On This Day: 23 February

23 February in world history

• 2020Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American citizen, is shot and murdered by three white men after visiting a house under construction while jogging at a neighborhood in Satilla Shores near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.
• 2017Syrian civil war: Allied troops led by the Turkish Armed Forces captured the city of al-Bab from the Islamic State.
• 1999Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
• 1991In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
• 1980Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
• 1971Vietnam War: South Vietnamese General Đỗ Cao Trí was killed in a helicopter crash en route to taking control of the faltering Operation Lam Son 719.
• 1966In Syria, Ba'ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin al-Hafiz, also a Baathist.
• 1958Five-time Argentine Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio is kidnapped by rebels involved in the Cuban Revolution, on the eve of the Cuban Grand Prix. He was released the following day after the race.
• 1950General elections are held in the United Kingdom.
• 1945American photographer Joe Rosenthal took the Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima during the Battle of Iwo Jima, an image that was later reproduced on the Marine Corps War Memorial.
• 1945World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
• 1944In response to an insurgency in Chechnya, the Soviet Union began the forced deportation of the native Chechen and Ingush of North Caucasus.
• 1898Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J'Accuse...!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
• 1886American inventor Charles Martin Hall discovered an inexpensive method of producing aluminium.
• 1870Reconstruction Era: Post-U.S. Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
• 1847Mexican–American War: The United States Army used artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army at the Battle of Buena Vista near Saltillo.
• 1778American Revolutionary War: Prussian military officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania as a volunteer for the Continental Army.
• 1725Johann Sebastian Bach premiered his Shepherd Cantata for the birthday of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels.

Born on 23 February

• 1994Triptii Dimri, Indian actressIndia
• 1969Bhagyashree, Indian actressIndia
• 1923Dante Lavelli, American football player (died 2009)
• 1919Johnny Carey, Irish footballer and manager (died 1995)
• 1539Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (died 1612)India
• 1443Matthias Corvinus, Hungarian king (died 1490)

Died on 23 February

• 2013Lotika Sarkar, Indian lawyer and academic (born 1945)India
• 1969Madhubala, Indian actress and producer (born 1933)India
• 1620Nicholas Fuller, English politician (born 1543)
• 908Li Keyong, Shatuo military governor during the Tang dynasty in China (born 856)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 23 February in history?

2020: Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American citizen, is shot and murdered by three white men after visiting a house under construction while jogging at a neighborhood in Satilla Shores near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia. 2017: Syrian civil war: Allied troops led by the Turkish Armed Forces captured the city of al-Bab from the Islamic State. 1999: Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey. 1991: In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.

Which famous people were born on 23 February?

Triptii Dimri, Indian actress (1994); Bhagyashree, Indian actress (1969); Dante Lavelli, American football player (died 2009) (1923); Johnny Carey, Irish footballer and manager (died 1995) (1919).

Which day is observed on 23 February?

The Emperor's Birthday, birthday of Naruhito, the current Emperor of Japan (Japan); 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 Father; 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 Father.