September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 99 days remaining until the end of the year.
It is frequently the day of the autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and the day of the Vernal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.
Today in history
1122 – Concordat of Worms.
1459 – Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, is fought at Blore Heath in Staffordshire.
1529 – The Siege of Vienna begins as Suleiman I begins his attack on the city.
1641 – The Merchant Royal, carrying a treasure worth over a billion USD, is lost at sea off Land's End.
1642 – First commencement exercises occur at Harvard College.
1779 – American Revolution: a squadron commanded by John Paul Jones on board the USS Bonhomme Richard wins the Battle of Flamborough Head, off the coast of England, against two British warships.
1780 – American Revolution: British Major John André is arrested as a spy by American soldiers exposing Benedict Arnold's change of sides.
1803 – Second Anglo-Maratha War: Battle of Assaye.
1806 – Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis, after exploring the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
1821 – Tripolitsa, Greece, falls and 30,000 Turks are massacred.
1845 – The Knickerbockers Baseball Club, the first baseball team to play under the modern rules, is founded in New York.
1846 – Neptune is discovered by French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier and British astronomer John Couch Adams; the discovery is verified by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.
1868 – Grito de Lares (Lares Revolt) occurs in Puerto Rico against Spanish rule.
1889 – Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda.
1905 – Norway and Sweden sign the "Karlstad treaty", peacefully dissolving the Union between the two countries.
1908 – University of Alberta in Alberta, Canada, is founded.
1922 – in Washington D. C. (EE. UU.) is signed the Hughes - Peynado agreement, that ends the ocupation of Dominican Republic by the United States (since 1916).
1922 – Gdynia Seaport Construction Act is passed by the Polish parliament.
1932 – The Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd is renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1938 – Mobilization of the Czechoslovak army in response to the Munich Crisis.
1941 – World War II: The first gas murder experiments are conducted at Auschwitz.
1942 – World War II: First day of the September Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps forces attack Imperial Japanese Army units along the Matanikau River.
1943 – World War II: The so-called Salò Republic is born.
1952 – Richard Nixon makes his "Checkers speech".
1959 – Iowa farmer Roswell Garst hosted Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev?
1959 – The M/S Princess of Tasmania Australia’s first passenger RO/RO diesel ferry makes her maiden voyage across Bass Strait.
1962 – The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City opens with the completion of the first building, the Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) home of the New York Philharmonic.
1969 – The Chicago Eight trial opens in Chicago.
1972 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos announces over television and radio the implementation of martial law.
1973 – Juan Perón returns to power in Argentina.
1983 – Saint Kitts and Nevis joins the United Nations.
1983 – Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa becomes the first African boxing world heavyweight champion.
1988 – José Canseco of the Oakland Athletics becomes the first member of the 40-40 club.
1992 – A large Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb destroys the forensic laboratories in Belfast.
1999 – NASA announces that it has lost contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter.
1999 – Qantas Flight 1 overruns the runway in Bangkok during a storm. While some passengers only receive minor injuries, it is still the worst crash in Qantas's history since 1960.
2002 – The first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox ("Phoenix 0.1") is released.
2004 – At least 1,070 in Haiti are reported killed by floods due to Hurricane Jeanne
2008 – Kauhajoki school shooting: Matti Saari kills 10 people before committing suicide.
