Date·Lore

On This Day · The 54th day of the year

February 23

From 1725 to 2021, February 23 gathers 296 years of history. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♓ZodiacPisces ◈BirthstoneAmethyst ❀Birth flowerViolet

Pisces is the sign for February 23 — read more on the Pisces page, or see February's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on February 23?

February 23 is the 54th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1725 and 2021. Famous people born on February 23 include George Frideric Handel, Casimir Funk and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.

Released on February 23

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • TV CIA

2023

  • Game Aces & Adventures
  • Game Gal Guardians: Demon Purge
  • Game Company of Heroes 3

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1725

    Johann Sebastian Bach

  2. 1778

    American Revolutionary War

  3. 1847

    Mexican–American War

  4. 1861

    Abraham Lincoln

  5. 1886

    Charles Martin Hall

  6. 1941

    Plutonium

  7. 1942

    World War II

  8. 1943

    Cavan Orphanage fire

  9. 1987

    SN 1987A

  10. 2021

    February 2021 Ecuadorian prison riots

Famous birthday twins

Born on February 23

George Frideric Handel

b. 1685

Casimir Funk

b. 1884

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville

b. 1680

Radosław Sikorski

b. 1963

Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria

b. 1417

Victor Fleming

b. 1889

Hans Herrmann

b. 1928

Karl Jaspers

b. 1883

Deaths

  • 1969Madhubala
  • 1855Carl Friedrich Gauss
  • 1848John Quincy Adams
  • 1766Stanisław Leszczyński
  • 1464Emperor Yingzong of Ming
  • 1100Emperor Zhezong

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Polycarp of Smyrna
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Rafaela Ybarra de Vilallonga
  • —Christian feast day: Serenus the Gardener
  • —Christian feast day: Willigis
  • —Christian feast day: February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —The Emperor's Birthday, birthday of Naruhito, the current Emperor of Japan (Japan)
  • —Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)
  • —National Day (Brunei)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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