April 23 is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 252 days remaining until the end of the year.
This day is celebrated as St. George's Day in England, and as the day of the birth and death of William Shakespeare. For this reason, the 23rd of April is celebrated as "Shakespeare Day."
Events
- 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
- 1014 – Battle of Clontarf: Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
- 1016 – Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as king of England,
- 1343 – Estonia: St. George's Night Uprising.
- 1348 – The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St George's Day.
- 1521 – Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
- 1635 – The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1660 – Treaty of Oliwa is established between Sweden and Poland.
- 1661 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
- 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.
- 1910 – Theodore Roosevelt made his The Man in the Arena speech.
- 1918 – World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
- 1920 – The national council in Turkey denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces a temporary constitution.
- 1920 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara.
- 1927 – Turkey becomes the first country to celebrate Children's Day as a national holiday.
- 1932 – The 153-year old De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, Netherlands burns down. It is rebuilt and reopens exactly 70 years later.
- 1935 – The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
- 1940 – The Rhythm Night Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
- 1941 – World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
- 1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
- 1945 – Adolf Hitler's designated successor Hermann Göring sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of the Third Reich, which causes Hitler to replace him with Joseph Goebbels and Karl Dönitz.
- 1946 – Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
- 1949 – Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
- 1951 – American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
- 1955 – The Canadian Labour Congress is formed by the merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour.
- 1961 – Algiers putsch by French generals.
- 1967 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) is a manned spaceflight, Launched into orbit carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
- 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacred approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
- 1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.
- 1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1993 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
- 1993 – Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately 4 weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province.
- 1997 – Omaria massacre in Algeria: 42 villagers are killed.
Births
- 1141 – Malcolm IV of Scotland (d. 1165)
- 1170 – Isabelle of Hainaut (d. 1190)
- 1185 – Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
- 1464 – Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1505)
- 1484 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian philosopher (d. 1558)
- 1500 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian (d. 1565)
- 1516 – Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
- 1564 – William Shakespeare, English writer and actor (d. 1616)
- 1598 – Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
- 1621 – William Penn, English admiral (d. 1670)
- 1628 – Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (d. 1704)
- 1676 – Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
- 1715 – Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer (d. 1797)
- 1720 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (d. 1797)
- 1725 – Saint Gerard Majella, Roman Catholic saint (d. 1755)
- 1746 – Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
- 1775 – J. M. W. Turner, English painter (d. 1851)
- 1791 – James Buchanan, American politician, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
- 1792 – John Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
- 1794 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar (d. 1856)
- 1805 – Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher (d. 1879)
- 1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, American senator (d. 1861)
- 1813 – Frédéric Ozanam, French scholar (d. 1853)
- 1823 – Abd-ul-Mejid I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1861)
- 1853 – Winthrop M. Crane, American politician, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
- 1857 – Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
- 1858 – Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
- 1858 – Ethel Mary Smyth, English composer (d. 1944)
- 1861 – Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, British general (d. 1936)
- 1861 – John Peltz, American baseball player (d. 1906)
- 1865 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
- 1867 – Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Danish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1928)
- 1872 – Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, British harpsichordist and clavichordist (d. 1951)
- 1876 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian (d. 1925)
- 1880 – Michel Fokine, Russian choreographer and dancer (d. 1942)
- 1882 – Albert Coates, English conductor and composer (d. 1953)
- 1888 – Georges Vanier, French-Canadian soldier and diplomat (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
- 1891 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer (d. 1953)
- 1893 – Frank Borzage, American director (d. 1952)
- 1894 – Cow Cow Davenport, American pianist (d. 1955)
- 1895 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand writer (d. 1982)
- 1895 – Johnny Hyde, Russian-American talent agent (d. 1950)
- 1897 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (d. 1978)
- 1897 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese doctor, inventor of Yakult (d. 1982)
- 1900 – Joseph Green, Polish actor and director (d. 1996)
- 1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (d. 1959)
- 1901 – Edmund Brisco Ford, British ecological geneticist (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1903 – Guy Simonds, Canadian general officer (d. 1974)
