2025 German federal election
A snap election is held in Germany.
What happened on February 23
34 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1725 to 2025.
About February 23
February 23 is the 54th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 54 of 365 (54 in leap years)311 days left in the year (312 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Monday in 2026, Tuesday in 2027, Wednesday in 2028, Friday in 2029, Saturday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 9 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♓ Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- February birthstone
- Amethystcalm, clarity and courage
- February birth flower
- Violet / Primrosefaithfulness and young love
- Next occurrence
- In 119 days
- Roman numerals
- XXIII.IIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 40thEmerson (footballer, born February 1986)1986
- 30thD'Angelo Russell1996
- 30thNick Schmaltz1996
- 10thJacqueline Mattson2016
- 10thPeter Lustig2016
- 5thAhmed Zaki Yamani2021
- 5thFebruary 2021 Ecuadorian prison riots2021
- 1st2025 German federal election2025
February 23 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Jacqueline Mattson · Peter Lustig
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on February 23 — ages this year
- 2002Alice Litmanturns 24
- 2000Femke Broeders-Bolturns 26
- 1997Jamal Murrayturns 29
- 1996Nick Schmaltzturns 30
- 1996D'Angelo Russellturns 30
- 1995Andrew Wigginsturns 31
Historical events 34
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
February 2021 Ecuadorian prison riots
Riots in four Ecuadorian prisons, caused by gang rivalries, resulted in the deaths of 79 inmates.
Murder of Ahmaud Arbery
Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African-American citizen, is shot and murdered by three white men after visiting a house under construction while jogging at a neighborhood in Satilla Shores near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.
Atlas Air Flight 3591
Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 freighter, crashes into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, killing all three people on board.
2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections are held in Djibouti.
Free Syrian Army
The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army captures Al-Bab from ISIL.
Syrian civil war
Syrian civil war: Allied troops led by the Turkish Armed Forces captured the city of al-Bab from the Islamic State.
23 February 2012 Iraq attacks
A series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 83 killed and more than 250 injured.
Diesel fuel
Unknown criminals pour more than 2+1⁄2 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in northern Italy, sparking an environmental disaster.
Northrop B-2 Spirit
A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber crashed on the runway shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in the most expensive crash in U.S. Air Force history.
WINDS
The Japanese WINDS satellite is launched.
United States Air Force
A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber crashes on Guam, marking the first operational loss of a B-2.
Grayrigg derailment
A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 88. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
Ariane 4
An Ariane 4 rocket is launched from the Guiana Space Centre carrying Intelsat 904.
Avalanche
An avalanche buries the town of Galtür, Austria, killing 31.
Kurds
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
1998 Central Florida tornado outbreak
In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42 people.
Thailand
In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
Anfal campaign
Saddam Hussein begins the Anfal genocide against Kurds and Assyrians in northern Iraq.
SN 1987A
SN 1987A, the first supernova that modern astronomers were able to study in great detail, was observed from Earth occurring in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
Antonio Tejero
In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: South Vietnamese General Đỗ Cao Trí was killed in a helicopter crash en route to taking control of the faltering Operation Lam Son 719.
Joe Rosenthal
American photographer Joe Rosenthal took the Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima during the Battle of Iwo Jima, an image that was later reproduced on the Marine Corps War Memorial.
World War II
Second World War: An Allied bombing run on Pforzheim, Germany, killed approximately 31 percent of its population and destroyed about 83 percent of its buildings.
1940–1944 insurgency in Chechnya
In response to an insurgency in Chechnya, the Soviet Union began the forced deportation of the native Chechen and Ingush of North Caucasus.
Cavan Orphanage fire
35 children and 1 adult employee were killed in a fire at an orphanage in the town of Cavan, Ireland.
Plutonium
Plutonium was first chemically identified by chemist Glenn T. Seaborg and his team at the University of California, Berkeley.
Charles Martin Hall
American inventor Charles Martin Hall discovered an inexpensive method of producing aluminium.
Orange River Convention
The Orange River Convention was signed in Bloemfontein, with the United Kingdom agreeing to recognise the independence of the Orange Free State in present-day South Africa.
Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War: The United States Army used artillery to repulse the much larger Mexican army at the Battle of Buena Vista near Saltillo.
American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War: Prussian military officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania as a volunteer for the Continental Army.
Highwayman
The identity of English highwayman Dick Turpin was uncovered by his former schoolmate, who recognised his handwriting, leading to Turpin's trial.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach premiered his Shepherd Cantata for the birthday of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (pictured).
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Theophilus London
Theophilus London, Trinidadian-American singer-songwriter and producer
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Rana Bhagwandas
Rana Bhagwandas, Pakistani lawyer and judge, Chief Justice of Pakistan (born 1942)
Alice Herz-Sommer
Alice Herz-Sommer, Czech-English Holocaust survivor, pianist and educator (born 1903)
Joseph Friedenson
Joseph Friedenson, Holocaust survivor, Holocaust historian, Yiddish writer, lecturer and editor (born 1922)
Eugene Bookhammer
Eugene Bookhammer, American soldier and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (born 1918)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Serenus the Gardener
Christian feast day: Serenus the Gardener
Polycarp
Christian feast day: Polycarp of Smyrna
The Emperor's Birthday
The Emperor's Birthday, birthday of Naruhito, the current Emperor of Japan (Japan)
National Day (Brunei)
National Day (Brunei)
Mashramani
Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)
Willigis
Christian feast day: Willigis
February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Beatification
Christian feast day: Blessed Rafaela Ybarra de Vilallonga
Spread across the centuries
- 18th century3
- 19th century3
- 20th century33
- 21st century35
Earliest: Johann Sebastian Bach (1725). Most recent: 2025 German federal election (2025).
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 February 23
What day of the year is February 23?
February 23 is the 54th day of the year, with 311 days left after it.
What star sign is February 23?
February 23 falls under Pisces (February 19 – March 20), a water sign ruled by Neptune (traditionally Jupiter). The birthstone for the month is Amethyst.
How many things happened on February 23?
We record 82 entries for February 23: 34 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1725 to 2025.
Who was born on February 23?
Alice Litman (2002) is among the notable births on February 23. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the February 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 February 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.