What Happened on December 23
Historical Events
- 962 Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo, recovering the tattered tunic of John the Baptist
- 1688 King James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch flees to France from William of Orange
- 1783 US General George Washington resigns his military commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army to Congress
- 1888 Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor, after argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, and sends to a prostitute for safe keeping
- 1920 Government of Ireland Act / Home Rule Act passed partitioning Ireland
- 1954 The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts
- More Historical Events
Dec 23 in Film & TV
- 1928 NBC sets up a permanent, coast-to-coast radio network
- 1951 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns, 24-17; first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game
Dec 23 in Music
- 1893 Opera "Hansel und Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdinck and his sister Adelheid Wette premieres in Weimar, conducted by Richard Strauss
Dec 23 in Sport
- 1951 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns, 24-17; first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game
Did You Know?
Four women ordained priests in Jamaica, 1st in 330-year Anglican history
On December 23, 1996
Zenobia
Jacques Cartier
Richard Arkwright
Joseph Smith
Akihito
Susan LucciWould You Believe?
A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and a modern unmanned drone had engaged in combat
On December 23, 2002
Famous Weddings
- 1847 Prime Minister of Canada Mackenzie Bowell (24) weds Harriet Moore
- 1951 MLB centerfielder Mickey Mantle (20) weds author Merlyn Mantle (19) in Commerce, Oklahoma
- 1961 Actor Martin Sheen (21) weds Janet Templeton
More Weddings
Thomas Malthus
Hideki Tojo
Lavrentiy Beria
Victor Borge
Oscar Peterson
Mikhail KalashnikovArticles, Photos and Quiz
Sack of Aleppo
Capture of Aleppo by the Byzantines under Nikephoros II Phokas
December 23, 962 AD
Business a Rocky Road for Hansom Cab Pioneer
Architect and inventor Joseph Hansom was a man of vision who somehow found it impossible to turn his great ideas into money-making ventures.
December 23, 1834
Assassination Attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge
An assassination attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge (1858-1944) Viceroy of India, illustration from 'Le Petit Journal'
December 23, 1912
Weekly Quiz for December 23 - 29
This week in history, French artist Vincent van Gogh cut off what part of his body in 1888? Who was crowned King on Christmas Day, December 25th?
