May 23

May 23 is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 222 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 844 – Battle of Clavijo: The Apostle Saint James the Greater is said to have miraculously appeared to a force of outnumbered Asturians and aided them against the forces of the Emir of Cordoba.
• 1430 – Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne.
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
• 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
• 1568 – The Netherlands declare their independence from Spain.
• 1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, the brother of William I of Orange, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
• 1609 – Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
• 1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
• 1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London, England.
• 1706 – Battle of Ramillies: John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi.
• 1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the 8th American state.
• 1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
• 1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
• 1844 – Declaration of the Báb: a merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, and Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
• 1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
• 1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• 1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
• 1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
• 1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
• 1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which occurred in the city of São Paulo. Their names and surnames were used to form the M.M.D.C., a revolutionary group that would act against the dictatorial government, especially in the Constitutionalist Revolution ("Revolução Constitucionalista", in Portuguese), the major uprising in Brazil during the 20th century.
• 1934 – The American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana.
• 1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
• 1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
• 1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
• 1945 – World War II: The Flensburg Government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces at Flensburg in Northern Germany.
• 1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
• 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany is established and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed.
• 1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with China.
• 1958 – Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
• 1967 – Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping.
• 1992 – Italy's most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than 2 months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
• 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
• 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
• 2002 – The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
• 2004 – Part of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.
• 2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
• 2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
• 2010 – Jamaican police begin a manhunt for drug lord Christopher Coke, after the United States requested his extradition, leading to three days of violence during which at least 73 bystanders are killed.