Births
480 BC – Euripides, Greek playwright (d. 406 BC)
63 BC – Augustus Caesar, Roman Emperor (d. 14)
1158 – Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1186)
1161 – Emperor Takakura of Japan (d. 1181)
1215 – Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire (d. 1294)
1434 – Yolande of Valois, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1478)
1598 – Eleonore Gonzaga, wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1655)
1647 – Joseph Dudley, American statesman (d. 1720)
1650 – Jeremy Collier, English bishop (d. 1726)
1713 – King Ferdinand VI of Spain (d. 1759)
1740 – Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1813)
1759 – Clothilde of France, Queen of Piedmont-Sardinia (d. 1802)
1771 – Emperor Kokaku of Japan (d. 1840)
1781 – Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (d. 1860)
1791 – Johann Franz Encke, German astronomer (d. 1865)
1819 – Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist (d. 1896)
1838 – Victoria Woodhull, American suffragist (d. 1927)
1852 – William Stewart Halsted, American surgeon (d. 1922)
1861 – Robert Bosch, German inventor and industrialist (d. 1942)
1863 – Mary Eliza Church Terrell, American writer (d. 1954)
1864 – Draga Mašin, Queen of Serbia (d. 1903)
1865 – Emmuska Orczy, British novelist (d. 1947)
1869 – Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary, first carrier of typhoid (d. 1938)
1880 – John Boyd Orr, Scottish physician, Nobel Laureate (d. 1971)
1889 – Walter Lippmann, American journalist (d. 1974)
1890 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (d. 1957)
1895 – Miron Merzhanov, Soviet architect (d. 1975)
1895 – Johnny Mokan, American baseball player (d. 1985)
1897 – Walter Pidgeon, Canadian actor (d. 1984)
1899 – Tom C. Clark, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1977)
1900 – Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (d. 1988)
1900 – Bill Stone, British serviceman who served during World War I (d. 2009)
1901 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1986)
1902 – Su Buqing, Chinese mathematician and educator (d. 2003)
1907 – Dominique Aury, French novelist (d. 1998)
1907 – Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, heir to the throne of Portugal (d. 1976)
1911 – Frank Moss, United States Senator from Utah (d. 2003)
1912 – Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Pakistani researcher, critic and linguist (d. 2005)
1912 – Tony Smith, American sculptor (d. 1980)
1913 – Carl-Henning Pedersen, Danish artist, member of the CoBrA movement (d. 2007)
1914 – Omar Ali Saifuddin III, Sultan of Brunei (d. 1986)
1915 – Clifford Shull, American physicist, Nobel Laureate (d. 2001)
1916 – Aldo Moro, Italian politician (d. 1978)
1920 – Mickey Rooney, American actor
1924 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan newspaper editor (d. 1978)
1924 – Heinrich Schultz, Estonian cultural functionary
1925 – Denis Twitchett, Cambridge scholar, and Chinese historian (d. 2006)
1925 – Eleonora Rossi Drago, Italian actress (d. 2007)
1926 – John Coltrane, American saxophonist (d. 1967)
1929 – Wally Whyton, English musician (d. 1997)
1930 – Ray Charles, American musician (d. 2004)
1930 – Sehba Akhtar, Pakistani poet (d. 1996)
1930 – Colin Blakely, British actor (d. 1987)
1931 – Gerald Stairs Merrithew, Canadian educator (d. 2004)
1934 – Ahmad Shah Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan
1936 – Valentín Paniagua, Peruvian politician
1938 – Tom Lester, American actor
1938 – Romy Schneider, French actress (d. 1982)
1939 – Henry Blofeld, English cricket commentator
1939 – Roy Buchanan, American guitarist (d. 1988)
1939 – Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
1939 – Sonny Vaccaro, American former sports executive
1941 – Simon Nolet, Canadian ice hockey player
1941 – George Jackson, American civil-rights activist (d. 1971)
1942 – Sila María Calderón, Puerto Rican politician
1943 – Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer
1943 – Marty Schottenheimer, American football coach
1943 – Tanuja, Indian actress
1944 – Eric Bogle, British/Australian singer and songwriter
1945 – Paul Petersen, American actor
1945 – Igor Ivanov, Russian politician
1946 – Franz Fischler, Austrian politician
