December 23 in History

Historical Events on December 23

562 Hagia Sophia in Constantinople reopened with a rebuilt dome after a series of earthquakes caused the original to collapse.

1688 As part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees from England to Paris, France after being deposed in favor of his nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary.

1783 George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.

1914 World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.

1936 Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1948 Seven Japanese military and political leaders convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed by Allied occupation authorities at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan.

1970 The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state.

1979 Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.

2002 A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.

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Famous Birthdays on December 23

1805 Joseph Smith

1963 Jim Harbaugh

1964 Eddie Vedder

1969 Greg Biffle

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Famous Deaths on December 23

1652 John Cotton (minister)

1948 Hideki Tojo

1953 Lavrentiy Beria

2004 P. V. Narasimha Rao

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