July 23 in History

Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-93, with Eileen Collins becoming the firs

1999 — Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-93, with Eileen Collins becoming the first female space shuttle commander

The shuttle also carried and deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

July 23 spans 62 recorded events across recorded history, from 685 to 2018. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By · — Wikipedia

Historical Events 62 events 685 – 2018

More major events on July 23

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 1972 The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite. Read story Source
  2. 2001 Megawati Sukarnoputri was sworn in as the first female president of Indonesia following her predecessor's impeachment. Source
  3. 2015 NASA announces discovery of Kepler-452b by the Kepler space telescope. Source

Did you know

In 1999, Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-93, with Eileen Collins becoming the first female space shuttle commander. The shuttle also carried and deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, and the female personification of the United States, Columbia was the first of five Space Shuttle orbiters to fly in space, debuting the Space Shuttle launch vehicle on its maiden flight on April 12, 1981 and becoming the first spacecraft to be re-used after its first flight when it launched on STS-2 on November 12, 1981. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

As only the second full-scale orbiter to be manufactured after the Approach and Landing Test vehicle Enterprise, Columbia retained unique external and internal features compared with later orbiters, such as test instrumentation and distinctive black chines. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

In addition to a heavier aft fuselage and the retention of an internal airlock throughout its lifetime, these made Columbia the heaviest of the five spacefaring orbiters: around 1,000 kilograms heavier than Challenger and 3,600 kilograms heavier than Endeavour when originally constructed. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