1947 – Mary Kay Place, American actress
1947 – Jerry Corbetta, American singer and musician (Sugarloaf)
1947 – Neal Smith, American musician (Alice Cooper)
1949 – Bruce Springsteen, American singer and songwriter
1954 – Charlie Barnett, American actor (d. 1996)
1954 – Cherie Blair, lawyer and politician, wife of ex-British PM
1956 – Paolo Rossi, Italian footballer
1956 – Peter David, American writer
1957 – Rosalind Chao, American actress
1957 – Tony Fossas, Cuban baseball player
1957 – Kumar Sanu, Indian playback singer
1958 – Danielle Dax, British musician
1958 – Marvin Lewis, American football coach
1958 – Larry Mize, American golfer
1959 – Jason Alexander, American actor
1959 – Martin Page, English singer and songwriter
1961 – Chi McBride, American actor
1961 – Willie McCool, American astronaut (d. 2003)
1961 – Elizabeth Peña, American actress
1964 – Clayton Blackmore, Welsh footballer
1964 – Koshi Inaba, Japanese singer (B'z)
1964 – Larry Krystkowiak, American basketball player and head coach
1966 – Pete Harnisch, American baseball player
1966 – LisaRaye, American actress
1968 – Yvette Fielding, English television presenter
1968 – Michelle Thomas, American actress (d. 1998)
1969 – Patrick Fiori, French singer
1969 – Tapio Laukkanen, Finnish rally driver
1969 – Donald Audette, Canadian ice hockey player
1970 – Ani DiFranco, American musician
1970 – Georgios Koltsidas, Greek footballer
1971 – Moin Khan, Pakistani cricketer
1971 – Lee Mi-yeon, South Korean actress
1971 – Eric Montross, American basketball player
1972 – Ana Marie Cox, American blogger and author
1972 – Jermaine Dupri, American music producer and rapper
1972 – Karl Pilkington, British radio personality
1972 – Shim Eun-ha, South Korean actress
1973 – Ingrid Fliter, Argentinian pianist
1973 – Artim Šakiri, Macedonian football player
1974 – Matt Hardy, American professional wrestler
1974 – Harumi Inoue, Japanese actress and model
1975 – Jaime Bergman, American model and actress
1975 – Layzie Bone, American rapper (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
1975 – Chris Hawkins, British radio personality
1975 – Kim Dong-moon, South Korean badminton player
1975 – Eric Miller, Irish rugby player
1976 – Faune A. Chambers, American actress
1976 – Kip Pardue, American actor and model
1976 – Wladimir Sidorenko, Ukrainian boxer
1977 – Rachael Yamagata, American singer and songwriter
1977 – Matthieu Descoteaux, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Susan Tamim, Lebanese singer and actress (d. 2008)
1978 – Worm Miller, American filmmaker
1978 – Keri Lynn Pratt, American actress
1979 – Ricky Davis, American basketball player
1980 – Cameron Litvack, American television producer
1980 – Matt White, American singer
1981 – Robert Doornbos, Dutch racing driver
1981 – Natalie Horler, German singer (Cascada)
1981 – Misti Traya, American actress
1982 – Shyla Stylez, Canadian pornstar
1983 – Märt Israel, Estonian discus thrower
1983 – Joffery Lupul, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Anneliese van der Pol, American actress
1984 – Nathan Jendrick, American author
1984 – Matt Kemp, American baseball player
1985 – Maki Goto, Japanese pop singer
1985 – Brian Brohm, American football player
1985 – Lukáš Kašpar, Czech ice hockey player
1985 – Hossein Ka'abi, Iranian footballer
1985 – Joba Chamberlain, American baseball player
1986 – Martin Cranie, English footballer
1988 – Juan Martín del Potro, Argentinian tennis player
1989 – Brandon Jennings, American basketball player
1990 – Kota Yabu, Japanese pop singer
1991 – Melanie Oudin, Pro American Tennis Player
Deaths
79 – Pope Linus
1193 – Robert de Sablé, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
1241 – Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic historian, poet, and politician (b. 1178)
1390 – John I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1346)
1535 – Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1513)
1571 – John Jewel, English bishop (b. 1522)
1573 – Azai Hisamasa, Japanese warlord (b. 1524)
1605 – Pontus de Tyard, French poet
1675 – Valentin Conrart, founder of the Académie Française (b. 1603)
1728 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist (b. 1655)
1738 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician (b. 1668)
