On this day: 23 May

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

Events

• 1533 – Thomas 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. Read more: Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury Henry VIII
• 1873 – The 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. Read more: North-West Mounted Police Royal Canadian Mounted Police Northwest Territories
• 1895 – Backed by Samuel J. Tilden, the Astor Library and the Lenox Library agreed to merge and form the New York Public Library. Read more: Samuel J. Tilden Astor Library Lenox Library (New York City)
• 1974 – The Airbus A300, the first twin-engined wide-body airliner, went into service with Air France. Read more: Airbus A300 Wide-body aircraft Air France
• 1980 – The Shining, the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, premiered on 10 screens in New York City and Los Angeles. Read more: The Shining (film) Stanley Kubrick
• 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. Read more: International Court of Justice Middle Rocks Pedra Branca, Singapore
• 2021 – Ryanair Flight 4978 was forced to land by Belarusian authorities, who detained dissident journalist Roman Protasevich. Read more: Ryanair Flight 4978 Government of Belarus Roman Protasevich

Born on this day

• 675 – Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India Read more: Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II Mutharaiyar dynasty
• 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece Read more: Antonis Samaras Prime Minister of Greece
• 1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria Read more: Ursula Plassnik Minister of Foreign Affairs (Austria)
• 1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport Read more: Bryan Herta Bryan Herta Autosport
• 1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Read more: George Osborne Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1974 – Ken Jennings, American game show host and contestant[citation needed] Read more: Ken Jennings Wikipedia:Citation needed
• 1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs Read more: Manuela Schwesig Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
• 1999 – James Charles, American internet personality Read more: James Charles
• 2000 – Israel Reyes, Mexican footballer Read more: Israel Reyes
• 2001 – Brennan Johnson, Welsh footballer Read more: Brennan Johnson
• 2005 – Alexandra Eala, Filipino tennis player Read more: Alexandra Eala
• 2007 – Rayane Messi, French footballer Read more: Rayane Messi

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / May 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.