Date·Lore

On This Day · The 23rd day of the year

January 23

25 years on from 2001 Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident, January 23 is a date with an anniversary worth pausing on. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♒ZodiacAquarius ◈BirthstoneGarnet ❀Birth flowerCarnation

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

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on January 23?

January 23 is the 23rd day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1368 and 2002. Famous people born on January 23 include Walter Frederick Morrison, Stendhal and Subhas Chandra Bose.

Released on January 23

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game Escape from Ever After

2025

  • Game Dreamcore
  • TV Study Group

2024

  • Game Graven

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1368

    Hongwu Emperor

  2. 1656

    Blaise Pascal

  3. 1849

    Elizabeth Blackwell

  4. 1870

    Montana

  5. 1942

    World War II

  6. 1957

    Walter Frederick Morrison

  7. 1968

    USS Pueblo (AGER-2)

  8. 1997

    Madeleine Albright

  9. 2001

    2001 Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident

  10. 2002

    Daniel Pearl

Famous birthday twins

Born on January 23

Walter Frederick Morrison

b. 1920

Stendhal

b. 1783

Subhas Chandra Bose

b. 1897

Paul Langevin

b. 1872

Gertrude B. Elion

b. 1918

Édouard Manet

b. 1832

David Hilbert

b. 1862

Arjen Robben

b. 1984

Deaths

  • 1989Salvador Dalí
  • 1947Pierre Bonnard
  • 1883Gustave Doré
  • 1567Jiajing Emperor
  • 1516Ferdinand II of Aragon
  • 1252Isabella, Queen of Armenia

Holidays & observances

  • —Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands)
  • —Christian feast day: Abakuh
  • —Christian feast day: Marianne of Molokai
  • —Christian feast day: Emerentiana
  • —Christian feast day: Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • —Christian feast day: Ildefonsus of Toledo
  • —Christian feast day: Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • —Christian feast day: January 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

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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