Holidays
Feast Day of St. George
Patron saint of England. St. George was beheaded on April 23, 303 for refusing to recant his Christian faith.
Legend has it that he saved the king's daughter from a mighty dragon.
What Happened On
YouTube
April 23, 2005
The first video is uploaded to the YouTube video sharing platform. It was titled Me at the zoo, and showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. It can still be 
viewed on the site.
YouTube was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, who were early employees of PayPal.
Elmo Testifies Before Congress
April 23, 2002
Elmo, the Muppet character from television's Sesame Street, testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education to request $2 million in federal funding for music education programs.
New Coke
April 23, 1985
Coca-Cola announces it is changing its 99-year-old formula, introducing what was to become known as "New Coke." Less than three months later, due to public outcry and poor sales, they brought back the old formula under the name "Coca-Cola Classic."
First Public Showing of Edison's Motion Picture Projector
April 23, 1896
The Vitascope is demonstrated at New York's Koster & Bial's Music Hall.
It was able to project a movie onto a wall using an electric light. Although Thomas Edison's single-viewer Kinetoscopes were profitable, Edison recognized that the time for single-viewer films was coming to an end and that the future was for films projected to large audiences. The French brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere had demonstrated their projector the previous year and it was a hit in Europe, especially London. Edison wanted to capture the U.S. market before the Lumiere brothers' projector and others began to catch on in the U.S. He purchased the manufacturing rights to the Phantoscope, renaming it the Vitascope, and began exhibiting it across the U.S. And the world was off to the movies…
First Canadian Postage Stamp and First Official Postage Stamp to Feature an Animal
April 23, 1851
The Province of Canada begins issuing postage stamps in the values of 3d, 6d, and 12d. Featuring a beaver, they were the world's first official postage stamps to feature an animal.
They were designed by Sir Sandford Fleming, who also established time zones (1878).
First Public School in America
April 23, 1635
The Boston Latin School is founded. It is still operating today, making it the oldest public school in America.
Crucifixion
April 23, A.D. 34
Using astronomical data, Isaac Newton calculated the date of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as April 23, AD 34. However, modern scholars generally prefer the date April 3, AD 33.
First U.S. Satellite to Reach the Surface of the Moon
April 23, 1962
Ranger IV is launched, reaching the Moon's surface three days later. It was intended to transmit pictures of the lunar surface to Earth stations for the 10 minutes of flight prior to crashing on the Moon's surface. However, an onboard computer failure caused failure of the deployment of the solar panels and navigation systems, resulting in Ranger crashing on the far side of the Moon without returning any scientific data. This was the first U.S. object to reach another celestial body.
Hank Aaron's First Home Run
April 23, 1954
The baseball legend Hank Aaron hits his first major-league home run.
He would break Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs in 1974.
First NBA Championship
April 23, 1950
The Minneapolis Lakers defeat the Syracuse Nationals four games to two. The championship had started on the 8th.
First Partial Drive-In Theater
April 23, 1915
The Theatre de Guadalupe opens in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was an auditorium that had parking for about 40 cars on the theater grounds. The first modern-style drive-in would open in 1933.
First Roman Catholic Newspaper in the U.S.
April 23, 1789
Courrier de Boston publishes its first issue.
Birthdays
Timothy McVeigh
Born April 23, 1968 d. 2001
American terrorist. He conspired with Terry Nichols in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The attack killed 168, injured more than 680 others, and caused $652 million worth of damage. It was the largest domestic terrorist attack in the United States up to that date. He was executed by lethal injection.
Roy Orbison
Born April 23, 1936 d. 1988
American Hall of Fame Grammy-winning singer. Music: Oh, Pretty Woman (1964, #1).
While touring in England in 1968, his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee burned down killing his two eldest sons.
He died in 1988 of heart attack at age 52. One month after his death, his song You Got It (1989) became his first #1 U.S. hit in nearly 25 years.
Started a Running Craze - Died of a Heart Attack While Jogging
James Fuller Fixx
Born April 23, 1932 d. 1984
American author, The Complete Book of Running (1977) which launched a running craze. He died of a heart attack while jogging. His book The Complete Book of Running (1977) launched a nationwide running craze. Fixx started running and quit smoking at age 35 when he weighed 214 pounds (97 kg) and smoked two packs of cigarettes per day. Ten years later, when his book, The Complete Book of Running was published, he was 60 pounds (27 kg) lighter. The book sold over a million copies. It is believed he may have suffered a congenital heart defect, as his father died of a heart attack at age 43.
He also published three collections of puzzles: Games for the Super-Intelligent, More Games for the Super-Intelligent, and Solve It!.
Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes
Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes
Shirley Temple Black
Born April 23, 1928 d. 2014
American child actress. Temple was the #1 box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938 and became youngest person to earn over a $1,000,000. She got her start at age 4 in a series of films called Baby Burlesks, that used preschool children acting in 10-minute satires of recent films and events. She quickly became the star of the series.
As an adult, she served as U.S. Ambassador to Ghana (1974-76) and Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1989-1992).
Film: Bright Eyes (1934), Stand Up and Cheer (1934), Curly Top (1935), Heidi (1937), and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938).
The Only Bachelor U.S. President
James Buchanan
Born April 23, 1791 d. 1868
American politician. 15th U.S. President (1857-61). The only U.S. president who never married. His niece Harriet Lane acted as his First Lady.
Buchanan's leadership during his lame duck period after Abraham Lincoln was elected and leading up to the American Civil War has been widely criticized by both the North for not stopping secession and by the South for not yielding to their demands.
William Shakespeare
Born April 23, 1564 d. 1616
English author. Writings: The Taming of a Shrew (c. 1590), Romeo and Juliet (1597), and Hamlet (c. 1600).
