist
1929 – Elston Howard, American baseball player (d. 1980)
1929 – Alexy II of Moscow, Estonian-Russian patriarch (d. 2008)
1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (d. 2004)
1932 – Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (d. 2008)
1933 – Donna J. Stone, American poet (d. 1994)
1935 – Gerrianne Raphael, American actress
1937 – Tom Osborne, American football player, coach, and politician
1938 – Paul Morrissey, American film director
1938 – Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
1940 – Peter Fonda, American actor
1940 – Jackie Smith, American football player
1941 – Ron Hunt, American baseball player
1943 – Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
1943 – Harry Pilling, English cricketer (d. 2012)
1944 – Bernard Cornwell, English author
1944 – John Sandford, American author
1944 – Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1945 – Allan Boesak, South African cleric, politician, and activist
1946 – Rusty Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Poco)
1947 – Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician
1947 – John McWethy, American journalist (d. 2008)
1948 – Doug Moench, American author
1948 – Steve Priest, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Sweet)
1949 – Marc Garneau, Canadian astronaut, engineer, and politician
1950 – Maxi, Irish singer, actor, and radio host
1951 – Ed Jones, American football player
1951 – Patricia Richardson, American actress
1952 – Brad Whitford, American guitarist (Aerosmith and The Joe Perry Project)
1953 – Kenny Bee, Hong Kong singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Wynners)
1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese race car driver
1953 – Walter Wick, American photographer and author
1954 – Rajini Thiranagama, Sri Lankan Tamil physician and academic (d. 1989)
1954 – Viktor Yushchenko, Ukrainian politician, 3rd President of Ukraine
1955 – Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio host, and author
1955 – Howard Jones, English singer-songwriter
1955 – Flip Saunders, American basketball player and coach
1957 – Ria Brieffies, Dutch singer (Dolly Dots) (d. 2009)
1957 – Viktor Markin, Russian runner
1958 – David Sylvian, English singer-songwriter (Japan and Nine Horses)
1959 – Clayton Anderson, American astronaut and engineer
1959 – Richard Dodds, English field hockey player
1960 – Alan Griffin, Australian politician
1960 – Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan
1960 – Ivan Vdović, Yugoslavian drummer (Suncokret, Šarlo Akrobata, Supernaut, and Ekatarina Velika) (d. 1992)
1962 – Michael Wilton, American guitarist (Queensrÿche and Soulbender)
1962 – Ahn Byeong-Keun, South Korean judoka Olympian
1963 – Bobby Bonilla, American baseball player
1963 – Radosław Sikorski, Polish journalist and politician, 11th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
1964 – David E. Clemmer, American chemist
1964 – John Norum, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter (Europe)
1965 – Michael Dell, American businessman, founded Dell
1965 – Ashok Kamte, Indian police officer (d. 2008)
1965 – Helena Suková, Czech tennis player
1966 – Mark Abrahamian, American guitarist (Starship) (d. 2012)
1967 – Hélène Darroze, French chef
1967 – Tamsin Greig, English actress
1967 – Chris Vrenna, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker, Die Warzau, and Exotic Birds)
1968 – Justin Bell, English race car driver
1969 – Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer
1969 – Daymond John, American fashion designer, founded FUBU
1969 – Marc Wauters, Belgian cyclist
1970 – Marie-Josée Croze, Canadian actress
1970 – Niecy Nash, American actress
1971 – Jung Chan, South Korean actor
1971 – Risto Kallaste, Estonian footballer
1971 – Arvo Kraam, Estonian footballer
1971 – Don Maxwell, Canadian cricketer
1971 – Melinda Messenger, English model and television host
1971 – Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player
1972 – Steve Holy, American singer
1972 – Alessandro Sturba, Italian footballer
1972 – Rondell White, American baseball player
1973 – Lars-Olof Johansson, Swedish guitarist (The Cardigans)
1973 – Peng Weijun, Chinese soccer player
1973 – Jason_Boyd_(baseball), American baseball player
1973 – Jeff Nordgaard, American/Polish basketball player
1973 – Arnold Dwarika, Trinidadian soccer player
1973 – Tatyana Gracheva, Russian volleyball player
1973 – Brad Young, Australian cricket player
1974 – Leko, American DJ and producer
1974 – Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer
1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor
1975 – Robert Lopez, American composer
1975 – Maryse Turcotte, Canadian weightlifter
1975 – Natalia Verbeke, Argentinian actress
1976 – Scott Elarton, American baseball player
1976 – Kelly Macdonald, Scottish actress
1976 – Jeff O'Neill, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Satoshi Yoneyama, Japanese wrestler
1976 – Irina Zahharenkova, Estonian pianist
1977 – Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, Estonian skier
1978 – Residente, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter (Calle 13)
1978 – Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
1979 – Sascha Zacharias, Swedish actress
1979 – S. E. Cupp, American author and talk show host
1981 – Gareth Barry, English footballer
1981 – Mai Nakahara, Japanese voice actress
1981 – Charles Tillman, American football player
1981 – Dylan Ryder, American pornographic actress
1982 – Karan Singh Grover, Indian actor
1982 – Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor
1982 – Malia Metella, French swimmer
1983 – Mido, Egyptian footballer
1983 – Aziz Ansari, American comedian and actor
1983 – Mirco Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
1983 – Emily Blunt, English actress
1983 – Courtney Culkin, American model
1986 – Emerson da Conceição, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Skylar Grey, American singer-songwriter
1986 – Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor (KAT-TUN and Shūji to Akira)
1986 – Boipelo Makhothi, Lesotho swimmer
1986 – Jerod Mayo, American football player
1986 – Ola Svensson, Swedish singer-songwriter
1988 – Nicolás Gaitán, Argentinian footballer
1989 – Evan Bates, American ice dancer
1989 – Amara Baby, French footballer
1990 – Kevin Cheung, Mauritian swimmer
1992 – Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
1993 – Kasumi Ishikawa, Japanese table tennis player
1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress
1995 – Andrew Wiggins, Canadian basketball player
2012 – Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland



