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Today November 23rd 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
800 – Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III.
1227 – Polish Prince Leszek I the White is assassinated at an assembly of Piast dukes at Gasawa.
1248 – Conquest of Seville by the Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile.
1499 – Pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck is hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England.
1531 – The Second war of Kappel results in the dissolution of the Protestant alliance in Switzerland.
1644 – Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship, and written by John Milton is published.
1654 – French mathematician, scientist, and religious philosopher Blaise Pascal experiences an intense, mystical vision that marks him for life.
1844 – Independence of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from Denmark.
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.
1867 – The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England for rescuing two Irish men from jail.
1869 – In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched – one of the last clippers ever to be built, and the only one still surviving to this day.
1876 – Corrupt Tammany Hall leader William Marcy Tweed (better known as Boss Tweed) is delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain.
1889 – The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
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 become his heir.
1890 – General elections in Italy.
1903 – Colorado Governor James Peabody sends the state militia into the town of Cripple Creek to break up a miners strike.
1914 – Mexican Revolution: The last of U.S. forces withdraw from Veracruz, occupied seven months earlier in response to the Tampico Affair.
1934 – An Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission in the Ogaden discovers an Italian garrison at Walwal, which lay well within Ethiopian territory. This leads to the Abyssinia Crisis.
1936 – The first edition of Life is published.
1940 – World War II: Romania becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis Powers.
1943 – World War II: The Deutsche Opernhaus on Bismarckstraße in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg is destroyed. It will eventually be rebuilt in 1961 and be called the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
1943 – World War II: Tarawa and Makin atolls fall to American forces.
1946 – The Workers Party of South Korea is founded.
1955 – The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.
1959 – General Charles de Gaulle, President of France, declares in a speech in Strasbourg his vision for a Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals.
1971 – The representatives of the People s Republic of China first attended the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, as China s representatives (See China and the United Nations).
1976 – Apneist Jacques Mayol is the first man to reach a depth of 100 m undersea without breathing equipment.
1979 – In Dublin, Ireland, Provisional Irish Republican Army member Thomas McMahon is sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of Lord Mountbatten.
1980 – A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people.
1981 – Iran-Contra Affair: Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), giving the Central Intelligence Agency the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
1985 – Gunmen hijack EgyptAir Flight 648 while en route from Athens to Cairo. When the plane lands in Malta, Egyptian commandos storm the hijacked jetliner, but 60 people die in the raid.
1990 – The first all woman expedition to the south pole (3 Americans, 1 Japanese and 12 Russians), sets off from Antarctica on the 1st leg of a 70 day, 1287 kilometre ski trek.
1993 – Rachel Whiteread wins both the £20,000 Turner Prize award for best British modern artist and the £40,000 K Foundation art award for the worst artist of the year.
1996 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is hijacked, then crashes into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 123.
1996 – The Republic of Angola officially joins the World Trade Organization.
1998 – Agreement between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his rival, prince Norodom Ranariddh.
2001 – Convention on Cybercrime is signed in Budapest, Hungary.
2003 – Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over flawed elections.
2005 – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, elected president of Liberia, is the first woman to lead an African country.
2007 – MS Explorer, a cruise liner carrying 154 people, sank in the Antarctic Ocean south of Argentina after hitting an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands.
