HISTORY TODAY: October 23

4004 BC

According to 17th century divine James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, and Dr. John Lightfoot of Cambridge, the world was created on this day, a Sunday, at 6:00 p.m.

1641		A rebellion takes place in Ireland. Catholics, under Phelim O’Neill, rise against the Protestants and massacre men, women and children to the number of 40,000 (some say 100,000).
1694		American colonial forces led by Sir William Phips, fail in their attempt to seize Quebec.
1707		The first Parliament of Great Britain meets.
1783		Virginia emancipates slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War.
1861		President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases.
1864		Two union forces under Major General Samuel R. Curtis decisively defeat an outnumbered Confederate force under Major General Sterling Price at Westport, Missouri, near Kansas City. The Battle of Westport, which some will call the “Gettysburg of the West,” forces Price’s army to retreat and ends his Missouri expedition, the last major Confederate offensive west of the Mississippi River. [From MHQ—The Quarterly Journal of Military History]
1918		President Woodrow Wilson feels satisfied that the Germans are accepting his armistice terms and agrees to transmit their request for an armistice to the Allies. The Germans have agreed to suspend submarine warfare, cease inhumane practices such as the use of poison gas, and withdraw troops back into Germany.
1929		The first transcontinental air service begins from New York to Los Angeles.
1942		The Western Task Force, destined for North Africa, departs from Hampton Roads, Virginia.
1952		The Nobel Prize for Medicine is awarded to Ukranian-born microbiologist Selman A. Waksman for his discovery of an effective treatment of tuberculosis.
1954		In Paris, an agreement is signed providing for West German sovereignty and permitting West Germany to rearm and enter NATO and the Western European Union.
1973		A U.N. sanctioned cease-fire officially ends the Yom Kippur war between Israel and Syria.
1983		A truck filled with explosives, driven by a Muslim terrorist, crashes into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The bomb kills 237 Marines and injures 80. Almost simultaneously, a similar incident occurs at French military headquarters, where 58 die and 15 are injured.
1989		The Hungarian Republic replaces the communist Hungarian People’s Republic.
1998		Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a “land for peace” agreement.
2002		Chechen terrorists take 700 theater-goers hostage at the House of Culture theater in Moscow.
2004		An earthquake in Japan kills 35, injures 2,200, and leaves 85,000 homeless or displaced.
2011		The Libyan National Transition Council declares the Libyan civil war over.
2012		The world’s oldest teletext service, BBC’s Ceefax, ceases operation.
Born on October 23
1750		Nicolas Appert, the inventor of canning.
1805		John Bartlett, lexicographer best known for Bartlett’s Quotations.
1844		Sarah Bernhardt, French actress.
1869		John Heisman, American college football coach for whom the Heisman Trophy is named.
1925		Johnny Carson, American television personality who hosted the Tonight Show.
1940		Pele, legendary Brazilian soccer player who scored 1,281 goals in 22 years
1942		Michael Crichton, writer (Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain).
1951		Fatmir Sejdiu, first President of the Republic of Kosovo (2006–2010 ).
1953		Altug Taner Akcam, Turkish historian and sociologist; among the first Turkish historians to discuss the Armenian genocide; sued Turkish government before European Court of Human Rights for denying his rights, under a law that punishes incidents of insulting “Turkishness.”
1954		Ang Lee, Taiwanese-born American film director; won Academy Award for Best Director in 2005 (Brokeback Mountain) and 2012 (Life of Pi).
1959		Alfred “Weird Al” Yankovic, singer, songwriter, satirist; known for his humorous rewrites of popular songs and parodies of pop culture.
1962		Doug Flutie, collegiate and pro football quarterback; won the Heisman Trophy and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award (1984).
1991		Princess Mako of Akishino, first-born granddaughter of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

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