Deaths

943 – Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
1011 – Willigis, German archbishop (b. 940)
1100 – Emperor Zhezong of Song (b. 1076)
1270 – Isabel of France (b. 1225)
1447 – Pope Eugene IV (b. 1383)
1447 – Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
1464 – Zhengtong Emperor of China (b. 1427)
1554 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician (b. 1515)
1572 – Pierre Certon, French composer (b. 1510)
1603 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
1669 – Lieuwe van Aitzema, Dutch historian and diplomat (b. 1600)
1704 – Georg Muffat, French composer (b. 1653)
1766 – Stanisław Leszczyński, Polish king (b. 1677)
1781 – George Taylor, Irish-American politician, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (b. 1716)
1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter (b. 1723)
1800 – Joseph Warton, English academic and critic (b. 1722)
1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)
1848 – John Quincy Adams, American politician, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)
1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1777)
1859 – Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish poet (b. 1812)
1879 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister-President of Prussia (b. 1803)
1897 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer (b. 1828)
1908 – Friedrich von Esmarch, German surgeon (b. 1823)
1918 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1882)
1922 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish physicist (b. 1845)
1925 – Samuel Berger, American boxer (b. 1884)
1930 – Horst Wessel, German SA officer (b. 1907)
1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano (b. 1861)
1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer (b. 1857)
1944 – Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist (b. 1863)
1946 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (b. 1885)
1948 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-American publisher (b. 1866)
1955 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
1957 – Marika Ninou, Greek singer (b. 1918)
1960 – Arthur Legat, Belgian race car driver (b. 1898)
1961 – Davey Crockett, American baseball player (b. 1875)
1965 – Stan Laurel, English actor and director (b. 1890)
1969 – Madhubala, Indian actress (b. 1933)
1970 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (b. 1904)
1973 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
1974 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (b. 1895)
1976 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (b. 1887)
1979 – W. A. C. Bennett, Canadian politician, 25th Premier of British Columbia (b. 1900)
1983 – Herbert Howells, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
1984 – Jessamyn West, American author (b. 1902)
1990 – José Napoleón Duarte, Salvadoran politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1925)
1992 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek politician (b. 1906)
1995 – Melvin Franklin, American singer (The Temptations) (b. 1942)
1995 – James Herriot, English veterinary surgeon and author (b. 1916)
1996 – William Bonin, American serial killer and sex offender (b. 1947)
1996 – Paul Saagpakk, Estonian linguist (b. 1910)
1997 – Tony Williams, American drummer, composer, and producer (The Tony Williams Lifetime) (b. 1945)
1999 – Carlos Hathcock, American sniper (b. 1942)
1999 – Rick Wilson, American wrestler (b. 1965)
2000 – Ofra Haza, Israeli singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1957)
2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer (b. 1915)
2001 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2003 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) (b. 1955)
2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (b. 1910)
2003 – Titos Vandis, Greek actor (b. 1917)
2004 – Vijay Anand, Indian director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1934)
2004 – Carl Anderson, American singer and actor (b. 1945)
2004 – Neil Ardley, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
2004 – Sikander Bakht, Indian politician (b. 1918)
2004 – Don Cornell, American singer (b. 1919)
2004 – Carl Liscombe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915)
2006 – Benno Besson, Swiss actor and director (b. 1922)
2006 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
2007 – Donnie Brooks, American singer (b. 1936)
2007 – John Ritchie, English footballer (b. 1941)
2008 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (b. 1950)
2008 – Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot (b. 1916)
2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (b. 1917)
2008 – Denis Lazure, Canadian politician (b. 1925)
2010 – Orlando Zapata, Cuban plumber and activist (b. 1967)
2011 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (b. 1923)
2012 – Peter King, English footballer (b. 1964)
2013 – Eugene Bookhammer, American politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (b. 1918)
2013 – Joan Child, Australian politician, 19th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives (b. 1921)
2013 – Donald A. Haggar, American lawyer, businessman, and politician (b. 1924)
2013 – George A. Hamid, Jr., American businessman (b. 1918)
2013 – Paul McIlhenny, American businessman (b. 1944)
2013 – Mary Ann McMorrow, American judge (b. 1930)
2013 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (b. 1920)
2013 – Sylvia Smith, English author (b. 1945)
2013 – Richard Worsley, English general (b. 1923)


Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:
Polycarp of Smyrna (Catholic Church)
Blessed Isabelle of France
Serenus the Gardener
February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki, (commemoration, Anglicanism)
Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)
National Day (Brunei)
Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy in the former Soviet Union, also held in various former Soviet republics:
Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia)
Terminalia held in honor of Terminus (Ancient Rome)