Did you know
In 1763, Berbice slave uprising in Guyana: The first major slave revolt in South America. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
February 23 in History
1763 — Berbice slave uprising in Guyana: The first major slave revolt in South America
February 23 spans 66 recorded events across recorded history, from 303 to 2025. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
66 events
303 – 2025
Today in history
More major events on February 23
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1954 The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh. Source
- 1927 U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States. Source
- 1847 Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista: In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. Source
Did you know
The Berbice Rebellion was a slave rebellion in Berbice, Dutch Guiana, that began on 23 February 1763 and lasted to April 1764, with among them the famous rebel leader Cuffy. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
This was the first major slave revolt in South America, and it is seen as a major event in Guyana's anti-colonial struggles. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
When Guyana became an independent republic in 1970 the state declared the anniversary of Cuffy's slave rebellion on 23 February as the Republic Day, a day to commemorate the start of the Berbice slave revolt. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
Cuffy is a national hero commemorated in a large monument in the capital, Georgetown. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
303
Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
Ruler of the Roman Empire
532
Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia.
628
Khosrow II, Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown.
Emperor of the Sasanian Empire from 590 to 628
705
Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty.
Empress of China from 690 to 705
1455
Traditionally the date of publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
Earliest major book printed in Europe
1725
J.
S. Bach leads his Tafel-Music Shepherd Cantata for the birthday of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels.
1778
American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to help train the Continental Army.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1820
Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed and the conspirators arrested.
1820 planned assassination attempt on UK Government ministers
1836
Texas Revolution: The Siege of the Alamo (prelude to the Battle of the Alamo) begins in San Antonio, Texas.
1835–1836 rebellion
1847
Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista: In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1846–1848 conflict between Mexico and the United States
1854
The official independence of the Orange Free State, South Africa is declared.
1854–1902 Boer republic in Southern Africa
1861
President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
President of the United States from 1861 to 1865
1870
Reconstruction Era: Post-U.S.
Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
1885
Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.
1884–1885 conflict between France and China
1886
Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work.
He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall.
1887
The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
Mediterranean coast in Southeastern France and Monaco
1898
Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J'Accuse...!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
French writer (1840–1902)
1900
Second Boer War: During the Battle of the Tugela Heights, the first British attempt to take Hart's Hill fails.
1899–1902 war in South Africa
1903
Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
Country in the Caribbean
1905
Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.
American lawyer (1868–1947)
1909
The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
Experimental aircraft
1917
First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The beginning of the February Revolution (March 8 in the Gregorian calendar).
1927
U.S.
President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.
1927
German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.
Branch of physics
1942
World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the coastline near Santa Barbara, California.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1943
The Cavan Orphanage fire kills thirty-five girls and an elderly cook.
1943 deadly fire at St. Joseph's Orphanage in Cavan, Ireland
1943
Greek Resistance: The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth is founded in Greece.
Armed resistance to the Axis occupation of Greece during WWII
1944
The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.
Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
1945
World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
Major World War II battle in the Pacific Theater
1945
World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free all 2,147 captives of the Los Baños internment camp, in what General Colin Powell later would refer to as "the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies".
Airborne division of the United States Army
1945
World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces.
Archipelagic country in Southeast Asia
1945
World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań.
The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
1945
World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is annihilated in a raid by 379 British bombers.
City in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
1945
American Airlines Flight 009 crashes near Rural Retreat, Virginia, killing 17.
February 1945 plane crash in Rural Retreat, Virginia
1947
International Organization for Standardization is founded.
International standards development organization
1950
General elections are held in the United Kingdom.
1954
The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
Infectious disease caused by poliovirus
1958
Five-time Argentine Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio is kidnapped by rebels involved in the Cuban Revolution, on the eve of the Cuban Grand Prix.
He was released the following day after the race.
1966
In Syria, Ba'ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin al-Hafiz, also a Baathist.
Country in West Asia
1971
Operation Lam Son 719: South Vietnamese General Do Cao Tri was killed in a helicopter crash en route to taking control of the faltering campaign.
Part of the Vietnam War (1971)
1974
The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
American militant organization (1973–1975)
1980
Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
Occupation of Tehran's U.S. embassy (1979–1981)
1981
In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
Spanish Civil Guard colonel and failed coup leader (1932–2026)
1983
The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
U.S. federal government agency
1987
Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
1987 supernova event in the constellation Dorado
1988
Saddam Hussein begins the Anfal genocide against Kurds and Assyrians in northern Iraq.
Operation targeting rural Kurdish civilians in 1988
1991
In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
Country in Southeast Asia
1998
In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42 people.
Tornado outbreak in Central Florida, US, on February 22–23, 1998
1999
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
Iranic ethnic group
1999
An avalanche buries the town of Galtür, Austria, killing 31.
Rapid flow of a mass of snow down a slope
2002
An Ariane 4 rocket is launched from the Guiana Space Centre carrying Intelsat 904.
Rocket
2007
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.
2008
A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber crashes on Guam, marking the first operational loss of a B-2.
Air service branch of the U.S. military
2008
2010
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.
Liquid fuel used in diesel engines
2012
A series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 83 killed and more than 250 injured.
Series of bombings throughout Iraqi cities during the insurgency
2017
The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army captures Al-Bab from ISIL.
Opposition Faction in the Syrian Civil War
2019
Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 freighter, crashes into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, killing all three people on board.
2019 aviation accident in Texas
2020
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.
2020 murder in Georgia, U.S.
2021
Four simultaneous prison riots leave at least 62 people dead in Ecuador.
Massacre in Ecuadorian prisons in February 2021