1764 – Robert Dodsley, English writer (b. 1703)
1773 – Johann Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop and botanist (b. 1718)
1789 – John Rogers, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723)
1835 – Vincenzo Bellini, Italian composer (b. 1801)
1844 – Alexander von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman (b. 1783)
1846 – John Ainsworth Horrocks, English-born explorer of South Australia (b. 1818)
1850 – José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguayan hero (b. 1764)
1867 – Michael O'Laughlen, American conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1840)
1870 – Prosper Mérimée, French author (b. 1803)
1871 – Louis-Joseph Papineau, French Canadian politician (b. 1786)
1873 – Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (b. 1823)
1877 – Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician (b. 1811)
1889 – Wilkie Collins, British author (b. 1824)
1900 – William Marsh Rice, American philanthropist and university founder (b. 1816)
1917 – Werner Voss, German World War I pilot (b. 1897)
1929 – Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1865)
1939 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychiatrist (b. 1856)
1943 – Elinor Glyn, English author (b. 1864)
1944 – Jakob Schaffner, Swiss novelist (b. 1875)
1945 – Salvo D'Acquisto, Italian Carabiniere, awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor (b. 1920)
1950 – Sam Barry, American basketball player and coach (b. 1892)
1968 – Francesco Forgione, "Padre Pio", Catholic saint (b. 1887)
1970 – Bourvil, French actor and singer (b. 1917)
1971 – J. W. Alexander, American mathematician (b. 1888)
1971 – Billy Gilbert, American actor (b. 1894)
1973 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet, Nobel laureate (b. 1904)
1974 – Cliff Arquette, American comedian and actor (b. 1905)
1978 – Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (murdered) (b. 1950)
1981 – Chief Dan George, Canadian actor (b. 1899)
1987 – Bob Fosse, American dancer, choreographer, and actor (b. 1927)
1988 – Tibor Sekelj, Croatian explorer (b. 1912)
1992 – James Van Fleet, U.S. Army general (b. 1892)
1994 – Jerry Barber, American golfer (b. 1916)
1994 – Robert Bloch, American author (b. 1917)
1994 – Madeleine Renaud, French theater and film actress (b. 1900)
1996 – Fujiko F. Fujio, Japanese cartoonist (b. 1933)
1998 – Mary Frann, American actress (b. 1943)
1998 – Ray Bowden, English footballer (b. 1909)
1999 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter (b. 1910)
2000 – Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican Major League Baseball player (b. 1947)
2000 – Carl Rowan, American journalist (b. 1925)
2001 – Ron Hewitt, Welsh footballer (b. 1928)
2002 – Vernon Corea, Sri Lankan broadcaster (b. 1927)
2003 – Ronnie Dawson, American rockabilly musician (b. 1939)
2003 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian TV anchorman (b. 1937)
2004 – André Hazes, Dutch singer (b. 1951)
2004 – Billy Reay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
2004 – Bob Mason, English actor (b. 1952)
2005 – Filiberto Ojeda, Puerto Rican revolutionary (b. 1933)
2005 – Roger Brierley, English actor (b. 1935)
2006 – Sir Malcolm Arnold, English composer and professional trumpeter (b. 1921)
2006 – Etta Baker, American blues guitarist (b. 1913)
2008 – Peter Leonard, Australian journalist (b. 1942)
Holidays and observances
Astrology: Usually the first day of sun sign Libra in the tropical zodiac.
In ancient Latvia, the second day of Mikeli.
Roman Catholic Saints – Feast day of Saint Adomnan of Iona, Saint Thecla, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Also see September 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
Traditional New Year's Day in Constantinople and Eastern Orthodox Churches — because of the birthday of Augustus, not because of the equinox.
Japanese Autumnal equinox Day (秋分の日/Shūbun no hi).
Saudi Arabia – National Day (unification 1932).
French Republican Calendar – Safran (Saffron) Day, second day in the Month of Vendémiaire.
Celebrate Bisexuality Day first recognized in 1999, it now is observed annually in Australia, Asia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States of America.
