September 23

September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). There are 99 days remaining. Also an important date in pagan history celebrating autumn.

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Events

1122 - Concordat of Worms
1459 - Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, is fought at Blore Heath in Staffordshire.
1529 - The Siege of Vienna begins as Suleiman II begins his attack on the city.
1642 - First commencement exercises occur at Harvard College.
1779 - American Revolution; USS Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, wins a fight against the British ships of war Serapis and Countess of Scarborough off the coast of England.
1780 - American Revolution; British Major John Andre arrested as a spy by American soldiers exposing Benedict Arnold's treason.
1803 - Battle of Assaye
1806 - Lewis and Clark return, after exploring the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
1845 - The Knickerbockers Baseball Club, the first baseball team to play under the modern rules, is founded in New York.
1846 - Discovery of Neptune by French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams; verified by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle
1868 - Grito de Lares (Lares Revolt) occurs in Puerto Rico against Spanish rule.
1875 - William Bonney ("Billy the Kid") is arrested for the first time.
1884 - Herman Hollerith patents his mechanical tabulating machine.
1905 - Norway and Sweden sign the "Karlstad treaty", officially ending the Union between the two countries peacfully.
1912 - First Mack Sennett "Keystone Comedy" is released.
1922 - Gdynia Seaport Construction Act passed by the Polish parliament.
1932 - The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd is renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
1941 - The first gas experiments are conducted at Auschwitz.
1952 - Richard Nixon makes his "Checkers speech".
1962 - The Jetsons aired for the first time.
1962 - Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City opens with the first building completed, Philharmonic Hall, now Avery Fisher Hall home of the New York Philharmonic.
1969 - The Chicago 8 trial opens in Chicago, Illinois
1973 - Juan Perón returns to power in Argentina.
1980 - Bob Marley's last concert
1981 - Jack Henry Abbott, best-selling author, is arrested for murder.
1983 - Saint Kitts and Nevis joins the United Nations.
1983 - Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa becomes the first African boxing world heavyweight champion.
1993 - Sonic the Hedgehog CD is released for the Sega Mega-CD in Japan.
1999 - NASA announces that it lost contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter.
2002 - Mozilla Firefox (Phoenix) web browser is born: version 0.1.
2004 - At least 1,070 in Haiti reported killed by floods due to Hurricane Jeanne.
2005 - FBI killing of Filiberto Ojeda on Plan Bonito Hormigueros, Puerto Rico.

Births

480 BC - Euripides, Greek playwright (d. 406 BC)
63 BC - Augustus Caesar, Roman Emperor (d. AD 14)
AD 1158 - Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1186)
1161 - Emperor Takakura of Japan (d. 1181)
1215 - Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire (d. 1294)
1598 - Eleonore Gonzaga, wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1655)
1647 - Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1720)
1650 - Jeremy Collier, English bishop (d. 1726)
1713 - King Ferdinand VI of Spain (d. 1759)
1740 - Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1813)
1771 - Emperor Kokaku of Japan (d. 1840)
1819 - Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist (d. 1896)
1838 - Victoria Woodhull, American suffragist (d. 1927)
1852 - William Stewart Halsted, American surgeon (d. 1922)
1863 - Mary Eliza Church Terrell, American writer and social reformer (d. 1954)
1865 - Emmuska Orczy, British novelist (d. 1947)
1880 - John Boyd Orr, Scottish physician and biologist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1971)
1889 - Walter Lippmann, American journalist (d. 1974)
1890 - Friedrich Paulus, German general (d. 1957)
1895 - Johnny Mokan, baseball player (d. 1985)
1897 - Walter Pidgeon, Canadian actor (d. 1984)
1899 - Louise Nevelson, Ukrainian-born artist (d. 1988)
1901 - Jaroslav Seifert, Czech writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
1911 - Frank Moss, U.S. Senator from Utah (d. 2003)
1915 - Clifford Shull, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
1916 - Aldo Moro, Italian politician (d. 1978)
1920 - Mickey Rooney, American actor
1924 - Pedro Chamorro, Nicaraguan newspaper editor (d. 1978)
1926 - John Coltrane, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1967)
1930 - Ray Charles, American musician and singer (d. 2004)
1931 - Gerald Stairs Merrithew, Canadian educator and statesman (d. 2004)
1936 - Valentín Paniagua, Peruvian politician, interim president in 2000–01
1938 - Tom Lester, American actor
1938 - Romy Schneider, Austrian actress (d. 1982)
1939 - Roy Buchanan, American guitarist (d. 1988)
1939 - Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
1942 - Sila María Calderón, Governor of Puerto Rico
1943 - Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer
1943 - Marty Schottenheimer, American football coach
1945 - Paul Petersen, American actor
1946 - Franz Fischler, Austrian politician
1947 - Mary Kay Place, American actress
1949 - Bruce Springsteen, American singer and songwriter
1954 - Charlie Barnett, American actor (d. 1996)
1958 - Marvin Lewis, American football coach
1959 - Jason Alexander, American actor
1959 - Elizabeth Peña, American actress
1961 - Willie McCool, American astronaut (d. 2003)
1964 - Koshi Inaba, Japanese singer (B'z)
1969 - Michelle Thomas, American actress (d. 1998)
1970 - Ani DiFranco, American musician
1974 - Matt Hardy, American professional wrestler
1974 - Harumi Inoue, Japanese actress and model
1975 - Jaime Bergman, American model and actress
1975 - Chris Hawkins, British radio personality and disk jockey
1984 - Anneliese van der Pol, Dutch actress

