What are the important events that happened on August 23? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 23: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 23 is the 236^th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 130 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 10, 2024 – a Friday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 478,992 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectatriacontahexagon’ day.

Virgo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 159 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,263 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 23 Historical Events

• 1555 –
  Calvinists are granted rights in the Netherlands.
• 1595 –
  Michael the Brave confronts the Ottoman army in the Battle of Calugareni.
• 1708 –
  Meidingnu Pamheiba is crowned King of Manipur.
• 1775 –
  King George III declares that the American colonies exist in a state of open and avowed rebellion.
• 1813 –
  At the Battle of Grossbeeren, the Prussians under Von Bülow repulse the French army.
• 1896 –
  Officially recognised date of the Cry of Pugad Lawin, the start of the Philippine Revolution is made in Pugad Lawin (Quezon City), in the province of Manila (actual date and location is disputed).
• 1929 –
  Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, continuing until the next day, resulted in the death of 65-68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city.
• 1939 –
  World War II: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations.
• 1990 –
  West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on October 3.
• 2011 –
  A 5.8 earthquake occurred in Mineral, Virginia, the earthquake was felt as far north as Ontario and as far south as Atlanta, Georgia. Damaged occurred to monuments in Washington D.C. and the resulted damage was estimated at $100 Million.

Who were born on August 23?

• 1524 –
  François Hotman, French lawyer and writer (d. 1590)
• 1757 –
  Marie Magdalene Charlotte Ackermann, German actress (d. 1775)
• 1814 –
  James Roosevelt Bayley, American religious leader (d. 1877)
• 1926 –
  Gyula Hernádi, Hungarian writer and screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1933 –
  Robert Curl, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1945 –
  Rayfield Wright, American football player
• 1966 –
  Rik Smits, Dutch-American basketball player
• 1967 –
  Richard Petrie, New Zealand cricketer
• 1970 –
  Jay Mohr, American actor and comedian
• 1982 –
  Scott Palguta, American soccer player

Who died on August 23?

• 634 –
  Abu Bakr, Arabian caliph (b. 578)
• 1519 –
  Philibert Berthelier, Swiss patriot (b. 1465)
• 1819 –
  Oliver Hazard Perry, American naval officer (b. 1785)
• 1831 –
  Ferenc Kazinczy, Hungarian author (b. 1759)
• 1858 –
  Antal Reguly, Hungarian linguist and ethnographer (b. 1819)
• 1962 –
  Walter Anderson, German folklorist (b. 1885)
• 1971 –
  The original Shamu, SeaWorld orca
• 1987 –
  Didier Pironi, French racing car driver (b. 1952)
• 1989 –
  R. D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist (b. 1927)
• 1999 –
  Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (b. 1926)