On This Day: 23 August

23 August in Indian history

• 2023Chandrayaan-3 mission initiates first Moon landing in Indian history.India

23 August in world history

• 2011A 5.8 MW earthquake struck the Piedmont region of Virginia, and was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history.
• 2011Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War.
• 1989Singing Revolution: Approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet republics to demonstrate their desire for independence.
• 1970Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins.
• 1960Congo Crisis: In order to stop the secession of South Kasai from the Republic of Congo, Armée Nationale Congolaise forces launched an invasion of South Kasai.
• 1943Second World War: A decisive Soviet victory against German forces at the Battle of Kursk gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.
• 1939World War II: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret protocol to the pact, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania are divided into German and Soviet "spheres of influence".
• 1933The Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane made landfall in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and went on to cause at least 47 deaths in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.
• 1914In their first major action of the First World War, the British Expeditionary Force engaged German troops in Mons, Belgium.
• 1898The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departed London.
• 1873The Albert Bridge, spanning the River Thames in London, opened to traffic.
• 1864American Civil War: The Union Navy captures Fort Morgan, Alabama, thus breaking Confederate dominance of all ports on the Gulf of Mexico except Galveston, Texas.
• 1784Western North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) declares itself an independent state under the name of Franklin; it is not accepted into the United States, and only lasts for four years.
• 1775American Revolutionary War: King George III delivers his Proclamation of Rebellion to the Court of St James's stating that the American colonies have proceeded to a state of open and avowed rebellion.
• 1600Battle of Gifu Castle: The eastern forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu defeat the western Japanese clans loyal to Toyotomi Hideyori, leading to the destruction of Gifu Castle and serving as a prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara.
• 1595Long Turkish War: Wallachian prince Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Călugăreni and achieves a tactical victory.
• 1572French Wars of Religion: Mob violence against thousands of Huguenots in Paris results in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.

Born on 23 August

• 1989Lianne La Havas, British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
• 1988Carl Hagelin, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1944Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican-American physician and admiral, 14th Surgeon General of the United States
• 1929Zoltán Czibor, Hungarian footballer (died 1997)
• 1872Tanguturi Prakasam, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Andhra (died 1957)India
• 1852Radha Gobinda Kar, Indian physician and philanthropist (died 1918)India

Died on 23 August

• 2023Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian businessman, chief of Wagner Group (born 1961)
• 2023Dmitry Utkin, Russian army officer, founder of Wagner Group (born 1970)
• 1900Kuroda Kiyotaka, Japanese general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1840)
• 1892Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (born 1827)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 23 August in history?

2023: Chandrayaan-3 mission initiates first Moon landing in Indian history. 2011: A 5.8 MW earthquake struck the Piedmont region of Virginia, and was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history. 2011: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War. 1989: Singing Revolution: Approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet republics to demonstrate their desire for independence.

What happened on 23 August in Indian history?

2023: Chandrayaan-3 mission initiates first Moon landing in Indian history.

Which famous people were born on 23 August?

Lianne La Havas, British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (1989); Carl Hagelin, Swedish ice hockey player (1988); Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican-American physician and admiral, 14th Surgeon General of the United States (1944); Zoltán Czibor, Hungarian footballer (died 1997) (1929).

Which day is observed on 23 August?

National Space Day; Battle of Kursk Day (Russia); Day of the National Flag (Ukraine); European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism or Black Ribbon Day (European Union and other countries), and related observ; International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.