On this day: 23 December

Selected events and births on 23 December, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 583 – Yohl Ikʼnal (signature pictured) acceded to the throne of the Maya city-state of Palenque. Read more: Yohl Ikʼnal Maya civilization Palenque
• 1815 – Jane Austen's novel Emma was first published, the last novel released during her lifetime. Read more: Jane Austen Emma (novel)
• 1888 – During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh severed part of his left ear and gave it to a woman in a brothel in Arles, France. Read more: Mental disorder Vincent van Gogh Arles
• 1957 – Leading the Australia national cricket team, Ian Craig became the youngest-ever Test cricket captain at the time. Read more: Australia national cricket team Ian Craig Test cricket
• 1958 – Tokyo Tower, then the world's tallest freestanding tower, opened. Read more: Tokyo Tower List of tallest structures
• 1990 – About 88 percent of eligible voters in Slovenia voted to secede from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Read more: 1990 Slovenian independence referendum Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
• 1997 – The Pioneer Helmet, one of only six Anglo-Saxon helmets to be discovered, was first placed on public display. Read more: Pioneer Helmet Anglo-Saxons

Born on this day

• 1938 – Bob Kahn, American computer scientist and engineer, co-developed the Transmission Control Protocol Read more: Robert Kahn (computer scientist) Transmission Control Protocol
• 1942 – Quentin Bryce, Australian lawyer and politician, 25th Governor-General of Australia Read more: Quentin Bryce Governor-General of Australia
• 1945 – Adly Mansour, Egyptian lawyer, judge, and politician, President of Egypt Read more: Adly Mansour List of presidents of Egypt
• 1948 – David Davis, English politician, Minister of State for Europe Read more: David Davis (British politician) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe, Eastern Europe, International Security and Growth
• 1962 – Stefan Hell, Romanian-German physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate Read more: Stefan Hell Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• 1988 – Mallory Hagan, American beauty queen, Miss America 2013 Read more: Mallory Hagan Miss America 2013
• 1992 – Spencer Daniels, American actor Read more: Spencer Daniels
• 1994 – Reed Alexander, American actor Read more: Reed Alexander
• 1996 – Bartosz Kapustka, Polish footballer Read more: Bartosz Kapustka
• 1999 – Samuel Lino, Brazilian footballer Read more: Samuel Lino
• 2000 – Victor Boniface, Nigerian footballer Read more: Victor Boniface
• 2002 – Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor and musician Read more: Finn Wolfhard

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / December 23 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.