On This Day in History – January 23

Major Events

• 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in recorded history strikes Shaanxi, China, killing an estimated 830,000 people.
• 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London, becoming a center for commerce and trade.
• 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.
• 1897 – Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in West Virginia, leading to the famous “Greenbrier Ghost” case.
• 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague, the first international drug control treaty.
• 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to extradite Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany for war crimes.
• 1942 – Japanese forces invade Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, during World War II.
• 1960 – Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh descend to the deepest known point of the Earth’s oceans in the bathyscaphe Trieste.
• 2002 – Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Pakistan.
• 2018 – Larry Nassar is sentenced for decades of sexual abuse crimes, prompting widespread reform in sports institutions.

Famous Birthdays

• 1737 – John Hancock, American Founding Father and statesman (d. 1793)
• 1783 – Stendhal, French novelist (d. 1842)
• 1832 – Édouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
• 1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d. 1957)
• 1924 – Marlon Brando, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1933 – Chita Rivera, American actress and dancer
• 1948 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician
• 1973 – Tiffany Thiessen, American actress
• 1986 – Misha Barton, English-American actress

Notable Deaths

• 1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon, King of Spain (b. 1452)
• 1622 – William Camden, English historian (b. 1551)
• 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist (b. 1864)
• 1943 – Edsel Ford, American automobile executive (b. 1893)
• 1950 – Eric Liddell, Scottish athlete and missionary (b. 1902)
• 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish surrealist painter (b. 1904)
• 2006 – Judith Evans, American philosopher (b. 1948)
• 2018 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author (b. 1929)
• 2022 – Louie Anderson, American comedian (b. 1953)

Holidays

• National Handwriting Day – United States
• National Pie Day – United States
• Bounty Day – Norfolk Island

Fun Facts

• The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake remains the deadliest natural disaster in recorded history.
• Elizabeth Blackwell’s medical degree changed the course of women’s roles in healthcare.
• Humphrey Bogart became an enduring symbol of classic Hollywood cinema.
• The Trieste dive reached nearly 36,000 feet below sea level.
• National Handwriting Day honors the birthday of John Hancock.
• January 23 has seen milestones in medicine, exploration, and civil rights.