Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, executed in 1927 for murder of payroll messenger.

1927

Sacco and Vanzetti executed

Born on This Day

Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly

1912 - 1996

Dancer, director and actor who revolutionized film musicals through his work in "Singing in the Rain" and "An American in Paris."

Actor River Phoenix Portrait Session

River Phoenix

1970 - 1993

Actor known for roles in "Stand by Me" and "My Own Private Idaho," whose career was cut short by his death at age 23.

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Screening of "Jawbreaker" In 35mm And 25th Anniversary Cast And Filmmaker Reunion

Trixie Mattel

1989 -

Drag queen known for her Barbie-inspired aesthetic featured on "Ru Paul's Drag Race" and her popular YouTube series.

1974

AUG

23

From the terrace of their New York City apartment, John Lennon and then-girlfriend May Pang claim to see a UFO hovering about 100 feet away. Lennon denies being under the influence at the time.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on August 23rd

1784

North Carolina counties declare themselves breakaway state of Franklin

On August 23, 1784, four counties in western North Carolina declare their independence as the state of Franklin. The counties lay in what would eventually become Tennessee.

1856

Eunice Foote’s research on global warming is presented publicly

On August 23, 1856, Eunice Foote's work is presented to a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Albany, New York. She is the first to articulate the possibility of global warming from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

1861

Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow is arrested

Allan Pinkerton, head of the new secret service agency of the Federal government, places Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow under house arrest in Washington, D.C.

1914

Battle of Mons

On August 23, 1914, in their first confrontation on European soil since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, four divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), commanded by Sir John French, struggle with the German 1st Army over the 60-foot-wide Mons Canal in Belgium, near the French frontier.

1926

Star of the silent screen Rudolph Valentino dies

The death of silent-screen idol Rudolph Valentino at the age of 31 sends his fans into a hysterical state of mass mourning. In his brief film career, the Italian-born actor established a reputation as the archetypal screen lover.

1939

Germany, Soviet Union sign nonaggression pact

On August 23, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression pact, stunning the world, given their diametrically opposed ideologies. But the dictators were, despite appearances, both playing to their own political needs.

1945

Marcario García becomes first Mexican national to receive U.S. Medal of Honor

Though he had landed on the beaches of Normandy and been wounded in battle fighting with the U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant Marcario García was not yet a U.S. citizen when President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor on August 23, 1945. García became the first Mexican national to receive the American military's highest honor.

U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor

1945

Senior U.S. POW is released

On August 23, 1945, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, (captured by the Japanese on the island of Corregidor, in the Philippines), is freed by Russian forces from a POW camp in Manchuria, China.

1947

First Little League World Series champion crowned

On August 23, 1947, the first Little League World Series championship game—the culmination of a three-day tournament in Williamsport, Pennsylvania—features teams from Pennsylvania. Before roughly 2,500 fans, Maynard, a team from Williamsport, defeats Lock Haven, 16-7, to win the title at Original Field. Although it is called the "World Series," 11 of the 12 teams in the tournament are from Pennsylvania; the outlier is a team from Atlantic City, N.J.

1968

Black soldiers stage sit-in at Fort Hood

On the morning of August 23, 1968, a group of Black soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas stage one of the largest acts of civil disobedience ever recorded among members of the United States military. Adopting the nonviolent tactics of the civil rights movement, the soldiers stage a sit-in to protest their impending deployment to Chicago to defend the Democratic National Convention from protesters.

1970

Lou Reed plays his last show with the Velvet Underground

On August 23, 1970, Lou Reed, lead singer and primary songwriter of the pioneering alt-rock band the Velvet Underground play their last gig together at the famous Manhattan rock club Max’s Kansas City.

1989

Pete Rose gets booted from baseball

On August 23, 1989, as punishment for betting on baseball, Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose accepts a settlement that includes a lifetime ban from the game. The ban is publicly announced the following morning. A heated debate continues to rage as to whether Rose, a former player who remains the game’s all-time hits leader, should be given a second chance.

1999

New York City reports first cases of West Nile virus

The first cases of an encephalitis outbreak are reported in New York City on August 23, 1999. Seven people die from what turns out to be the first cases of West Nile virus in the United States.

2000

First “Survivor” finale airs

On August 23, 2000, Richard Hatch, a 39-year-old corporate trainer from Rhode Island, wins the season-one finale of the reality television show "Survivor" and takes home the promised $1 million prize. In a four-to-three vote by his fellow contestants, Hatch, who was known for walking around naked on the island in Borneo where the show was shot, was named Sole Survivor over the river raft guide Kelly Wiglesworth. "Survivor," whose slogan is “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast,” was a huge ratings success and spawned numerous imitators in the reality-competition genre.

2006

Austrian teen escapes after eight years in captivity

Natascha Kampusch, an Austrian teenager who was kidnapped at age 10, escapes from her captor, Wolfgang Priklopil, after more than eight years. Shortly after her escape, Priklopil died by suicide.

2021

FDA fully approves the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

On August 23, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approves the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 16 and older, following a manufacturing review and analysis of the company’s expanded clinical trial, which included approximately 44,000 participants and found the vaccine to be 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.

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