Date·Lore

On This Day · The 143rd day of the year

May 23

May 23's recorded history is unusually compressed, gathered within recent centuries rather than reaching into antiquity. Its center of gravity is the 21st century, and politics and nation-building recur.

♊ZodiacGemini ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

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

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on May 23?

May 23 is the 143rd day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1873 and 2021. Famous people born on May 23 include John Bardeen, Carl Linnaeus and Lena Meyer-Landrut.

Released on May 23

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • TV The Tang Mist

2025

  • Game Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
  • Game 9 Kings

2024

  • Game Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2
  • Game Zet Zillions
  • Game Hauntii
  • Game Pine Hearts
  • Game Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

2023

  • Game Planet of Lana
  • Game Miasma Chronicles
  • Game After Us
  • Game Bread & Fred

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1873

    North-West Mounted Police

  2. 1900

    American Civil War

  3. 1915

    World War I

  4. 1932

    Brazil

  5. 1980

    The Shining (film)

  6. 1995

    Java (programming language)

  7. 2008

    International Court of Justice

  8. 2017

    Rodrigo Duterte

  9. 2021

    Ryanair Flight 4978

  10. 2021

    Stresa–Mottarone cable car crash

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 23

John Bardeen

b. 1908

Carl Linnaeus

b. 1707

Lena Meyer-Landrut

b. 1991

Emperor Qinzong

b. 1100

Ulla Jacobsson

b. 1929

Jean Françaix

b. 1912

Friedrich Achleitner

b. 1930

Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia

b. 1730

Deaths

  • 2009Roh Moo-hyun
  • 1999Owen Hart
  • 1906Henrik Ibsen
  • 1857Augustin-Louis Cauchy
  • 1701William Kidd
  • 1370Toghon Temür

Holidays & observances

  • —Aromanian National Day
  • —Christian feast day: Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Desiderius of Vienne
  • —Christian feast day: Giovanni Battista de' Rossi
  • —Christian feast day: Julia of Corsica
  • —Christian feast day: Michael of Synnada
  • —Christian feast day: Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • —Christian feast day: Quintian, Lucius and Julian

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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