Date·Lore

On This Day · The 296th day of the year

October 23

October 23 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1157 and 2001. The Battle of Grathe Heath ends the Danish Civil War.

♏ZodiacScorpio ◈BirthstoneOpal ❀Birth flowerMarigold

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on October 23?

October 23 is the 296th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1157 and 2001. Famous people born on October 23 include "Weird Al" Yankovic, Pelé and Vasily Belov.

The shape of the day

25 years on from Apple Inc., October 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.

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

Released on October 23

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Species: Unknown
  • Game Tormented Souls II
  • Game The Jackbox Party Pack 11
  • Game Hyperbeat
  • Game PowerWash Simulator 2
  • Game Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit
  • Game Farthest Frontier
  • Game The Lonesome Guild
  • Game Misery
  • Game Bounty Star
  • Game Full Metal Schoolgirl
  • Game Godbreakers
  • Movie The Last Supper

2024

  • Game Wilmot Works It Out
  • Game Age of History III
  • Game Zero Sievert
  • Game Rivals of Aether II
  • Game While We Wait Here

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1157

    Battle of Grathe Heath

    The Battle of Grathe Heath ends the Danish Civil War.

  2. 1850

    National Women's Rights Convention

    The first National Women's Rights Convention begins in Worcester, Massachusetts.

  3. 1906

    Alberto Santos-Dumont

    Alberto Santos-Dumont flies an airplane in the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe.

  4. 1940

    Adolf Hitler

    Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco meet at Hendaye to discuss the possibility of Spain entering the Second World War.

  5. 1942

    World War II

    World War II: Allied forces commence the Second Battle of El Alamein, which proves to be the key turning point in the North African campaign.

  6. 1956

    Hungarian Revolution of 1956

    Secret police shoot several anti-communist protesters, igniting the Hungarian Revolution.

  7. 1958

    Belgium

    Belgian artist Peyo's comic characters, the Smurfs, make their debut in Spirou magazine.

  8. 1965

    Vietnam War

    Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, launches an operation seeking to destroy Communist forces during the siege of Plei Me.

  9. 1998

    Israel

    Israel and the Palestinian Authority sign the Wye River Memorandum.

  10. 2001

    Apple Inc.

    Apple Computer releases the iPod.

Famous birthday twins

Born on October 23

"Weird Al" Yankovic

b. 1959

American comedy musician, writer, and actor

Pelé

b. 1940

Brazilian footballer and actor

Vasily Belov

b. 1932

Russian novelist, poet and playwright

Juan Luna

b. 1857

Filipino painter and sculptor

Masiela Lusha

b. 1985

Albanian-American actress, poet, and humanitarian

Álvaro Morata

b. 1992

Spanish footballer

Randy Pausch

b. 1960

American author and academic

Ludwig Leichhardt

b. 1813

German-Australian explorer

Deaths

  • 2017Walter Lassally
  • 2014Alvin Stardust
  • 2003Soong Mei-ling
  • 1867Franz Bopp
  • 1616Leonhard Hutter
  • 1550Tiedemann Giese

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer
  • —Christian feast day: James the Just (i.e. James, brother of Jesus) (Lutheran, Episcopal Church (USA), Eastern Orthodox)
  • —Christian feast day: Allucio of Campugliano
  • —Christian feast day: Amon of Toul (Diocese of Toul)
  • —Christian feast day: Boethius
  • —Christian feast day: Ignatios of Constantinople
  • —Christian feast day: John of Capistrano
  • —Christian feast day: Joséphine Leroux

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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