Date·Lore

On This Day · The 143rd day of the year

May 23

May 23 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1873 and 2021. The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

♊ZodiacGemini ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 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.

The shape of the day

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.

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

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

    The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

  2. 1900

    American Civil War

    American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.

  3. 1915

    World War I

    World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.

  4. 1932

    Brazil

    In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.

  5. 1980

    The Shining (film)

    The Shining, the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, is premiered on 10 screens in New York City and Los Angeles on the Memorial Day weekend.

  6. 1995

    Java (programming language)

    The first version of the Java programming language is released.

  7. 2008

    International Court of Justice

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.

  8. 2017

    Rodrigo Duterte

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declares martial law in Mindanao, following the Maute's attack in Marawi.

  9. 2021

    Ryanair Flight 4978

    Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

  10. 2021

    Stresa–Mottarone cable car crash

    A cable car falls from a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, killing 14 people.

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 23

John Bardeen

b. 1908

American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate

Carl Linnaeus

b. 1707

Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist

Lena Meyer-Landrut

b. 1991

German singer-songwriter

Emperor Qinzong

b. 1100

of Song

Ulla Jacobsson

b. 1929

Swedish-Austrian actress

Jean Françaix

b. 1912

French pianist and composer

Friedrich Achleitner

b. 1930

German poet and critic

Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia

b. 1730

Prussian prince and general

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

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted 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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