On This Day: 23 September

23 September in Indian history

• 1803Maratha troops were defeated by forces of the British East India Company at the Battle of Assaye, one of the decisive battles of the Second Anglo-Maratha War.India

23 September in world history

• 2019Twenty people die on the first of two days of rioting in Papua and West Papua over an alleged racist incident.
• 2016Following a number of high-profile sexual assaults, major reforms were enacted to strengthen laws related to rape in Germany.
• 2008A gunman shot and killed ten students at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences in Kauhajoki, Finland, before committing suicide.
• 1997Irish rock band U2 performed in Sarajevo, the first major artist to hold a concert in the city since the end of the Bosnian War.
• 1983Flying from Pakistan, Gulf Air Flight 771 was bombed up by the Abu Nidal Organization while on approach over the United Arab Emirates (UAE), killing all 112 people on board.
• 1964Typhoon Wilda, one of the strongest typhoons to ever strike Japan, makes landfall, causing at least 30 fatalities and sinking at least 64 ships.
• 1962Flying Tiger Line Flight 923, a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation registered as N6923C, ditches into the Atlantic Ocean killing 28 out the 76 occupants onboard. The remaining 48 were rescued six hours later.
• 1957Little Rock schools integration crisis: President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, and federalizes the Arkansas National Guard, ordering both to support the integration of Little Rock Central High School.
• 1956A tropical storm originating in the eastern Pacific Ocean passes into the Gulf of Mexico and is upgraded and named Hurricane Flossy just hours before striking the Gulf Coast and causing 15 deaths and an estimated US$24.8 million in damages.
• 1952After being accused of financial improprieties, Senator Richard Nixon delivers his "Checkers speech" nationwide on television and radio, defending his actions and successfully salvaging his nomination as the Republican candidate for Vice President.
• 1942World War II: The Matanikau action on Guadalcanal begins: U.S. Marines attack Japanese units along the Matanikau River.
• 1932Saudi National Day: Crown Prince (later king) Faisal of Saudi Arabia, on behalf of Ibn Saud, proclaims the unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the current iteration of the Third Saudi State.
• 1920The Louisiana hurricane dissipated over Kansas after forcing around 4,500 people to evacuate and causing $1.45 million in damages.
• 1918World War I: British forces capture Haifa, Acre, and Es Salt from the Ottoman Empire.
• 1913The United Mine Workers of America began a strike against the Rockefeller-owned Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, sparking the Colorado Coalfield War.
• 1885Ethiopian forces under Ras Alula defeat Mahdist Sudanese forces in the battle of Kufit.
• 1780American Revolutionary War: British officer John André was captured by Patriot forces, thereby revealing a plot by Continental Army general Benedict Arnold to hand over West Point, New York.

Born on 23 September

• 1979Lote Tuqiri, Fijian-Australian rugby player
• 1975Kim Dong-moon, South Korean badminton player
• 1952Anshuman Gaekwad, Indian cricketerIndia
• 1917Asima Chatterjee, Indian chemist (died 2006)India
• 1908Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Indian poet, academic, and politician (died 1974)India
• 1852William Stewart Halsted, American physician and surgeon (died 1922)

Died on 23 September

• 2015Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher (born 1930)India
• 2013Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj, Syrian colonel and politician (born 1925)
• 1994Robert Bloch, American author and screenwriter (born 1917)
• 1870Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist and historian (born 1803)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 23 September in history?

2019: Twenty people die on the first of two days of rioting in Papua and West Papua over an alleged racist incident. 2016: Following a number of high-profile sexual assaults, major reforms were enacted to strengthen laws related to rape in Germany. 2008: A gunman shot and killed ten students at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences in Kauhajoki, Finland, before committing suicide. 1997: Irish rock band U2 performed in Sarajevo, the first major artist to hold a concert in the city since the end of the Bosnian War.

What happened on 23 September in Indian history?

1803: Maratha troops were defeated by forces of the British East India Company at the Battle of Assaye, one of the decisive battles of the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

Which famous people were born on 23 September?

Lote Tuqiri, Fijian-Australian rugby player (1979); Kim Dong-moon, South Korean badminton player (1975); Anshuman Gaekwad, Indian cricketer (1952); Asima Chatterjee, Indian chemist (died 2006) (1917).

Which day is observed on 23 September?

Grito de Lares (Puerto Rico); Haifa Day (Israel); Holocaust Memorial Day (Lithuania); Kyrgyz Language Day (Kyrgyzstan); National Day (Saudi Arabia).