Did you know
The First Philippine Republic was established after the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898.
January 23 in History
1899 — The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic
Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first president.
January 23 spans 56 recorded events across recorded history, from 393 to 2024. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
56 events
393 – 2024
Today in history
More major events on January 23
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1846 Slavery in Tunisia is abolished. Source
- 1789 Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.) when Bishop John Carroll, Rev. Robert Molyneux, and Rev. John Ashton purchase land for the proposed academy for the education of youth. Source
- 1656 Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales. Source
Did you know
Emilio Aguinaldo issued the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898.
Did you know
The Malolos Constitution was promulgated on January 23, 1899, and established the framework of the First Philippine Republic.
Did you know
The First Philippine Republic was not recognized by any foreign power but remained a de facto government.
Did you know
The Battle of Manila Bay was a decisive American victory that allowed Emilio Aguinaldo to return to the Philippines and establish the First Philippine Republic.
393
Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
Ruler of the Roman Empire
971
Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
Bow-like ranged weapon
1229
The episcopal seat is moved from Nousiainen to Koroinen (located near the current centre of Turku) by the permission of Pope Gregory IX.
The date is starting to be considered as the founding of Turku.
1264
In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons' War.
King of England from 1216 to 1272
1368
Zhu Yuanzhang proclaims himself the Hongwu Emperor, beginning the Ming dynasty.
Emperor of China from 1368 to 1398
1546
Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
French writer and humanist (died 1553)
1556
The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China.
The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
1565
The Deccan Sultanates defeat Rama Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire at the Battle of Talikota, resulting in over 100,000 casualties and the destruction of the capital Vijayanagara.
Name for five former polities in India
1570
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
Regent for King James VI of Scotland from 1567–1570
1571
The Royal Exchange opens in London.
Commercial building in London (built 1571, rebuilt 1844)
1579
The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
1579 treaty unifying the northern Netherlands provinces
1656
Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
French polymath (1623–1662)
1719
The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
Monarchical state under the rule of a prince or princess
1755
Moscow University is established (12 January 1755 O.S.).
Public research university in Moscow, Russia
1789
Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.) when Bishop John Carroll, Rev.
Robert Molyneux, and Rev. John Ashton purchase land for the proposed academy for the education of youth.
1795
After crossing the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry capture 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of surrender of naval vessels to land forces.
Former inland sea in the Netherlands, now the IJsselmeer
1849
Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D.
by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor.
1870
In Montana, U.S.
cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.
1879
1900
Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
1899–1902 war in South Africa
1904
Ålesund Fire: The Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead.
Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
1909
RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people.
The Republic sinks the next day.
1912
The First International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
First international opium control treaty
1919
The First Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Velykomykhailivka.
Congress of Makhnovshchina
1920
The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
German Emperor from 1888 to 1918
1922
The first successful treatment with insulin is given to 14-year-old diabetic Leonard Thompson.
Use of insulin protein and analogs as medical treatment
1937
The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime.
1936–1938 show trials held by Stalin to purge political opposition
1941
Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S.
Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
1942
World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan's invasion of Australia's Territory of New Guinea.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1943
World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.
World War II army in North Africa and Italy
1945
World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal, the evacuation of areas along the eastern Baltic coast.
German grand admiral (1891–1980)
1950
The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
Unicameral legislature of Israel
1957
American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the "Frisbee".
American inventor (1920-2010)
1958
After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.
Overthrow of Venezuelan dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez
1960
The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.
Free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible
1963
The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese Army stationed in Tite.
1963–1974 armed conflict in West Africa
1964
The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
1964 amendment prohibiting poll taxes
1967
Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.
Practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states
1967
Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people.
Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty-one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
1968
USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by the Korean People's Navy.
Ship attacked and captured by North Korea
1982
World Airways Flight 30 overshoots the runway at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, and crashes into Boston Harbor.
Two people are missing and presumed dead.
1986
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
Music museum in Cleveland, Ohio, US
1987
Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan sends a "letter of death" to Somali President Siad Barre, proposing the genocide of the Isaaq people.
Somali Politician & General (1949-2025)
1997
Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
American diplomat and political scientist (1937–2022)
1998
Netscape announces Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.
American computer services company
2001
Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Chinese Communist Party to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
Incident in Beijing, China
2002
U.S.
journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.
2003
A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.
First spacecraft to visit Jupiter and the outer Solar System (1972–2003)
2018
A 7.9 Mw earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska.
It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.
2018
A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds "dozens" of others.
The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.
2018
The China–United States trade war begins when President Donald Trump places tariffs on Chinese solar panels and washing machines.
Economic conflict since 2018
2022
Mutinying Burkinabè soldiers led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba depose and detain President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré amid widespread anti-government protests.
Burkinabé military officer and president in 2022
2024
Northwestern Air Flight 738 crashes after takeoff from Fort Smith Airport, Northwest Territories, Canada, killing six people.
2024 aviation accident in Canada