Births
912 – Otto I the Great, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 973)
1221 – King Alfonso X of Castile (d. 1284)
1402 – Jean de Dunois, French soldier (d. 1468)
1417 – William FitzAlan, 16th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1487)
1553 – Prospero Alpini, Italian physician and botanist (d. 1617)
1616 – John Wallis, English mathematician (d. 1703)
1632 – Jean Mabillon, French palaeographer and diplomat (d. 1707)
1641 – Anthonie Heinsius, Dutch statesman (d. 1720)
1705 – Thomas Birch, English historian (d. 1766)
1715 – Pierre Charles Le Monnier, French astronomer (d. 1799)
1719 – Spranger Barry, Irish actor (d. 1777)
1749 – Edward Rutledge, U.S. statesman (d. 1800)
1760 – François-Noël Babeuf, French revolutionary (d. 1797)
1785 – Jan Roothaan, Dutch priest (d. 1853)
1803 – Theodore Dwight Weld, Leading abolitionist of American Slavery (d. 1895)
1804 – Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States (d. 1869)
1820 – Isaac Todhunter, British mathematician (d. 1884)
1837 – Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
1859 – Billy The Kid, American outlaw (d. 1881)
1860 – Hjalmar Branting, Prime Minister of Sweden, and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
1861 – Konstantin Korovin, Russian painter (d. 1939)
1864 – Henry Bourne Joy, American automobile executive (d. 1936)
1869 – Valdemar Poulsen, Danish engineer (d. 1942)
1875 – Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian literary critic and politician (d. 1933)
1876 – Manuel de Falla, Spanish composer (d. 1946)
1883 – José Clemente Orozco, Mexican painter (d. 1949)
1887 – Eduardo Corrochio, Spanish-born dancer (d. 1943)
1887 – Boris Karloff, British actor (d. 1969)
1887 – Henry Moseley, English physicist (d. 1915)
1888 – Harpo Marx, American comedian (d. 1964)
1889 – Harry Sunderland, Australian rugby league identity (d. 1964)
1890 – El Lissitzky, Russian artist and architect (d. 1941)
1892 – Erté, French artist (d. 1990)
1897 – Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Indian writer (d. 1999)
1899 – Manuel dos Reis Machado, Brazilian martial arts Master (d. 1974)
1897 – Karl Gebhardt, Nazi doctor (d. 1948)
1902 – Aaron Bank, American OSS officer and founder of the US Army Special Forces (d. 2004)
1902 – Victor Jory, Canadian actor (d. 1982)
1907 – Lars Leksell, Swedish physician (d. 1986)
1908 – Nelson S. Bond, American science fiction writer (d. 2006)
1909 – Nigel Tranter, British historian and writer (d. 2000)
1912 – George O Hanlon, American actor (d. 1989)
1913 – Michael Gough, English actor
1914 – Roger Avon, English actor (d. 1998)
1915 – John Dehner, American actor (d. 1992)
1920 – Paul Celan, Romanian-born German poet (d. 1970)
1920 – Wayne Thiebaud, American painter
1921 – Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (d. 1960)
1922 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, president of Spanish Galicia
1923 – R. L. Burnside, American musician (d. 2005)
1923 – Daniel Brewster, American democrat (d. 2007)
1923 – Billy Haughton, American harness driver and trainer (d. 1986)
1924 – Paula Raymond, American actress (d. 2003)
1924 – Colin Macmillan Turnbull, British-born anthropologist (d. 1994)
1924 – Anita Linda, Filipino actress
1925 – Johnny Mandel, American songwriter
1925 – José Napoleón Duarte, Salvadoran politician (d. 1990)
1926 – Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philosopher
1927 – Guy Davenport, American author, artist, and scholar (d. 2005)
1928 – Jerry Bock, American Broadway composer
1929 – Hal Lindsey, American evangelist and Christian writer
1930 – Jack McKeon, American baseball manager
1931 – Dervla Murphy, Irish traveller and author
1931 – Gloria Lynne, American singer
1932 – Michel David-Weill, French investment banker
1933 – Ali Shariati, Iranian sociologist and revolutionary
1933 – Krzysztof Penderecki, Polish composer
1934 – Robert Towne, American screenwriter and director
