23 December
Notable Births
Finn Wolfhard
b. 2002
Canadian actor and musician (born 2002)
Victor Boniface
b. 2000
Nigerian footballer (born 2000)
Samuel Lino
b. 1999
Brazilian footballer (born 1999)
Bartosz Kapustka
b. 1996
Polish footballer (born 1996)
Mbwana Samatta
b. 1992
Tanzanian footballer
Jeffrey Schlupp
b. 1992
German footballer (born 1992)
Kyren Wilson
b. 1991
English snooker player (born 1991)
Brice Dja Djédjé
b. 1990
Ivorian footballer (born 1990)
Mitch Haniger
b. 1990
American baseball player (born 1990)
Anna Maria Perez de Tagle
b. 1990
American actress and singer
David Szymanski
b. 1989
American video game developer (born 1989)
Mallory Hagan
b. 1988
American politician (born 1988)
Tommaso Bellazzini
b. 1987
Italian footballer
Owen Franks
b. 1987
NZ international rugby union player
Jori Lehterä
b. 1987
Finnish ice hockey player (born 1987)
Beau Champion
b. 1986
Australian rugby league footballer
Balázs Dzsudzsák
b. 1986
Hungarian footballer (born 1986)
T. J. Oshie
b. 1986
American ice hockey player (born 1986)
Dev Hynes
b. 1985
British musician (born 1985)
Harry Judd
b. 1985
British drummer, TV personality and radio presenter (born 1985)
Notable Deaths
Shyam Benegal
d. 2024
Indian director and screenwriter (1934–2024)
Dési Bouterse
d. 2024
Leader of Suriname (1980–1987; 1990–1991; 2010–2020)
Sophie Hediger
d. 2024
Swiss snowboarder (1998–2024)
Joan Didion
d. 2021
American writer (1934–2021)
Leslie West
d. 2020
American musician (1945–2020)
Maurice Hayes
d. 2017
Irish public servant and later politician (1927–2017)
Alfred G. Gilman
d. 2015
American pharmacologist (1941–2015)
Don Howe
d. 2015
English footballer, coach, manager, and pundit
Jean-Marie Pelt
d. 2015
Bülend Ulusu
d. 2015
Prime Minister of Turkey from 1980 to 1983
Edward Greenspan
d. 2014
Canadian lawyer and author
Chryssa
d. 2013
Greek-American artist (1933–2013)
Mikhail Kalashnikov
d. 2013
Russian firearms designer (1919–2013)
Yusef Lateef
d. 2013
American jazz musician (1920–2013)
Ricky Lawson
d. 2013
American drummer (1954–2013)
G. S. Shivarudrappa
d. 2013
Indian poet (1926–2013)
Robert W. Wilson (philanthropist)
d. 2013
American hedge fund manager, philanthropist and art collector (1926–2013)
Jean Harris
d. 2012
Headmistress; convicted celebrity murderer (1923–2012)
Eduardo Maiorino
d. 2012
Brazilian kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter
Fred Hargesheimer
d. 2010
Pilot
On This Day in History
All 48 ›
2025
The crash of Harmony Jets Flight 185 killed all eight people on board, including the Libyan Army chief Mohammed al-Haddad in Ankara, Turkey.
Harmony Jets Flight 185
2023
A series of massacres targeting Berom civilians unfold in the Plateau State in Nigeria, killing over 200 people and further injuring over 500. No group claims responsibility.
2023 Plateau State massacres
2015
A bomb explodes at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport, killing one airport cleaner. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks claim responsibility for the attack four days later.
2015 Sabiha Gökçen Airport bombing
2008
A coup d'état occurs in Guinea hours after the death of President Lansana Conté.
2008 Guinean coup d'état
2007
An agreement is made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state.
Kingdom of Nepal
2005
An Antonov An-140, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan, heading across the Caspian Sea, crashes, killing 23 people.
Antonov An-140
2003
An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field in Kai County, Chongqing, China, kills at least 234.
PetroChina
2002
A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator
1990
History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
History of Slovenia
1986
Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.
Rutan Voyager
1984
After experiencing an engine fire, Aeroflot Flight 3519 attempts to make an emergency landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport but crashes, killing 110 of the 111 people on board.
Aeroflot Flight 3519
1979
Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
Soviet–Afghan War
1978
Alitalia Flight 4128 crashes into the Tyrrhenian Sea while on approach to Falcone Borsellino Airport in Palermo, Italy, killing 108.
Alitalia Flight 4128
1972
The Immaculate Reception is caught by Franco Harris to win the Pittsburgh Steelers their first ever playoff victory, after defeating the Oakland Raiders.
Immaculate Reception
1972
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.
1972 Nicaragua earthquake
1972
The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, surviving by cannibalism.
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
1970
The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 417 metres (1,368 ft), making it the tallest building in the world.
1 World Trade Center (1970–2001)
1970
The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
1968
The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.
USS Pueblo (AGER-2)
1960
Hilkka Saarinen née Pylkkänen is murdered in the so-called "oven homicide" case in Krootila, Kokemäki, Finland.
Oven homicide