Valerie Bertinelli
Born April 23, 1960
American actress. TV: One Day at a Time (Barbara).
Dan Frischman
Born April 23, 1959
American Actor, known for playing nerds and geeks. Has worked as magician/ventriloquist "The Great Houdanny" since his teens. TV: Head of the Class (1986-91, Arvid) and Kenan & Kel (1996-2000, Chris). Writings: Jackson & Jenks, Master Magicians. See Website
Travis Walton
Born April 23, 1957
American logger. Claimed he was abducted from a group of Arizona loggers and held for five days by aliens aboard a UFO (1975). His story won a National Enquirer prize of $5,000 and provided the basis for the movie Fire in the Sky (1993).
Joyce DeWitt
Born April 23, 1949
American actress. TV: Three's Company (Janet).
Glenn Cornick
Born April 23, 1947 d. 2014
British bass player, with Jethro Tull. Music: Aqualung (1971) and Thick as a Brick (1972).
Hervé Villechaize
Born April 23, 1943 d. 1993
3-foot, 10-inch tall French actor. He played Tatoo on TV's Fantasy Island (1977-84, with his famous opening "Boss, ze plane! Ze plane!") and Nick Nack in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). He also played the legs for Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street when they were sticking out of the bottom of the trash can for scenes where Oscar was mobile.
At 16 years old, he began studying art at the École des Beaux-Arts and in 1961 became the youngest artist ever to have his work displayed in the Museum of Paris.
Villechaize committed suicide, stating in his suicide note that he was despondent over health issues related to his dwarfism.
Sandra Dee (Alexandra Zuck)
Born April 23, 1942 d. 2005
American teen actress. Film: The Reluctant Debutante (1958) and Gidget (1959).
Lee Majors (Harvey Lee Yeary)
Born April 23, 1939
American actor. TV: The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-78, title role) and The Fall Guy (1981-86, Colt Seavers).
David Birney
Born April 23, 1939 d. 2022
American actor. TV: Bridget Loves Bernie (1972-73, Bernie), Serpico (1976-77, title role), and St. Elsewhere (1982-83, Dr. Ben Samuels).
He married his co-star Meredith Baxter from Bridget Loves Bernie in 1974, divorcing in 1989.
Warren Spahn
Born April 23, 1921 d. 2003
American Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, Cy Young winner (1957). He was the winningest left-handed pitcher, with 363 wins.
Max Planck
Born April 23, 1858 d. 1947
German Nobel-winning physicist. He discovered quantum physics (1900). For his work in quantum physics he was awarded the 1918 Nobel Prize in physics.
His son was among those executed for the July 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Stephen Arnold Douglas
Born April 23, 1813 d. 1861
American statesman, Lincoln debater. He was called "The Little Giant." He was famous for the Lincoln-Douglas debates during his defeat of Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Senate Race (1858).
William Williams
Born April 23, 1731 d. 1811
American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died on the 35th anniversary of his signing the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.
Deaths
Martin Luther King Assassin
James Earl Ray
Died April 23, 1998 b. 1928
American assassin. He shot and killed Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968). At the time of the shooting, Ray was an escaped prisoner, having escaped the Missouri State Penitentiary (1967) by hiding in a truck transporting bread from the prison bakery.
Buster Crabbe (Clarence Linden Crabbe)
Died April 23, 1983 b. 1908
American athlete, actor. He played Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Tarzan in the movies. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for the 400-meter-freestyle swim and won bronze at the 1928 Summer Olympics for the 1,500 meters freestyle.
Charles Gates Dawes
Died April 23, 1951 b. 1865
American politician. 30th U.S. Vice-President (1925-29). He was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 for his work on the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations.
William Shakespeare
Died April 23, 1616 b. 1564
English author. Writings: The Taming of a Shrew (c. 1590), Romeo and Juliet (1597), and Hamlet (c. 1600).
Madeleine Sherwood (Madeleine Thornton)
Died April 23, 2016 b. 1922
Canadian actress. TV: The Flying Nun (Mother Superior).
Photo Credit: www.kremlin.ru
Photo Credit: www.kremlin.ru
Boris Yeltsin
Died April 23, 2007 b. 1931
Russian President. He was the first President of Russian (1991-99).
Howard Cosell (Howard Cohen)
Died April 23, 1995 b. 1918
American Emmy-winning sports commentator. Known for his "tell it like it is" style, Howard Cosell described himself as, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. There's no question that I'm all of those things." He was a commentator for television's Monday Night Football (1970-83) and was a supporter of boxer Muhammad Ali when he was stripped of his heavyweight title after refusing to serve in the Vietnam War.
César Chávez
Died April 23, 1993 b. 1927
Mexican-American labor leader, activist. Founder of the National Farm Workers Association.
Harold Arlen (Hyman Arluck)
Died April 23, 1986 b. 1905
American Oscar-winning composer. Music: Stormy Weather (1943), It's Only a Paper Moon (1932), That Old Black Magic (1942), and Over the Rainbow (1939, Oscar).
The First Doctor Who
William Hartnell
Died April 23, 1975 b. 1908
English actor. The first Doctor of the Doctor Who TV series (1963-66).
UFO Abductee
George Adamski
Died April 23, 1965 b. 1891
Polish-American extraterrestrial abductee. Some regard him as the first modern abductee and one of the most famous of the 1950s. Others regard him as an elaborate hoaxer. He claimed to have met with friendly aliens, photographed their spaceships, and to have traveled to the Moon and other planets with them.
During prohibition, he founded the "Royal Order of Tibet" and was given a government license to make wine for "religious purposes." Adamski claimed, "I made enough wine for all of Southern California. I was making a fortune."