Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 mission initiates first Moon landing in Indian history.
What happened on August 23
31 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 7 observances. From 1305 to 2023.
Standout on August 23
2023
Wagner Group
A business jet carrying key leadership members of the Russian private military company Wagner Group crashes, killing all ten people on board.
About August 23
August 23 is the 235th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 235 of 365 (236 in leap years)130 days left in the year (130 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Sunday in 2026, Monday in 2027, Wednesday in 2028, Thursday in 2029, Friday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 34 of 2026 · Q3
- Zodiac sign
- ♍ Virgo (August 23 – September 22)Cusp date — the exact boundary shifts by a day in some years.
- Season
- Summer in the north · Winter in the south
- August birthstone
- Peridot / Spinel / Sardonyxstrength, good fortune and calm
- August birth flower
- Gladiolus / Poppystrength of character and remembrance
- Next occurrence
- In 300 days
- Roman numerals
- XXIII.VIIIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 30thAlejo Igoa1996
- 20thNatascha Kampusch2006
- 5thElizabeth Blackadder2021
Born on August 23 — ages this year
- 2000Boryana Kaleynturns 26
- 1999Saya Sakakibaraturns 27
- 1998P. J. Washingtonturns 28
- 1997Lil Yachtyturns 29
- 1996Alejo Igoaturns 30
- 1995Gabriela Leeturns 31
Historical events 31
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Wagner Group
A business jet carrying key leadership members of the Russian private military company Wagner Group crashes, killing all ten people on board.
2013 Palmasola prison riot
A riot at the Palmasola prison complex in Santa Cruz, Bolivia kills 31 people.
2012 Ljubljana Marshes hot air balloon crash
A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, killing six people and injuring 28 others.
2011 Virginia earthquake
A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate) earthquake occurs in Virginia. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington, D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at 200 million–300 million USD.
Muammar Gaddafi
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War.
Moment magnitude scale
A 5.8 MW earthquake struck the Piedmont region of Virginia, and was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history.
Manila hostage crisis
The Manila hostage crisis occurs near the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, Philippines, killing 9 people including the perpetrator while injuring 9 others.
Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia
The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Natascha Kampusch
Natascha Kampusch (pictured), who had been abducted at the age of ten in Vienna, escaped from her captor's house in Strasshof an der Nordbahn after more than eight years in captivity.
Gulf Air Flight 072
Gulf Air Flight 072 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143.
Eugene Bullard
Eugene Bullard, the only African American pilot in World War I, is posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web was opened to the public.
Armenia
Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War.
German reunification
West and East Germany announce that they will reunite on October 3.
Singing Revolution
Singing Revolution: Approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet republics to demonstrate their desire for independence.
Hans Tiedge
Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany.
Wave Hill walk-off
The start of the Wave Hill walk-off by Gurindji people in Australia, lasting eight years, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 Paul Kelly song and an annual celebration.
Pontiac Silverdome
The Pontiac Silverdome opens in Pontiac, Michigan, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Detroit, Michigan.
Norrmalmstorg robbery
A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term "Stockholm syndrome".
Congo Crisis
Congo Crisis: In order to stop the secession of South Kasai from the Republic of Congo, Armée Nationale Congolaise forces launched an invasion of South Kasai.
Cruise of the Kings
The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departed from Marseille, France.
World War II
Second World War: A decisive Soviet victory against German forces at the Battle of Kursk gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (pictured), a ten-year mutual non-aggression treaty, which also secretly divided northern and eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.
1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane
The Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane made landfall in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and went on to cause at least 47 deaths in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.
World War I
In their first major action of the First World War, the British Expeditionary Force engaged German troops in Mons, Belgium.
Southern Cross Expedition
The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departed London.
Albert Bridge, London
The Albert Bridge, spanning the River Thames in London, opened to traffic.
George III
King George III issued a proclamation that declared elements of the American colonies of Great Britain to be in a state of "open and avowed rebellion".
William Wallace
William Wallace, a leader of Scottish resistance against England during the Wars of Scottish Independence, was hanged, drawn and quartered.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Yevgeny Prigozhin
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian businessman, chief of Wagner Group (born 1961)
Jaume Vallcorba Plana
Jaume Vallcorba Plana, Spanish philologist and publisher (born 1949)
Richard J. Corman
Richard J. Corman, American businessman, founded the R.J. Corman Railroad Group (born 1955)
Charles Lisanby
Charles Lisanby, American production designer and set director (born 1924)
Konstanty Miodowicz
Konstanty Miodowicz, Polish ethnographer and politician (born 1951)
Holidays & observances 7
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Beatification
Christian feast day: Blessed Franciszek Dachtera
Éogan of Ardstraw
Christian feast day: Éogan of Ardstraw
Asterius, Claudius and Neon
Christian feast day: Asterius, Claudius, and Neon
Lupus of Novae
Christian feast day: Lupus (Luppus) of Novae
Philip Benizi de Damiani
Christian feast day: Philip Benitius
Ascelina
Christian feast day: Ascelina
Days of Military Honour
Battle of Kursk Day (Russia)
Spread across the centuries
- 14th century1
- 18th century1
- 19th century2
- 20th century37
- 21st century30
Earliest: William Wallace (1305). Most recent: Chandrayaan-3 (2023).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about August 23
What day of the year is August 23?
August 23 is the 235th day of the year, with 130 days left after it.
What star sign is August 23?
August 23 falls under Virgo (August 23 – September 22), a earth sign ruled by Mercury. The birthstone for the month is Peridot or Spinel or Sardonyx.
How many things happened on August 23?
We record 78 entries for August 23: 31 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 7 observances. From 1305 to 2023.
Who was born on August 23?
Boryana Kaleyn (2000) is among the notable births on August 23. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the August 23 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like August 23
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.