1934 – Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player (d. 1994)
1935 – Vladislav Volkov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1971)
1936 – Robert Barnard, British mystery writer
1938 – Esko Nikkari, Finnish actor
1939 – Betty Everett, American singer (d. 2001)
1940 – Luis Tiant, Cuban baseball player
1941 – Franco Nero, Italian actor
1942 – Susan Anspach, American actress
1943 – Andrew Goodman, American civil rights activist (d. 1964)
1943 – Sue Nicholls, British actress
1944 – Joe Eszterhas, Hungarian-born film producer and writer
1944 – James Toback, American writer and director
1945 – Keith Hampshire, English singer-songwriter
1945 – Jim Doyle, American politician, 44th Governor of Wisconsin
1945 – Steve Landesberg, American actor
1945 – Dennis Nilsen, Scottish serial killer
1945 – Jerry Harris, American sculptor
1946 – Bobby Rush, American politician
1946 – Giorgos Koudas, Greek footballer
1946 – Diana Quick, English actress
1947 – Jean-Pierre Foucault, French television host
1948 – Bruce Vilanch, American comedy writer
1949 – Sandra Stevens, British singer, member of pop group Brotherhood of Man
1950 – Chuck Schumer, American politician
1951 – David Rappaport, English actor (d. 1990)
1952 – Bill Troiano, musician
1953 – Francis Cabrel, French singer
1953 – Johan de Meij, Dutch conductor, trombonist, and composer
1954 – Bruce Hornsby, American musician
1954 – Glenn Brummer, American baseball player
1954 – Ross Brawn, British Honda Racing F1 team principal
1955 – Steven Brust, American author
1955 – Ludovico Einaudi, Italian composer and pianist
1955 – Mary Landrieu, American politician, senior senator of Louisiana
1959 – Maxwell Caulfield, British actor
1959 – Dominique Dunne, American actress (d. 1982)
1960 – Robin Roberts, American television reporter
1961 – Merv Hughes, Australian cricketer
1961 – Keith Ablow, American psychiatrist and author
1963 – Joe Ahearne, British television director
1963 – Mamoru Takuma, Japanese mass murderer and rapist (d. 2004)
1964 – Frank Rutherford, Bahamian athlete
1965 – Jennifer Michael Hecht, American poet and historian
1966 – Vincent Cassel, French actor
1966 – Jerry Kelly, American professional golfer
1968 – Hamid Hassani, Iranian scholar and lexicographer
1968 – Kirsty Young, Scottish television journalist
1969 – Jonathan Seet, Canadian singer
1970 – Zoë Ball, British television and radio presenter
1970 – Oded Fehr, Israeli actor
1970 – Danny Hoch, American actor
1971 – Lisa Arch, American actress
1972 – Chris Adler, American musician (Lamb of God)
1973 – Trick Daddy, American rapper
1974 – Jamie Sharper, American football player
1974 – Saku Koivu, Finnish ice hockey player
1974 – Juventud Guerrera, Mexican professional wrestler
1976 – Page Kennedy, American actor
1976 – Kohei Suwama, Japanese professional wrestler
1977 – Myriam Boileau, Canadian diver
1977 – Adam Eaton, American baseball player
1978 – Kayvan Novak, English actor
1979 – Nihat, Turkish football player
1979 – Kelly Brook, English actress/model
1980 – Ishmael Beah, Sierra-Leone born American author
1980 – David Britz, American nano-technologist
1980 – Jonathan Papelbon, American baseball player
1982 – Colby Armstrong, Canadian ice-hockey player
1982 – Asafa Powell, Jamaican sprinter
1983 – Thomas Pridgen, American musician
1984 – Lucas Grabeel, American actor and singer
1984 – Amruta Khanvilkar, Indian actress
1985 – Ahn Hyun-Soo, South Korean short track skater
1987 – Nicklas Bäckström, Swedish ice hockey player
1991 – Anurag Kashyap, 2005 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion and Luke David O Rourke famous Gunzel of Canberra
1992 – Miley Cyrus, American actress and singer/songwriter
Deaths
947 – Berthold, Duke of Bavaria
955 – Edred, King of England (b. c.923)
1407 – Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans, brother of Charles VI of France (murdered) (b. 1372)