- 1904 – Duncan Renaldo, Spanish-American actor (d. 1985)
- 1904 – Louis Muhlstock, Canadian painter (d. 2001)
- 1907 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Lee Miller, American photographer and model (d. 1977)
- 1908 – Myron Waldman, American animator (d. 2006)
- 1910 – Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
- 1911 – Ronald Neame, English cinematographer, producer, screenwriter, and director (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Arnold Alexander Hall, British aeronautical engineer, scientist, and industrialist (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Dorian Leigh, American model (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Maurice Druon, French author (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Oleg Penkovsky, Soviet double-agent (d. 1963)
- 1921 – Janet Blair, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Marjorie Cameron, American writer, painter, actress, and occultist (d. 1995)
- 1922 – Jack May, English actor (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Dolph Briscoe, American politician, Governor of Texas (d. 2010)
- 1923 – Avram Davidson, American writer (d. 1993)
- 1923 – Antonino Rocca, Italian wrestler (d. 1977)
- 1924 – Chuck Harmon, American baseball player
- 1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer, percussionist, and bandleader (d. 2007)
- 1926 – J. P. Donleavy, Irish-American author
- 1926 – Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (d. 1990)
- 1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress and politician
- 1930 – Alan Oppenheimer, American actor
- 1932 – Jim Fixx, American athlete and writer (d. 1984)
- 1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
- 1934 – George Canseco, Filipino composer (d. 2004)
- 1935 – Bunky Green, American jazz saxophonist and educator
- 1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter and musician (Traveling Wilburys) (d. 1988)
- 1938 – S. Janaki, Indian singer
- 1939 – Jorge Fons, Mexican director
- 1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
- 1939 – Ray Peterson, American singer (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Michael Copps, American Federal Government official
- 1940 – Dale Houston, American singer (d. 2007)
- 1941 – Jacqueline Boyer, French singer and actress
- 1941 – Paavo Lipponen, Finnish politician and reporter, Prime Minister of Finland
- 1941 – Michael Lynne, American film executive
- 1942 – Sandra Dee, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1943 – Gail Goodrich, American basketball player
- 1943 – Tony Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1943 – Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
- 1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
- 1944 – Jean-François Stévenin, French actor
- 1947 – Glenn Cornick, British musician (Jethro Tull and Paris)
- 1947 – Bernadette Devlin, Irish politician
- 1948 – Pascal Quignard, French author
- 1948 – Serge Thériault, French-Canadian comedian and actor
- 1949 – David Cross, British violinist (King Crimson)
- 1949 – Joyce DeWitt, American actress
- 1952 – Narada Michael Walden, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
- 1953 – James Russo, American actor
- 1954 – Michael Moore, American filmmaker
- 1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
- 1955 – Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
- 1955 – Fumi Hirano, Japanese voice actress and essayist
- 1957 – Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer, and art director
- 1957 – Jan Hooks, American actress
- 1957 – Kenji Kawai, Japanese composer
- 1958 – Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic composer
- 1958 – Gene Scheer, American opera librettist and songwriter
- 1958 – Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
- 1960 – Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (d. 1991)
- 1960 – Claude Julien, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Terry Gordy, American wrestler (d. 2001)
- 1961 – George Lopez, American actor and comedian
- 1962 – John Hannah, Scottish actor
- 1963 – Paul Belmondo, French actor and race car driver
- 1963 – Magnús Ver Magnússon, Icelandic powerlifter
- 1966 – Jim Stynes, Irish-Australian footballer (d. 2012)
- 1967 – Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
- 1967 – Kim Hee-ae, South Korean actress
- 1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
- 1968 – Princess Aisha bint Al Hussein
- 1968 – Princess Zein bint Al Hussein
- 1968 – Ken McRae, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, committed the Oklahoma City Bombing (d. 2001)
- 1969 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
- 1969 – Byron Thames, American actor
- 1969 – Richard Wolstencroft, Australian filmmaker
- 1969 – Martin López-Zubero, Spanish swimmer
- 1969 – Arthur Phillips, American author
- 1970 – Scott Bairstow, Canadian actor
- 1970 – Andrew Gee, Australian rugby player
- 1970 – Dennis Culp, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (Five Iron Frenzy and Brave Saint Saturn)
- 1970 – Sadao Abe, Japanese actor
- 1970 – Hans Välimäki, Finnish cook
- 1971 – Charmaine Sinclair, English model
- 1971 – Uli Herzner, German-American fashion designer
- 1972 – Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet
- 1972 – Patricia Manterola, Mexican singer, actress, model, and fashion designer
- 1972 – Sonya Smith, American actress
- 1973 – Patrick Poulin, French-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Carlos Dengler, American musician (Interpol)
- 1974 – Michael Kerr, New Zealand-German rugby player
- 1974 – Barry Watson, American actor
- 1975 – Jónsi, Icelandic musician and singer (Sigur Rós and Jónsi & Alex)
- 1975 – Bobby Shaw, American football player
- 1977 – John Cena, American wrestler and actor
- 1977 – Andruw Jones, Curaçaoan baseball player
- 1977 – Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Kal Penn, American actor
- 1977 – Lee Young-Pyo, Korean footballer
- 1977 – John Oliver, English comedian
- 1979 – Barry Fratelli, Scottish bassist (The Fratellis)
- 1979 – Yana Gupta, Indian actress and model
- 1979 – Joanna Krupa, Polish-American model and actress
- 1979 – Jaime King, American actress
- 1979 – Samppa Lajunen, Finnish Nordic combined athlete
- 1979 – Lauri Ylönen, Finnish singer (The Rasmus)
- 1981 – Sean Henn, American baseball player
- 1981 – Chris Sharma, American rock climber
- 1981 – Seka Aleksic, Serbian singer, actress, and fashion designer