Births

• 1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
• 1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
• 1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish philosopher, ecclesiastic, mathematician, and writer (d. 1682)
• 1617 – Elias Ashmole, English antiquarian (d. 1692)
• 1696 – Johann Caspar Vogler, German organist and composer (d. 1763)
• 1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (d. 1778)
• 1718 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (d. 1783)
• 1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian writer (d. 1799)
• 1734 – Franz Mesmer, Austrian physician and hypnotist (d. 1815)
• 1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer (d. 1801)
• 1790 – Jules Dumont d'Urville, French naval officer, admiral, and explorer (d. 1842)
• 1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso (d. 1870)
• 1795 – Charles Barry, English architect (d. 1860)
• 1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist (d. 1850)
• 1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer and inventor, designed and built the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
• 1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American jurist (d. 1891)
• 1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general (d. 1881)
• 1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter (d. 1890)
• 1844 – `Abdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious figure (d. 1921)
• 1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German aviation pioneer and engineer (d. 1896)
• 1855 – Isabella Ford, English activist (d. 1924)
• 1859 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian Roman Catholic bishop (d. 1913)
• 1864 – William O'Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
• 1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian politician and jurist, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
• 1867 – John Exley, American rower (d. 1938)
• 1871 – Saint George Ashe, British rower (d. 1922)
• 1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman (d. 1966)
• 1879 – Elizabeth Gunn, New Zealand paediatrician (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Dezső Lauber, Hungarian architect and sportsman (d. 1966)
• 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (d. 1939)
• 1883 – Ferenc Talányi, Slovene writer, journalist, and painter (d. 1959)
• 1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist (d. 1965)
• 1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1963)
• 1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German politician (d. 1967)
• 1890 – Herbert Marshall, English actor (d. 1966)
• 1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1977)
• 1895 – Billy Smith, English footballer (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Felix Steiner, German Waffen-SS officer (d. 1966)
• 1898 – Scott O'Dell, American author (d. 1989)
• 1898 – Josef Terboven, German nazi leader (d. 1945)
• 1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and nazi official (d. 1946)
• 1902 – Frank Buckland, Canadian sports administrator (d. 1991)
• 1906 – Pran Nath Thapar, Indian military officer (d. 1975)
• 1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
• 1908 – Paul Dozois, Canadian politician (d. 1984)
• 1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author (d. 1952)
• 1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect, designer, and artist (d. 1999)
• 1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor singer, dancer, and musician (d. 1986)
• 1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinetist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
• 1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
• 1911 – Paul Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
• 1912 – Betty Astell, English actress (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Jean Françaix, French composer and pianist (d. 1997)
• 1912 – John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
• 1914 – Celestine Sibley, American author, journalist, and columnist (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer (d. 1997)
• 1919 – Avraham Drori, Polish-Israeli politician (d. 1964)
• 1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican singer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress and dancer (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Robert Bernstein, American writer and playwright (d. 1988)
• 1919 – Gayatri Devi Indian politician (d. 2009)
• 1920 – Helen O'Connell, American singer, actress, and dancer (d. 1993)
• 1921 – James Blish, American author (d. 1975)
• 1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English musician, composer, and broadcaster (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Edna Skinner, American actress (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
• 1923 – Walter Wolfrum, German pilot (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German researcher and writer
• 1924 – Clyde King, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
• 1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American molecular biologist, Nobel laureate (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Mac Wiseman, American singer-songwriter and musician (Foggy Mountain Boys)
• 1926 – Basil Salvadore D'Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
• 1926 – Joe Slovo, South African politician (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Bodil Skjånes Dugstad, Norwegian politician
• 1928 – Jeannie Carson, English actress and comedian
• 1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor
• 1928 – Pauline Julien, French-Canadian singer-songwriter, actress, and activist (d. 1998)
• 1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (d. 1982)
• 1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet
• 1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress
• 1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
• 1933 – Jean-Louis Lagadec, French footballer and coach (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle speedway rider Five times world champion
• 1934 – Robert Moog, American businessman and inventor, founder of Moog Music and invented the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish writer (d. 2009)
• 1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German opera singer
• 1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor
• 1938 – Peter Preston, English journalist and author
• 1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director
• 1939 – Michel Colombier, French composer, songwriter, and conductor (d. 2004)
• 1939 – Jack McCarthy, American poet
• 1940 – Giles Gordon, Scottish writer and agent (d. 2003)
• 1942 – Zalman King, American writer, director, and producer (d. 2012)
• 1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher
• 1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director
• 1943 – General Johnson, American singer-songwriter and producer (Chairmen of the Board and The Showmen) (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Alan Walden, American manager publisher, agent, and promoter, co-founder of Capricorn Records
• 1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player
• 1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director (d. 1991)
• 1945 – Lauren Chapin, American actress
• 1946 – Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
• 1946 – H. Paul Shuch, American scientist
• 1947 – Bernard Comrie, English linguist
• 1947 – Ann Hui, Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet (d. 1995)
• 1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress
• 1948 – Reggie Cleveland, Canadian baseball player
• 1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
• 1949 – Alan García, Peruvian politician
• 1950 – Bruce Hay, Scottish rugby player (d. 2007)
• 1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish politician
• 1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
• 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek politician
• 1952 – Anne-Marie David, French singer
• 1953 – Dick Stellingwerf, Dutch politician
• 1954 – Marvin Hagler, American boxer
• 1954 – Hans Kruize, Dutch field hockey player
• 1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and musician
• 1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician
• 1956 – Mark Shaw, New Zealand rugby player
• 1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player and manager
• 1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian Comics Artist and Painter
• 1956 – Albert Voorn, Dutch horse rider
• 1957 – Mark Arnold, American actor
• 1957 – Jimmy McShane, Irish singer (Baltimora) (d. 1995)
• 1958 – Mitch Albom, American writer
• 1958 – Drew Carey, American actor and comedian
• 1958 – Serge Dupire, French-Canadian actor
• 1958 – François Feldman, French singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Paul Street, American author and historian
• 1959 – Ryuta Kawashima, Japanese neuroscientist
• 1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player
• 1959 – Bob Mortimer, English comedian
• 1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor
• 1961 – Karen Duffy, American actress
• 1963 – Wally Dallenbach, Jr., American race car driver and announcer
• 1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss politician
• 1965 – Charlie Hayes, American baseball player
• 1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
• 1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress (The Walking Dead)
• 1965 – Athanasios Skourtopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director
• 1965 – Woorkeri Raman, Indian cricketer
• 1966 – Graeme Hick, English cricketer
• 1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 – Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Dutch television host and producer
• 1967 – Luis Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
• 1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
• 1967 – Philip Selway, English musician and songwriter (Radiohead)
• 1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress
• 1970 – Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin of Yitzhak Rabin
• 1970 – Nanette Burstein, American director and producer
• 1970 – Matt Flynn, American drummer and producer (Maroon 5)
• 1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver
• 1971 – Laurel Holloman, American actress
• 1971 – George Osborne, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
• 1973 – Jacopo Gianninoto, Italian composer and musician
• 1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
• 1973 – Mirjam Sterk, Dutch politician
• 1973 – Ron Trent, American DJ and producer
• 1974 – Ken Jennings, American game show contestant, computer scientist, and author
• 1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
• 1974 – Mónica Naranjo, Spanish singer
• 1974 – Charlie Young, Hong Kong actress and singer
• 1975 – Wafah Dufour, American singer-songwriter
• 1975 – Kim Sung-soo, South Korean actor
• 1976 – Kelly Monaco, American actress
• 1976 – Sinha, Mexican footballer
• 1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
• 1977 – Annabel Kosten, Dutch swimmer
• 1978 – Mike Gonzalez, American baseball player
• 1978 – Carolyn Moos, American model and basketball player
• 1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer (blink-182)
• 1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player
• 1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Martin Giroux, French-Canadian singer
• 1979 – Kirk Saarloos, American baseball player
• 1980 – Gary Brackett, American football player
• 1980 – Lane Garrison, American actor
• 1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
• 1980 – Chris Gethard, American actor, comedian, and writer
• 1981 – Pierre Lapointe, Canadian singer
• 1981 – Tim Robinson, American comedian (Saturday Night Live)
• 1981 – Gwenno Saunders, Welsh singer, keyboardist, and dancer (The Pipettes)
• 1982 – Cyrill Gloor, Swiss footballer
• 1982 – Malene Mortensen, Danish singer
• 1982 – Tristan Prettyman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and model
• 1983 – Heidi Range, English singer-songwriter (Sugababes and Atomic Kitten)
• 1983 – Alex Shelley, American wrestler
• 1984 – Sam Milby, Filipino-American actor and model
• 1984 – Adam Wylie, American actor
• 1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
• 1985 – Shafiq Chitou, Beninese boxer
• 1985 – Sekou Cissé, Ivorian footballer
• 1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
• 1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
• 1985 – Kennedy Kanyeria, Kenyan Music Producer
• 1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
• 1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
• 1986 – Thanduyise Khuboni, South African footballer
• 1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress, writer, director, and producer
• 1987 – Windham Rotunda, American wrestler
• 1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer
• 1988 – Danny de Jong, Dutch actor
• 1988 – Lorenzo De Silvestri, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Vaness del Moral, Filipino actress and dancer
• 1990 – Kristína Kučová, Slovak tennis player
• 1991 – Sarah Jarosz, American singer-songwriter
• 1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter
• 1992 – Asenate Manoa, Tuvaluan runner

