Date·Lore

On This Day · The 327th day of the year

November 23

November 23 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1863 and 2011. American Civil War: Battle of Chattanooga begins: Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant reinforce troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and counter-attack Confederate troops.

♐ZodiacSagittarius ◈BirthstoneTopaz ❀Birth flowerChrysanthemum

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on November 23?

November 23 is the 327th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1863 and 2011. Famous people born on November 23 include Miley Cyrus, Franklin Pierce and Anatoly Lunacharsky.

The shape of the day

50 years on from Jacques Mayol, November 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.

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

Released on November 23

Movies, games, albums & shows

2022

  • TV Wednesday

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1863

    American Civil War

    American Civil War: Battle of Chattanooga begins: Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant reinforce troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and counter-attack Confederate troops.

  2. 1867

    Manchester Martyrs

    The Manchester Martyrs are hanged in Manchester, England, for killing a police officer while freeing two Irish Republican Brotherhood members from custody.

  3. 1939

    World War II

    World War II: HMS Rawalpindi is sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

  4. 1943

    Tarawa

    World War II: Tarawa and Makin atolls fall to American forces.

  5. 1976

    Jacques Mayol

    Jacques Mayol is the first man to reach a depth of 100 m (330 ft) undersea without breathing equipment.

  6. 1980

    1980 Irpinia earthquake

    The 6.9 Mw Irpinia earthquake shakes southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 2,483–4,900, and injuring 7,700–8,934.

  7. 1991

    Queen (band)

    Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury announces in a statement that he is HIV-positive. He dies the following day.

  8. 2003

    Rose Revolution

    Rose Revolution: Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over flawed elections.

  9. 2007

    MV Explorer (1969)

    MS Explorer, a cruise liner carrying 154 people, sinks in the Antarctic Ocean south of Argentina after hitting an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands. There are no fatalities.

  10. 2011

    Arab Spring

    Arab Spring: After 11 months of protests in Yemen, Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh signs a deal to transfer power to the vice president, in exchange for legal immunity.

Famous birthday twins

Born on November 23

Miley Cyrus

b. 1992

American singer-songwriter and actress

Franklin Pierce

b. 1804

American general, lawyer, and politician, 14th President of the United States

Anatoly Lunacharsky

b. 1875

Russian journalist and politician

Anne Burns

b. 1915

British aeronautical engineer and glider pilot

Mary Landrieu

b. 1955

American politician

Otto the Great

b. 912

Holy Roman Emperor

Angelo Sodano

b. 1927

Italian cardinal

Alfonso X of Castile

b. 1221

King of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284

Deaths

  • 2014Dorothy Cheney
  • 1995Louis Malle
  • 1990Roald Dahl
  • 1905John Burdon-Sanderson
  • 1572Bronzino
  • 386Emperor Fei of Jin

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Alexander Nevsky (Repose, Russian Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro – one of Saints of the Cristero War (Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Columbanus
  • —Christian feast day: Felicitas of Rome
  • —Christian feast day: Paulinus of Wales
  • —Christian feast day: Pope Clement I (Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Trudo (or Trond)
  • —Christian feast day: Wilfetrudis (or Vulfetrude)

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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