✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 82nd day of the year

March 23

A look at March 23 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Mo Farah and Emmy Noether, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♈ZodiacAries ◈BirthstoneAquamarine ❀Birth flowerDaffodil
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2021

    2021 Suez Canal obstruction

    A container ship runs aground and obstructs the Suez Canal for six days.

    Maritime incident caused by
  2. 2019

    Kazakhstan

    The Kazakh capital of Astana is renamed to Nur-Sultan.

    Country in Eastern Europe
  3. 1994

    Aeroflot Flight 593

    Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing 75.

    1994 aviation accident in
  4. 1988

    Battle of Cuito Cuanavale

    Angolan and Cuban forces defeat South Africa in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.

    1987–88 battle of the
  5. 1931

    Bhagat Singh

    Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for the killing of a deputy superintendent of police during the Indian independence movement.

    Indian revolutionary (1907–1931)
  6. 1918

    World War I

    First World War: On the third day of the German Spring Offensive, the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is annihilated with many of the men becoming prisoners of war.

    1914–1918 global conflict
  7. 1862

    American Civil War

    American Civil War: The First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia, marks the start of Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign. Although a Confederate defeat, the engagement distracts Federal efforts to capture Richmond.

    1861–1865 conflict in the
  8. 1839

    1839 Ava earthquake

    A massive earthquake destroys the former capital Inwa of the Konbaung dynasty, present-day Myanmar.

    Earthquake in British India
  9. 1400

    Trần dynasty

    The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.

    Imperial Vietnamese dynasty (1225–1400)
  10. 625

    Muhammad

    The Muslim army under Muhammad suffers a defeat against the Quraysh in the battle of Uhud.

    Founder of Islam (c.
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Famous birthday twins

Born on March 23

Mo Farah

b. 1983

Somali-English runner

Emmy Noether

b. 1882

Jewish German-American mathematician, physicist and academic

Akira Kurosawa

b. 1910

Japanese director, producer and screenwriter

Shelley Rudman

b. 1981

English bobsledder

José Manuel Barroso

b. 1956

Portuguese academic and politician, 115th Prime Minister of Portugal

Franco Battiato

b. 1945

Italian singer-songwriter and director

Hakan Balta

b. 1983

Turkish footballer

Maurice Jones-Drew

b. 1985

American football player

Deaths

  • 2011Jean Bartik, American computer scientist and engineer
  • 1992Friedrich Hayek, Austrian-German economist, philosopher, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1931Bhagat Singh, Indian activist
  • 1842Stendhal, French novelist
  • 1801Paul I of Russia, Russian emperor
  • 1022Emperor Zhenzong, Chinese emperor

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Gregory the Illuminator (Episcopal Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Gwinear
  • —Christian feast day: Joseph Oriol
  • —Christian feast day: Ottone Frangipane
  • —Christian feast day: Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès (Maronite Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Turibius of Mogrovejo
  • —Christian feast day: Victorian, Frumentius and Companions
  • —Christian feast day: March 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

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