Deaths

• 1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)
• 1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
• 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian religious reformer and ruler of Florence (b. 1452)
• 1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shogun (b. 1466)
• 1524 – Ismail I, Iran ruler, founder of the Safavid dynasty (b. 1487)
• 1662 – John Gauden, English bishop and writer (b. 1605)
• 1670 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
• 1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (b. 1622)
• 1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
• 1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish nobleman
• 1752 – William Bradford, English printer (b. 1663)
• 1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)
• 1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and patriot (b. 1725)
• 1786 – Maurice Benyovszky, Hungarian count, explorer, and writer (b. 1746)
• 1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general (b. 1772)
• 1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
• 1825 – Gugsa of Yejju
• 1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
• 1846 – Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki, Polish politician (b. 1778)
• 1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English naval officer and explorer (b. 1797)
• 1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician (b. 1789)
• 1868 – Kit Carson, American frontiersman and Indian fighter (b. 1809)
• 1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian (b. 1795)
• 1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian statesman (b. 1805)
• 1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist and physicist (b. 1798)
• 1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian writer (b. 1828)
• 1908 – François Coppée, French poet and novelist (b. 1842)
• 1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
• 1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish athlete (b. 1872)
• 1934 – Clyde Barrow, American outlaw (b. 1909)
• 1934 – Bonnie Parker, American outlaw (b. 1910)
• 1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1839)
• 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German Nazi commander (b. 1900)
• 1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter (b. 1872)
• 1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)
• 1962 – Louis Coatalen, French automobile engineer (b. 1879)
• 1965 – Earl Webb, American baseball player (b. 1897)
• 1966 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902)
• 1967 – Lionel Groulx, French-Canadian priest and historian (b. 1878)
• 1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian (b. 1894)
• 1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English novelist (b. 1911)
• 1981 – George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
• 1981 – David Lewis, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor (b. 1916)
• 1988 – Aya Kitō, Japanese author (b. 1962)
• 1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director (b. 1915)
• 1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)
• 1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
• 1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian politician (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
• 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian judge (b. 1939)
• 1994 – Ray Candy, American wrestler (b. 1951)
• 1994 – George Metesky, American terrorist (b. 1903)
• 1994 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (b. 1929)
• 1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist (b. 1934)
• 1998 – Telford Taylor, American lawyer (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Jean Yanne, French actor and director (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish scientist (b. 1919)
• 2005 – Fat-Tone, American rapper (b. 1981)
• 2006 – Clifford Antone, American businessman (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American politician (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Ian Copeland, American music promoter and agent (b. 1949)
• 2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter, poet, and activist (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean politician, 16th President of South Korea (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Princess Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani (b. 1914)
• 2010 – José Lima, Dominican baseball player (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Simon Monjack, English actor, producer, and writer (b. 1970)
• 2010 – Gane Todorovski, Macedonian critic, poet, and publicist (b. 1929)
• 2012 – T. Garry Buckley, American politician (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Gyula Elek, Hungarian handball player and coach (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Sattareh Farmanfarmaian, Persian noble and writer (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and educator (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Hal Jackson, American disc jockey and sportscaster (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Joseph Lesniewski, American soldier (b. 1920)
• 2012 – William C. Wampler, American politician (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Hazel Hawke, Australian wife of 23rd Prime Minister Bob Hawke, author and amateur pianist (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Brian Sternberg, American pole vaulter (b. 1943)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • Desiderius of Vienne
  • Quintian, Lucius and Julian
  • May 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Declaration of the Báb (Bahá'í Faith)
• Labour Day (Jamaica)
• World Turtle Day
• Rosalia (Roman Empire)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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