On This Day: 23 May

23 May in world history

• 2021Ryanair Flight 4978 was forced to land by Belarusian authorities, who detained dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.
• 2017Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao following the Maute Group attack on Marawi.
• 2016Eight bombings are carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people are killed and at least 200 people injured.
• 2008The International Court of Justice awarded the Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, resolving a 29-year-old territorial dispute in the Singapore Strait.
• 1992Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, maki
• 1980The Shining, the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, is premiered on 10 screens in New York City and Los Angeles on the Memorial Day weekend.
• 1971Seventy-eight people are killed when Aviogenex Flight 130 crashes on approach to Rijeka Airport in present-day Rijeka, Croatia (then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).
• 1945World War II: Germany's Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.
• 1941World War II: German paratroopers start a series of mass executions of Greek civilians in Missiria for their participation in the ongoing Battle of Crete.
• 1939The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
• 1905Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, publicly announces the creation of the Ullah millet for the Aromanians of the empire, which had been established one day earlier. For this reason, the Aromanian National Day is usually celebrated on May 23, althoug
• 1900American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
• 1873The North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories.
• 1862American Civil War: Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson defeated a Union force at the Battle of Front Royal in Virginia, taking around 700 prisoners.
• 1829Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
• 1706War of the Spanish Succession: The Grand Alliance armies routed the Franco-Spanish-Bavarian army in Ramillies, present-day Belgium.
• 1533Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled Henry VIII's marriage to his first wife Catherine of Aragon, beginning events that would culminate in the English Reformation.
• 1430Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was captured by Burgundian forces at the Siege of Compiègne.

Born on 23 May

• 1966H. Jon Benjamin, American actor, comedian, writer, and producer
• 1951Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
• 1945Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (died 1991)India
• 1942Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographerIndia
• 1795Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (died 1860)
• 675Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, IndiaIndia

Died on 23 May

• 2014Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (born 1921)India
• 1937John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (born 1839)
• 1934Clyde Barrow, American criminal (born 1909)
• 1934Bonnie Parker, American criminal (born 1910)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 23 May in history?

2021: Ryanair Flight 4978 was forced to land by Belarusian authorities, who detained dissident journalist Roman Protasevich. 2017: Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao following the Maute Group attack on Marawi. 2016: Eight bombings are carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people are killed and at least 200 people injured. 2008: The International Court of Justice awarded the Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, resolving a 29-year-old territorial dispute in the Singapore Strait.

Which famous people were born on 23 May?

H. Jon Benjamin, American actor, comedian, writer, and producer (1966); Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece (1951); Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (died 1991) (1945); Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer (1942).

Which day is observed on 23 May?

Aromanian National Day; Constitution Day (Germany); Labour Day (Jamaica); Students' Day (Mexico); World Turtle Day.