May 23 in History

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Historical Events on May 23

844

Battle of Clavijo: The Apostle Saint James the Greater is said to have miraculously appeared to a force of outnumbered Asturians and aided them against the forces of the Emir of Cordoba.
1430

Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.
1498

Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
1533

The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
1568

Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
1609

Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.
1618

The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
1701

After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
1706

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy in the Battle of Ramillies.
1788

South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
1793

Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
1829

Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
1844

Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith; Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
1846

Mexican-American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
1873

The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
1900

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.
1907

The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
1911

The New York Public Library is dedicated.
1915

World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.
1932

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.
1934

Infamous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
1934

The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
1939

The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
1945

World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
1945

World War II: The Flensburg Government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces.
1948

Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
1949

The Federal Republic of Germany is established and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed.
1951

Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with China.
1960

A tsunami killed 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.
1992

Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
1995

The first version of the Java programming language is released.
1998

The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with roughly 75% voting yes.
2002

The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
2006

Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
2008

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.
2013

The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.
2014

Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
2015

At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.
2016

Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, killed at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
2016

Eight bombings were carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eight-four people were killed and at least 200 people injured.
2017

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

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