685 Pope_John_V
The election of Pope John V following the death of Pope Benedict II two months prior.
Head of the Catholic Church from 685 to 686
Pope John V was the bishop of Rome from 23 July 685 to his death on 2 August 686.
Wikipedia source
811 Byzantine_Empire
Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum's treasury.
Continuation of the Roman Empire (330–1453)
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Wikipedia source
1319 Knights_Hospitaller
A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios.
Catholic military order
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller, is a Catholic military order.
Wikipedia source
1632 New_France
Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.
Area colonized by France in North America
New France was the territory colonized by France in mainland North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great…
Wikipedia source
1677 Scanian_War
Scanian War: Denmark–Norway captures the harbor town of Marstrand from Sweden.
1675–79 war between Sweden and Denmark–Norway
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden.
Wikipedia source
1711 Treaty_of_the_Pruth
The treaty of Pruth between the Ottoman and Russian Empire is signed.
1711 treaty between Russia and the Ottomans
The Treaty of the Pruth was signed on the banks of the river Prut between the Ottoman Empire and the Tsardom of Russia on 23 July 1711 ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1710–1713 with the assistance of Peter Shafirov.
Wikipedia source
1793 Kingdom_of_Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France.
German state (1701–1918)
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.
Wikipedia source
1813 Thomas_Maitland_(British_Army_officer)
Sir Thomas Maitland is appointed as the first Governor of Malta, transforming the island from a British protectorate to a de facto colony.
British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator (1760–1824)
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Maitland was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Haddington from 1790 to 1796, 1802–06 and 1812–13.
Wikipedia source
1821 Greek_War_of_Independence
While the Mora Rebellion continues, Greeks capture Monemvasia Castle.
Turkish troops and citizens are transferred to Asia Minor's coasts.
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence fought by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire from 1821 to 1829.
Wikipedia source
1829 William_Austin_Burt
In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
American politician (1792–1858)
William Austin Burt was an American inventor, legislator, surveyor, and millwright.
Wikipedia source
1840 Province_of_Canada
The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
British possession in North America (1841–1867)
The Province of Canada was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867.
Wikipedia source
1862 American_Civil_War
American Civil War: Henry Halleck becomes general-in-chief of the Union Army.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States.
Wikipedia source
1862
Begin of the Hyde Park Riots.
Former political movement in United Kingdom
The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain.
Wikipedia source
1874 Aires_de_Ornelas_e_Vasconcelos
Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa, India.
19th-century Roman Catholic bishop in Portuguese India
Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos was a Portuguese Roman Catholic Archbishop of Goa.
Wikipedia source
1881 Boundary_Treaty_of_1881_between_Chile_and_Argentina
The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
Territorial settlement
The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Argentina and Chile was signed on 23 July 1881 in Buenos Aires by Bernardo de Irigoyen, for Argentina, and Francisco de Borja Echeverría, for Chile, with the aim of establishing a…
Wikipedia source
1900 Canada
Pressed by expanding immigration, Canada closes its doors to paupers and criminals.
Country in North America
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the second-largest country by total area,…
Wikipedia source
1903 Ford_Motor_Company
The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
American multinational automobile manufacturer
The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903.
Wikipedia source
1906 Amsden_Building_collapse
The Amsden Building collapse in Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S., claims 12 lives.
The Amsden Building collapse occurred on July 23, 1906, in Framingham, Massachusetts. 12 people were killed when the building, which was under construction, suddenly collapsed.
Wikipedia source
1908 Second_Constitutional_Era
The Second Constitution is accepted by the Ottomans.
Period of constitutional monarchy in the Ottoman Empire (1908–1920)
The Second Constitutional Era was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber…
Wikipedia source
1914 July_Crisis
July Crisis: Austria-Hungary issues a series of demands in an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Serbia accepts all but one of those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.
The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe in mid-1914, which led to the outbreak of World War I.
Wikipedia source
1919 Alexander_I_of_Yugoslavia
Prince Regent Aleksander Karađorđević signs the decree establishing the University of Ljubljana.
King of Yugoslavia from 1921 to 1934
Alexander I Karađorđević was King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 16 August 1921 to 3 October 1929 and King of Yugoslavia from 3 October 1929 until his assassination.
Wikipedia source
1921 Chinese_Communist_Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is established at the founding National Congress.
Ruling party of the People's Republic of China
The Communist Party of China (CPC), commonly known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Wikipedia source
1926
Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
American film production company (1915–1935)
The Fox Film Corporation was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1915 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox.
Wikipedia source
1927 All_India_Radio
The first station of the Indian Broadcasting Company goes on the air in Bombay.
National public radio broadcaster of India
All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani, is India's state-owned public radio broadcaster.
Wikipedia source
1936 Catalonia
In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of Socialist and Communist parties.
Nationality and autonomous community of Spain
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy. Its territory is situated on the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, to the south of the Pyrenees mountain range.
Wikipedia source
1940
The United States' Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a declaration on the U.S.
non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Under secretary of state (U/S) is a title used by senior officials of the United States Department of State who rank above the assistant secretaries and below the deputy secretary.
Wikipedia source
1942 World_War_II
World War II: The German offensives Operation Edelweiss and Operation Braunschweig begin on the Eastern Front.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
Wikipedia source
1942 Bulgaria
Bulgarian poet and communist activist Nikola Vaptsarov is executed by firing squad.
Country in Southeastern Europe
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea.
Wikipedia source
1943
The Rayleigh bath chair murder occurs in Rayleigh, Essex, England.
1943 homicide in Rayleigh, Essex, England
The Rayleigh bath chair murder was a 1943 incident of patricide in which a disabled man was killed in Rayleigh, Essex, England.
Wikipedia source
1943 HMS_Eclipse_(H08)
World War II: The British destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Laforey sink the Italian submarine Ascianghi in the Mediterranean after she torpedoes the cruiser HMS Newfoundland.
E-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, in service from 1934 to 1943
HMS Eclipse was an E-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in the Atlantic, Arctic, and Mediterranean theatres during World War II, until sunk by a mine in the Aegean Sea on 24 October 1943.
Wikipedia source
1945 Philippe_Pétain
The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain, the former president of Vichy France begin.
French general and dictator (1856–1951)
Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain, better known as Marshal Pétain, was a French military officer who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the collaborationist regime of Vichy…
Wikipedia source
1952 Mohamed_Naguib
General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the real power behind the coup) in overthrowing King Farouk of Egypt.
President of Egypt from 1953 to 1954
Major General Mohamed Bey Naguib Youssef Qutb El-Qashlan, known simply as Mohamed Naguib, was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who, along with Gamal Abdel Nasser, was one of the two principal leaders of…
Wikipedia source
