Today In History [23rd May, 2015]

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

Today in History
May 23
1430           Burgundians capture Joan of Arc and sell her to the English.
1533           Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
1618           The Thirty Years War begins.
1701           Captain William Kidd, the Scottish pirate, is hanged on the banks of the Thames.
1785           Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals.
1788           South Carolina becomes the eighth state to ratify U.S. Constitution.
1861           Pro-Union and pro-Confederate forces clash in western Virginia.
1862           Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson takes Front Royal, Virginia.
1864           Union General Ulysses Grant attempts to outflank Confederate Robert E. Lee in the Battle of North Anna, Virginia.
1900           Civil War hero Sgt. William H. Carney becomes the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor, thirty-seven years after the Battle of Fort Wagner.
1901           American forces capture Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo.
1915           Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
1934           Gangsters Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are killed by Texas Rangers.
1945           Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Nazi Gestapo, commits suicide after being captured by Allied forces.
1949           The Federal Republic of West Germany is proclaimed.
1960           Israel announces the capture of Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina.

Born on May 23
1707           Carolus Linnaeus [Carl von Linné], Swedish botanist.
1734           Friedrich Anton Mesmer, physician and hypnotist.
1810           Margaret Fuller, writer and critic.
1820           James Buchanan Eads, engineer of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis
1875           Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., president and chairman of the board for General Motors.
1891           Par Lagerkvist, Swedish writer (The Dwarf, Barabbas).
1908           John Bardeen, physicist, co-inventor of the transistor.
1910           Artie Shaw, bandleader and clarinetist.
1920           Helen O'Connell, big band vocalist.
1928           Rosemary Clooney, singer.
1934           Robert A. Moog, electrical engineer, creator of the Moog synthesizer.
1947           Jane Kenyon, poet (Let Evening Come, Otherwise).