- 1983 – Daniela Hantuchová, Slovakian tennis player
- 1983 – Taio Cruz, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1983 – Aaron Hill, American actor
- 1984 – Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess player
- 1985 – Angel Locsin, Filipina actress
- 1986 – Sven Kramer, Dutch speedskater
- 1986 – Jessica Stam, Canadian model
- 1987 – John Boye, Ghanaian footballer
- 1987 – Emily Fox, American cup stacker and basketball player
- 1987 – Boaz Mauda, Israeli singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer
- 1988 – Prince Buaben, Ghanaian footballer
- 1988 – Molly Burnett, American actress
- 1988 – Erica Mer, American actress
- 1988 – Signe Ronka, Canadian figure skater and actress
- 1988 – Lenka Wienerová, Slovak tennis player
- 1989 – Anastasia Baranova, Russian-American actress
- 1989 – Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player
- 1990 – Dev Patel, English actor
- 1990 – Pikky Ya France, Namibian cricketer
- 1990 – Matthew Underwood, American actor
- 1991 – Nathan Baker, English Footballer
- 1993 – Rina Chikano, Japanese singer (AKB48)
- 1996 – Charlie Rowe, English actor
- 1997 – Alex Ferris, Canadian actor
Deaths
- 303 – Saint George, Roman soldier and Christian martyr
- 725 – Wihtred of Kent
- 871 – Æthelred of Wessex
- 997 – Adalbert of Prague, Czech Roman Catholic saint, missionary, and Bishop of Prague
- 1014 – Brian Boru, Irish king
- 1016 – Æthelred the Unready, English king
- 1124 – Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078)
- 1151 – Adeliza of Louvain (b. 1103)
- 1217 – Inge II of Norway (b. 1185)
- 1307 – Joan of Acre, daughter of King Edward I of England (b. 1272)
- 1407 – Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326)
- 1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. c. 1550)
- 1616 – Miguel Cervantes, Spanish author (b. 1547)
- 1616 – El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Peruvian writer (b. 1539)
- 1616 – William Shakespeare, English dramatist and actor (b. 1564)
- 1625 – Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (b. 1567)
- 1702 – Margaret Fell, English Quaker leader (b. 1614)
- 1740 – Thomas Tickell, English writer (b. 1685)
- 1781 – James Abercrombie, English general (b. 1706)
- 1784 – Solomon I of Imereti (b. 1735)
- 1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer (b. 1741)
- 1794 – Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (b. 1721)
- 1827 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek military commander (b. 1780)
- 1839 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French explorer (b. 1768)
- 1850 – William Wordsworth, English poet (b. 1770)
- 1889 – Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, French writer (b. 1808)
- 1895 – Carl Ludwig, German physician (b. 1815)
- 1905 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian politician (b. 1823)
- 1907 – Alferd Packer, American prospector (b. 1842)
- 1915 – Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887)
- 1936 – Teresa de la Parra, Venezuelan writer (b. 1889)
- 1951 – Jules Berry, French actor (b. 1883)
- 1951 – Charles G. Dawes, American banker and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- 1965 – George Adamski, Polish-American author, teacher, and ufologist (b. 1891)
- 1975 – William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1979 – Blair Peach, New Zealand teacher and activist (b. 1946)
- 1981 – Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and writer (b. 1897)
- 1983 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908)
- 1984 – Red Garland, American jazz pianist (Miles Davis Quintet) (b. 1923)
- 1985 – Sam Ervin, American politician (b. 1896)
- 1986 – Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Jim Laker, English cricketer (b. 1922)
- 1986 – Otto Preminger, Austrian director (b. 1906)
- 1990 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and musician (New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers) (b. 1952)
- 1992 – Satyajit Ray, Indian filmmaker (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Tanka Prasad Acharya, Nepalese statesman (b. 1912)
- 1993 – César Chávez, American labor activist (b. 1927)
- 1995 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian politician (b. 1895)
- 1995 – Howard Cosell, American attorney and sportscaster (b. 1918)
- 1995 – John C. Stennis, American politician (b. 1904)
- 1996 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian military officer (b. 1913)
- 1996 – P. L. Travers, Australian author (b. 1899)
- 1997 – Denis Compton, English cricketer (b. 1918)
- 1998 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek politician (b. 1907)
- 1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1928)
- 1998 – Thanassis Skordalos, Greek musician and composer (b. 1920)
- 2003 – James H. Critchfield, American CIA officer (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French photographer (b. 1910)
- 2005 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Australian politician (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Robert Farnon, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Al Grassby, Australian immigration minister (b. 1928)
- 2005 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
- 2005 – Romano Scarpa, Italian comic artist (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2006 – Johnnie Checketts, New Zealand pilot (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Phil Walden, American record executive and manager, co-founder of Capricorn Records (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 2007 – David Halberstam, American journalist and author (b. 1934)
- 2007 – Peter Randall, English soldier, George Medal recipient (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician (b. 1931)
- 2011 – Geoffrey Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill, English hereditary peer and businessman (b. 1921)
- 2011 – John Sullivan, English writer (b. 1946)
- 2011 – Tom King, American songwriter and musician (The Outsiders and The Starfires) (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Chris Ethridge, American musician and songwriter (The Flying Burrito Brothers) (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Tommy Marth, American saxophone player and writer (The Killers) (b. 1978)
Holidays and observances
External links
Months and days of the year
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