1961 Sandinista_National_Liberation_Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.
Nicaraguan socialist political party founded in 1961
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish.
Wikipedia source
1962 Telstar
Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
Name of various communications satellites
Telstar is a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical.
Wikipedia source
1962
The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
1962 agreement of Laotian neutrality
The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was an international agreement signed in Geneva on July 23, 1962, between 14 states, including Laos, as a result of the International Conference on the Settlement of…
Wikipedia source
1962 Jackie_Robinson
Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
American baseball player (1919–1972)
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.
Wikipedia source
1967 1967_Detroit_riot
Detroit Riots: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city.
It ultimately kills 43 people, injures 342 and burns about 1,400 buildings.
The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot and the Detroit Uprising, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "long, hot summer of 1967".
Wikipedia source
1968 Glenville_shootout
Glenville shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization and the Cleveland Police Department occurs.
During the shootout, a riot begins and lasts for five days.
The Glenville shootout was a gun battle that occurred on the night of July 23–24, 1968, in the Glenville section of Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
Wikipedia source
1968 El_Al
The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft takes place when a Boeing 707 carrying ten crew and 38 passengers is taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The aircraft was en route from Rome, Italy to Lod, Israel.
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd., trading as El Al is the flag carrier of the State of Israel.
Wikipedia source
1970 Qaboos_bin_Said
Qaboos bin Said al Said becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur initiating massive reforms, modernization programs and end to a decade long civil war.
Sultan of Oman from 1970 to 2020
Qaboos bin Said Al Said was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020.
Wikipedia source
1972 Landsat_1
The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
American earth observation satellite (1972–1978)
Landsat 1 (LS-1), formerly named Earth Resources Technology Satellite ERTS-A or ERTS-1, was the first satellite of the United States' Landsat program.
Wikipedia source
1974 Greek_junta
The Greek military junta collapses, and former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis is invited to lead the new government, beginning Greece's metapolitefsi era.
Military rulers of Greece, 1967–1974
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974.
Wikipedia source
1980 Phạm_Tuân
Phạm Tuân becomes the first Vietnamese citizen and the first Asian in space when he flies aboard the Soyuz 37 mission as an Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut.
Retired Vietnam Air Force aviator and astronaut (born 1947)
Phạm Tuân is a retired Vietnamese Air Force fighter pilot and cosmonaut.
Wikipedia source
1982 Santa_Clarita,_California
Outside Santa Clarita, California, actor Vic Morrow and two children are killed when a helicopter crashes onto them while shooting a scene from Twilight Zone: The Movie.
City in California, United States
Santa Clarita is a suburban city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States.
Wikipedia source
1983 Sri_Lanka_Army
Thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Land force branch of the Sri Lankan armed forces
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
Wikipedia source
1983 Gimli_Glider
Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
1983 aviation accident in Canada
Air Canada Flight 143 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Montreal and Edmonton. On July 23, 1983, the Boeing 767 ran out of fuel midway through the flight.
Wikipedia source
1988 Ne_Win
General Ne Win, effective ruler of Burma since 1962, resigns after pro-democracy protests.
Leader of Burma (1958–1960; 1962–1988)
Ne Win was a Burmese general and politician who served as Burma's head of government from 1958 to 1960 and again from 1962 to 1974; and also as head of state from 1962 to 1981.
Wikipedia source
1992 Catholic_Church
A Vatican commission, led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that limiting certain rights of homosexual people and non-married couples is not equivalent to discrimination on grounds of race or gender.
Christian church based in Rome
The Catholic Church, also called the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with an estimated 1.28 to 1.41 billion baptized members worldwide as of 2026.
Wikipedia source
1992 Abkhazia
Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
Partially recognised state in the South Caucasus
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, which is internationally recognised by most countries as part of Georgia.
Wikipedia source
1993 China_Northwest_Airlines_Flight_2119
China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119 crashes during takeoff from Yinchuan Xihuayuan Airport in Yinchuan, Ningxia, China, killing 55 people.
1993 aviation accident
China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119 (WH2119) was a domestic flight from Yinchuan Xihuayuan Airport, Ningxia to Beijing Capital International Airport, China.
Wikipedia source
1995 Comet_Hale–Bopp
Comet Hale–Bopp is discovered; it becomes visible to the naked eye on Earth nearly a year later.
Great Comet of 1997
Comet Hale–Bopp is a long-period comet that was one of the most widely observed of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades.
Wikipedia source
1997 Digital_Equipment_Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
American computer manufacturer (1957–1998)
Digital Equipment Corporation, using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957.
Wikipedia source
1999 All_Nippon_Airways_Flight_61
ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan by Yuji Nishizawa.
1999 aircraft hijacking
All Nippon Airways Flight 61 was a scheduled domestic flight from Tokyo Haneda Airport in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan and was en route to New Chitose Airport in Chitose, Japan, near Sapporo.
Wikipedia source
2001 Megawati_Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri was sworn in as the first female president of Indonesia following her predecessor's impeachment.
President of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 and the eighth vice president under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to…
Wikipedia source
2005
Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
Terrorist attacks in Egypt
The 2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings were committed by Islamist group Abdullah Azzam Brigades on 23 July 2005 in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
Wikipedia source
2010 One_Direction
The English-Irish boy band One Direction were formed while auditioning for the 2010 series of the British singing competition The X Factor.
English–Irish boy band (2010–2016)
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English–Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.
Wikipedia source
2011 High-speed_rail
A high-speed train rear-ends another on a viaduct on the Yongtaiwen railway line in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China, resulting in 40 deaths.
Fastest rail-based transport systems
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilizing trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks.
Wikipedia source
2012 July_2012_solar_storm
The Solar storm of 2012 was an unusually large coronal mass ejection that was emitted by the Sun which barely missed the Earth by nine days.
If it hit, it would have caused up to US$2.6 trillion in damages to electrical equipment worldwide.
On July 23, 2012 at 02:08 UTC, a solar storm involving an unusually large and strong coronal mass ejection occurred.
Wikipedia source
2014 TransAsia_Airways_Flight_222
TransAsia Airways Flight 222 crashes in Xixi village near Huxi, Penghu, during approach to Penghu Airport.
Forty-eight of the 58 people on board are killed and five more people on the ground are injured.
TransAsia Airways Flight 222 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by TransAsia Airways from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to Magong, Penghu Island.
Wikipedia source
2015 NASA
NASA announces discovery of Kepler-452b by the Kepler space telescope.
American space and aeronautics agency
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space.
Wikipedia source
2018 2018_Attica_wildfires
A wildfire in East Attica kills at least 102 people.
It is the deadliest wildfire in the history of Greece.
A series of wildfires in Greece, during the 2018 European heat wave, began in the coastal areas of Attica in July 2018. 104 people were confirmed dead from the Mati fires.
Wikipedia source

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