Supported by
On This Day: December 23
UpdatedDecember 23, 2013,1:28 pm
On Dec. 23, 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
On Dec. 23, 1867, Sarah Breedlove Walker, the American businesswoman and philanthropist considered to be the first black female millionaire , was born. Following her death on May 25, 1919, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » |Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
| 1783 | George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Army and retired to his home at Mount Vernon, Va. |
|---|---|
| 1788 | Maryland passed an act to cede a parcel of land for the seat of the national government, part of which later became the District of Columbia. |
| 1823 | The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore was first published, in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel. |
| 1941 | American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese during World War II. |
| 1948 | Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo. |
| 1972 | The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13-7 in an NFL playoff game on a last-second touchdown catch by Franco Harris that was dubbed the "immaculate reception." |
| 1995 | A fire in Dabwali, India, killed 540 people, including 170 children, during a year-end party being held near the children's school. |
| 1997 | A federal jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. |
| 2003 | The government announced the first suspected case of mad cow disease in United States. |
| 2003 | A jury in Chesapeake, Va., sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty. |
| 2004 | Former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland pleaded guilty to a corruption charge. (He served 10 months in prison.) |
| 2009 | The parents who pulled the "balloon boy" hoax in hopes of landing a reality TV show, were sentenced to jail by a judge in Fort Collins, Colo. |
Historic Birthdays
Sarah Breedlove Walker12/23/1867 - 5/25/1919American philanthropist. Go to obituary »| 41 | Robert Barclay 12/23/1648 - 10/3/1690 English-born American Quaker leader |
|---|---|
| 71 | James Gibbs 12/23/1682 - 8/5/1754 Scottish architect |
| 41 | Jean-Francois Champollion 12/23/1790 - 3/4/1832 French historian and linguist |
| 38 | Joseph Smith 12/23/1805 - 6/27/1844 American founder of the Mormon Church |
| 75 | Oscar Solomon Straus 12/23/1850 - 5/3/1926 American member of President Wilson's cabinet |
| 68 | James Buchanan Duke 12/23/1856 - 10/10/1925 American tobacco magnate |
| 84 | Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko 12/23/1858 - 4/25/1943 Russian playwright |
| 76 | Emil Brunner 12/23/1889 - 4/6/1966 Swiss theologian |
