On this day in History - May 23

0230 - Morte do Papa Urbano I

1052 - King Philip I of France was born (d. 1108)
1125 - Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor dies (b. 1081)
1304 - Jehan de Lescurel, dies. Poet and composer.

1423 - Benedict XIII, [Pedro the Luna], Spanish Pope (1394-1423), died. He had been elected by the Avignon cardinals during the Great Western Schism.
1430 - Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne
1498 - Girolamo Savonarola dies executed on the orders of Pope Alexander VI (b. 1452). Priest and ruler of Florence.
1523 - Ashikaga Yoshitane, dies (b. 1466). Japanese shogun.
1533 - The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.

1536 - Pope Paul III installed the Portuguese Inquisition.
1541 - Jacques Cartier leaves St-Malo, France on his third voyage.
1555 - Paul IV becomes Pope.
1568 - Netherlands declared independence from Spain.
1568 - Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, brother of William I of Orange, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
1609 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
1618 - The Second Defenstration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.

1627 - Luis de Góngora, dies. Spanish poet.
1670 - Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany dies (b. 1610).
1701 - Captain Kidd, dies (b. 1645). Scottish pirate.
1701 - After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
1707 - Carolus Linnaeus, was born (d. 1778). Swedish botanist.

1712 - Nascimento de D. José da Câmara - 4º conde da Ribeira Grande - Portugal
1718 - William Hunter, was born (d. 1783). Anatomist.
1729 - Giuseppe Parini was born (d.1799). Italian poet.

1754 - Andrea Appiani was born. Italian painter.
1783 - James Otis, dies (b. 1725). American lawyer and patriot.
1788 - South Carolina becomes the 8th U.S. state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1790 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, was born (b. 1842). French explorer.
1795 - Charles Barry , was born (d. 1860). English architect.
1805 - Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Cathedral of Milan.
1810 - Margaret Fuller, was born (d. 1850). Journalist and feminist.
1813 - South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
1824 - Ambrose Burnside, was born (d. 1881). American Civil War general.
1834 - Carl Heinrich Bloch, was born (d. 1890). Danish painter.
1841 - Franz Xaver von Baader, dies (b. 1765). German philosopher and theologian.
1844 - `Abdu'l-Bahá, was born (d. 1921). Persian founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
1848 - Otto Lilienthal, was born (d. 1896). Aviation pioneer.
1855 - Charles Robert Malden, dies (b. 1797). English explorer.

1857 - Augustin Louis Cauchy dies (b. 1789). French mathematicien.
1865 - A parade is held in Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, to celebrate the end of the American Civil War.

1865 - Nasce em Umbuzeiro - PB, Epitácio Pessoa (Epitácio Lindolfo da Silva Pessoa) 13º Presidente do Brasil (28 Jul 1919 a 15 Nov 1922).

1868 - - Kit Carson, dies (b. 1809). American trapper, scout, and Indian agent.
1873 - The Canadian Parliament establishes the North West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
1875 - Alfred P. Sloan, was born. American business professor.
1879 - Dezső Lauber, was born (d. 1966). Hungarian sportsman.

1881 - Nascimento de Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral. Militar e aviador português.
1883 - Douglas Fairbanks, was born (d. 1939). Actor.
1886 - Leopold von Ranke, dies (b. 1795). German historian.
1887 - Thoralf Skolem, was born. Norwegian mathematician.
1888 - Zack Wheat, was born (d. 1972). Baseball Hall of Famer.
1890 - Herbert Marshall, was born (d. 1966). Actor.
1891- Pär Lagerkvist, was born (d. 1974). Swedish writer, Nobel Prize -1951 laureate.

1896 - José Asunción Silva, dies. Colombian poet.
1898 - Scott O'Dell, was born (d. 1989). Author.
1900 - American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney becomes the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor, for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner.

1905 - D. Amélia inaugura a abertura do Museu Nacional dos Coches em Lisboa (Portugal).
1906 - Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
1906 - Henrik Ibsen, dies (b. 1828). Norwegian writer.
1908 - John Bardeen, was born (d. 1991). Physicist.

1908 -Nascimento no Rio de Janeiro, de Silvio Caldas (Silvio Antônio Narciso de Figueiredo Caldas), grande cantor da MPB.
1910 - Margaret Wise Brown, was born (d. 1952). Children's author.
1910 - Sir Hugh Casson, was born (d. 1999). Architect and painter.
1910 - Scatman Crothers, was born (d. 1986). American actor and musician
1910 - Artie Shaw, was born (d. 2004). Clarinetist, bandleader.
1911- Dedication ceremony for the New York Public Library.
1912 - Jean Françaix, was born (d. 1997). French composer.
1912 - John Payne, was born (d. 1989). Actor.
1915 - World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
1918 - Denis Compton, was born (d. 1997). English cricketer.
1919 - Betty Garrett, was born. Actress, dancer.
1920 - Helen O'Connell, was born (d. 1993). Singer.
1921 - James Blish, was born (d. 1975). Science fiction author.
1921 - Humphrey Lyttelton, was born. British jazz musician.

1921 - Tomé José de Barros Queirós assume o cargo de primeiro-ministro de Portugal.
1923 - Launch of Belgium's SABENA airline.
1927 - Dieter Hildebrandt, was born. Cabaret artist.
1928 - Rosemary Clooney, was born (d. 2002). Singer and actress.
1928 - Nigel Davenport, was born. Actor .
1929 - Julian Euell,was born. Jazz musician.
1929 - The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, The Karnival Kid, was released.
1931 - Barbara Barrie, was born. Actress.
1933 - Joan Collins, was born. Actress.
1933 - Seabiscuit, was born. Racehorse.
1933 - Clyde Barrow, dies (b. 1909). American outlaw.
1933 - Bonnie Parker, dies (b. 1910). American outlaw.