1457 – King Ladislaus Posthumus of Bohemia and Hungary (b. 1440)
1499 – Perkin Warbeck, Flemish imposter (b. 1474)
1503 – Margaret of York, wife of Charles I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1446)
1503 – Bona of Savoy, Italian noblewoman (b. 1449)
1572 – Agnolo di Cosimo, Italian artist and poet (b. 1503)
1585 – Thomas Tallis, English composer (b. 1505)
1616 – Richard Hakluyt, English writer (b. 1552)
1682 – Claude Lorrain, French painter (b. 1604)
1763 – Friedrich Graf von Seckendorf, German soldier (b. 1673)
1769 – Constantine Mavrocordatos, Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia (b. 1711)
1783 – Yoriyuki Arima, Japanese mathematician (b. 1714)
1803 – Roger Newdigate, British politician (b. 1719)
1804 – Richard Graves, British writer (b. 1715)
1807 – Jean-François Rewbell, French politician (b. 1747)
1814 – Elbridge Gerry, Vice President of the United States of America (b. 1744)
1833 – Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French marshal (b. 1762)
1890 – King William III of the Netherlands (b. 1817)
1902 – Walter Reed, American bacteriologist (b. 1851)
1923 – Urmuz, Romanian writer (b. 1883)
1934 – Giovanni Brunero, Italian cyclist (b. 1895)
1937 – Jagdish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist (b. 1858)
1937 – George Albert Boulenger, Belgian naturalist (b. 1858)
1948 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (b. 1900)
1966 – Seán T. O Kelly, President of Ireland (b. 1882)
1970 – Yusof bin Ishak, first President of Singapore (b. 1910)
1972 – Marie Wilson, American actress (b. 1916)
1973 – Sessue Hayakawa, Japanese actor (b. 1889)
1974 – Manuel dos Reis Machado, Brazilian martial arts Master (b. 1899)
1974 – Cornelius Ryan, Irish-born author (b. 1920)
1976 – André Malraux, French author (b. 1901)
1979 – Merle Oberon, British actress (b. 1911)
1979 – Judee Sill, American musician and songwriter (b. 1944)
1983 – Juhan Muks, Estonian artist (b. 1899)
1990 – Roald Dahl, British author (b. 1916)
1990 – Bo Díaz, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1953)
1991 – Klaus Kinski, German actor (b. 1926)
1992 – Roy Acuff, American country musician (b. 1903)
1992 – Jean-François Thiriart, Belgian politician (b. 1922)
1994 – Art Barr, American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
1994 – Tommy Boyce, American songwriter (b. 1939)
1995 – Louis Malle, French film director (b. 1932)
1995 – Jr. Walker, American musician (b. 1931)
1996 – Mohamed Amin, Kenyan photojournalist (b. 1943)
1996 – Art Porter, Jr., American jazz musician (b. 1961)
1997 – Jorge Más Canosa, anti-Castro activist (b. 1939)
2000 – Rayner Unwin, British book publisher (b. 1925)
2001 – Bo Belinsky, American baseball player (b. 1936)
2001 – O.C. Smith, American singer (b. 1932)
2001 – Mary Whitehouse, British social activist (b. 1910)
2002 – Roberto Matta, Chilean painter (b. 1911)
2004 – Pete Franklin, American talk radio host (b. 1928)
2005 – Constance Cummings, American-born British actress (b. 1910)
2005 – Frank Gatski, American football player (b. 1919)
2006 – Nick Clarke, English radio presenter (b. 1948)
2006 – Betty Comden, American lyricist (b. 1917)
2006 – Alexander Litvinenko, Russian spy (b. 1962)
2006 – Philippe Noiret, French actor (b. 1930)
2006 – Anita O Day, American singer (b. 1919)
2006 – Willie Pep, American boxer (b. 1922)
2007 – Joe Kennedy, American baseball player (b. 1979)
2007 – Óscar Carmelo Sánchez, Bolivian footballer (b. 1971)
2007 – Pat Walsh, New Zealand rugby union footballer (b. 1936)
Holidays and observances
Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints – Pope Clement I
Bahá í Faith – Feast of Qawl (Speech) – First day of the 14th month of the Bahá í calendar
Alexander Nevsky s feast day in the Russian Orthodox Church
Georgia – St George s Day
Japan – Kinro kansha no hi (Labour Thanksgiving Day)
Slovenia – Rudolf Maister Day
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