Deaths

79 - Pope Linus
1241 - Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic historian, poet, and politician (b. 1178)
1390 - John I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1346)
1535 - Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1513)
1571 - John Jewel, English bishop (b. 1522)
1573 - Azai Hisamasa, Japanese warlord (b. 1524)
1605 - Pontus de Tyard, French poet
1675 - Valentin Conrart, founder of the Académie Française (b. 1603)
1728 - Christian Thomasius, German jurist (b. 1655)
1738 - Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician (b. 1668)
1764 - Robert Dodsley, English writer (b. 1703)
1773 - Johann Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop and botanist (b. 1718)
1835 - Vincenzo Bellini, Italian composer (b. 1801)
1850 - José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguayan hero (b. 1764)
1870 - Prosper Mérimée, French author (b. 1803)
1873 - Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (b. 1823)
1889 - Wilkie Collins, British author (b. 1824)
1900 - William Marsh Rice, American philanthropist and university founder (b. 1816)
1917 - Werner Voss German World War I pilot (b. 1897)
1929 - Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
1939 - Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychiatrist (b. 1856)
1943 - Elinor Glyn, English author (b. 1864)
1950 - Sam Barry, American basketball player and coach (b. 1892)
1968 - Padre Pio, saint (b. 1887)
1971 - Billy Gilbert, American actor (b. 1894)
1973 - Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1974 - Cliff Arquette, American comedian and actor (b. 1905)
1978 - Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (murdered) (b. 1950)
1981 - Chief Dan George, Canadian actor (b. 1899)
1987 - Bob Fosse, American dancer, choreographer, and actor (b. 1927)
1988 - Tibor Sekelj, Croatian explorer (b. 1912)
1992 - James Van Fleet, U.S. Army general (b. 1892)
1994 - Robert Bloch, American author (b. 1917)
1998 - Mary Frann, American actress (b. 1943)
2000 - Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican Major League Baseball player (b. 1947)
2000 - Carl Rowan, American journalist (b. 1925)
2002 - Vernon Corea, Sri Lankan broadcaster (b. 1927)
2004 - André Hazes, Dutch singer (b. 1951)
2005 - Filiberto Ojeda, Puerto Rican revolutionary (b. 1933)

Holidays and observances

Astrology: Usually the first day of sun sign Libra
In ancient Latvia, the second day of Mikeli
RC Saints - Feast day of Saint Adomnan of Iona, St Constantius, St. Thecla.

Also see September 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Traditional New Year's Day in Constantinople and Eastern Orthodox churches - because of the birthday of August, not because of the equinox.
Japanese Autumnal equinox Day (秋分の日/Shūbun no hi)
Saudi Arabia - National Day (unification 1932)