1933 - Nascimento em Tucano - BA de Othon Bastos (Othon José de Almeida Bastos). Actor brasileiro.

1934 - Dr. Robert Moog, was born. Inventor
1934 - Near their hideout in Black Lake, Louisiana, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are ambushed and shot dead by police.

1935 - Fundado o Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Portugal).
1936 - Charles Kimbrough, was born. American actor
1937 - John D. Rockefeller, dies (b. 1839). American entrepreneur.
1939 - Reinhard Hauff, was born. Film director.
1939 - The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 26 sailors. The remaining 32 crewmen and one passenger are rescued the following day.
1943 - John Newcombe, was born. Tennis player
1945 - Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, commits suicide while in Allied custody (b. 1900).
1945 - Padmarajan, was born (d. 1991). Indian film director.

1945 - Winston Churchill resigned as British Prime Minister.
1946 - David Graham, was born. Golfer.
1946 - Frederik de Groot, was born. Dutch actor.
1949 - The Federal Republic of Germany is established, and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany proclaimed.

1949 - Nascimento de Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez. Presidente do Perú (1985-1990)
1951 - Anatoly Karpov, was born. World chess champion (1975-85).
1951 - Judy Rodman, was born. Country music singer.

1951 - O Tibete é anexado pela China
1952 - Marvelous Marvin Hagler, was born. Boxer.

1952 - George Alfred Schumann dies. German composer.

1955 - Auguste Elisée Chabaud dies. French painter.
1956 - Buck Showalter, was born. Baseball player and manager.
1956 - Ursula Plassnik, was born. Austrian politician.
1958 - Mitch Albom, was born. American writer.
1958 - Drew Carey, was born. American actor and comedian.
1958 - Explorer I ceases transmission.
1960 - Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion announces that Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann has been captured.
1961 - Karen Duffy, was born. Actress.
1962 - Drilling for the Montreal Metro commences.
1965 - Earl Webb, dies (b. 1897). baseball player.
1967 - Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, laying the foundations for the Six Day War.
1967 - Phil Selway, was born. Musician.
1969 - Rock band The Who release Tommy, the first rock opera.

1969 - Nascimento no Rio de Janeiro de Flavio Frederico. Actor brasileiro.
1972 - Brian McComas, was born. Country music singer.
1972 - Rubens Barrichello, was born. Brazilian race car driver
1974 - Ken Jennings, was born. Jeopardy! champion.
1974 - Jewel, was born. Singer.
1975 - Moms Mabley, dies. American comedienne.
1977 - Ilia Kulik, was born. Figure skatinger.
1977- Two terrorist actions unfold in The Netherlands: Several dozen hostages are taken on board a train, and about 100 others (mostly children) are held at a Dutch school. The train seige lasts until June 11.
1982 - Malene Mortensen, was born. Danish singer .
1984 - Adam Wylie, was born. Actor.
1985 - U.S. engineer Thomas Patrick Cavanagh is sentenced to life in prison for attempting to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union.
1986 - Sterling Hayden, dies (b. 1916). American actor.
1991 - Wilhelm Kempff, dies (b. 1895). German pianist and composer.
1992 - Giovanni Falcone, dies (b. 1939). Italian judge.

1994 - "Pulp Fiction" by American director Quentin Tarantino won the Golden Palm for best film at the 47th Cannes Film Festival.
1995 - Official announcement of the Java programming language.
1995 - Oklahoma City bombing: In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, what remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building is imploded.
1997 - Mohammad Khatami is elected as President of Iran.
1998 - The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum, with a high margin of three-fourth 'yes' votes to Northern Ireland.
1999 - In Kansas City, Missouri, Owen Hart (playing The Blue Blazer) falls 90 feet to his death while being lowered into a World Wrestling Federation ring.

1999 - At Cannes the Belgian film "Rosetta" by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne won the Golden Palm Award at the 52nd Cannes Film Festival. The Russian film 'Moloch" won for best screenplay and "Humanity" by Frenchman Bruno Dumont won the runner-up Grand Jury Prize. The Jury Prize went to "The Letter" by Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira.
1999 - Owen Hart, dies (b. 1965). Canadian professional wrestler.

1999 - In Germany Johannes Rau, a prominent Social Democrat, was elected president by the 1,338 member federal assembly with a 690 majority.
2002 - Sam Snead, dies (b. 1912). American golfer.
2002 - The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.

2002 - Morte do padre e filósofo brasileiro Henrique Cláudio de Lima Vaz
2003 - For the first time, the euro exceeds its initial trading value as it hits $1.18 for the first time since its introduction in 1999.
2003 - 25-year-old Nepalese Sherpa, Pemba Dorjie Sherpa, makes the fastest-ever ascent of Mount Everest, in 12 hours 45 minutes. This is broken by his rival Sherpa Lakpa Gelu only three days later.

2003 - O diplomata brasileiro Sérgio Vieira de Mello é indicado representante da ONU no Iraque.
2004 - Last day of the fourth European Festival of Youth Choirs (EJCF).
2004 - Part of Paris Charles De Gaulle International Airport Terminal 2E collapses, killing five people and injuring three others.

2004 - In eastern Bangladesh 2 river ferries carrying about 250 passengers capsized during a storm, and dozens of people were feared dead. The death toll climbed to 74.
Bahá'í Faith: Declaration of the Báb