We share “This Day in History” every day to help make our readers well-rounded and informed. It offers a chance to learn, appreciate our culture, make better decisions, and see the world from a wider perspective. Through understanding past events, we aim to help readers engage more with the present and future.
  • 23rd January, 1556
    The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, occurs in China.
  • 23rd January, 1849
    Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor.
  • 23rd January, 1897
    Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in a case that results in the only known court testimony of a ghost.
  • 23rd January, 1920
    The Dutch government refuses to extradite Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany after World War I.
  • 23rd January, 1937
    In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.
  • 23rd January, 1941
    Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
  • 23rd January, 1950
    The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
  • 23rd January, 1960
    The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 meters in the Pacific Ocean.
  • 23rd January, 1964
    The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
  • 23rd January, 1968
    North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship had violated its territorial waters while spying.
  • 23rd January, 1973
    President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
  • 23rd January, 1977
    Roots begins its phenomenally successful run on ABC.
  • 23rd January, 1986
    The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place in New York City.
  • 23rd January, 1997
    Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
  • 23rd January, 2002
    "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returns to the United States in FBI custody.
  • 23rd January, 2009
    The United States House of Representatives passes President Obama's $819 billion economic stimulus package.
  • 23rd January, 2010
    The Togo national football team is involved in a bus attack in Angola.
  • 23rd January, 2011
    Portuguese presidential election, 2011: Aníbal Cavaco Silva is reelected for a second term as President of Portugal.
  • 23rd January, 2018
    A 7.9 Mw earthquake strikes the Gulf of Alaska. Tsunami warnings are issued for parts of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia, as well as the entire U.S. west coast.
  • 23rd January, 2020
    The World Health Organization expresses concern about human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in three countries outside of China.

NOTE: WHILE THE EVENTS LISTED ABOVE ARE FACTUAL, SOME SPECIFICS ARE ADDED BASED ON GENERALIZED KNOWLEDGE AND MAY NOT HAVE OCCURRED EXACTLY ON THAT DATE.
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