March 23
Overview
Holidays & Observances
Christianfeast day:
Gregory the Illuminator(Episcopal Church), Gwinear, Joseph Oriol, Ottone Frangipane, Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès(Maronite Church), Turibius of Mogrovejo, Victorian, Frumentius and Companions, March 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
A collective observance of multiple Christian saints' feast days in various denominations on March 23.
Day of Hungarian-Polish Friendship(HungaryandPoland)
Celebrates the historic ties and enduring friendship between Hungary and Poland on March 23 each year.
Day of the Sea(Bolivia)
A Bolivian national holiday commemorating the nation’s lost coastline during the War of the Pacific on March 23.
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Day(Azerbaijan)
Azerbaijan celebrates the role of its Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources each March 23 with green initiatives and public outreach.
Pakistan Day(Pakistan)
Pakistan Day commemorates the Lahore Resolution of 1940 and the country’s declaration as an Islamic republic on March 23.
Promised Messiah Day(Ahmadiyya)
Promised Messiah Day marks the anniversary of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s declaration as the Messiah and Mahdi on March 23.
World Meteorological Day
World Meteorological Day celebrates the founding of the World Meteorological Organization and the importance of weather, climate and water sciences.
Gregory the Illuminator(Episcopal Church)
Commemorates Saint Gregory the Illuminator, who converted Armenia to Christianity and became its first Catholicos, observed on March 23.
Gwinear
Honors Saint Gwinear, a 6th-century Cornish missionary and martyr, celebrated on March 23 in Celtic Christian communities.
Events
The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.
In 1400, Hồ Quý Ly overthrew Vietnam’s Trần dynasty after 175 years of rule, initiating a new era under the Hồ dynasty.
Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Henry VIII’s forces accepted the surrender of Waltham Abbey, marking the final closure in his Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The Peace of Longjumeau is signed, ending the second phase of the French Wars of Religion.
The Peace of Longjumeau brought a temporary halt to hostilities in the second phase of the French Wars of Religion.
American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – "Give me liberty or give me death!" – at St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia.
Patrick Henry inspired colonial delegates with his famous 'Give me liberty or give me death!' speech in Richmond.
Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death inside his bedroom at St. Michael's Castle.
Tsar Paul I of Russia was assassinated in his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle as nobles plotted his overthrow.
After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery begin their arduous journey home.
Having reached the Pacific, Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery set out on the long return journey after exploring the Louisiana Territory.
Greek War of Independence: Battle and fall of city of Kalamata.
Greek revolutionaries captured Kalamata, securing one of the first major victories in the Greek War of Independence.
A massive earthquake destroys the former capital Inwa of the Konbaung dynasty, present-day Myanmar.
A powerful earthquake in 1839 devastated Inwa, the former capital of Burma’s Konbaung dynasty.
The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
The John Wickliffe brought the first Scottish settlers to Port Chalmers, leading to the founding of Otago province and Dunedin.
Births
Emperor Go-Kōgon was the fourth monarch of the Northern Court during Japan’s Nanboku-chō period. He reigned from 1352 to 1371.
Margaret of Anjou was Queen consort of England as the wife of King Henry VI and a central figure in the Wars of the Roses.
Lorenzino de' Medici
Lorenzino de' Medici was an Italian nobleman known for assassinating his cousin, Duke Alessandro de’ Medici, and for his literary memoirs.
Thomas Selle
Thomas Selle was a German Baroque composer and music director, renowned for his sacred vocal works.
Jahanara Begum
Jahanara Begum was a Mughal princess and influential patron of architecture and charity during the 17th century.
Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado
Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado was a Spanish Dominican lay sister and mystic renowned for her spiritual visions and writings.
Princess Marie Adélaïde of France was the eldest daughter of King Louis XV, known for her closeness to her father and her deep piety.
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Pierre-Simon Laplace was a French mathematician and astronomer whose work laid the foundations of celestial mechanics and probability theory.
Johannes Matthias Sperger
Johannes Matthias Sperger was an Austrian double bassist and composer celebrated for his contributions to bass repertoire and classical music.
Deaths
Agrippina the Younger
Roman empress and mother of Emperor Nero who wielded significant influence in the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Zhou Chi
Tang dynasty historian and official admired for his integrity and contributions to state scholarship.
Zhen Zong
Second emperor of the Song dynasty who strengthened central authority and promoted Confucian scholarship.
Eudes I
Duke of Burgundy known for his patronage and support of monastic reform in 11th-century France.
Henry of Grosmont
One of England’s most celebrated medieval magnates, military commander and diplomat in the Hundred Years’ War.
Peter
Peter of Castile, known as "the Cruel" or "the Just," whose turbulent reign sparked civil war.
Yolande
Duchess of Lorraine and regent celebrated for her political skill and patronage of the arts.
Itagaki Nobukata
Renowned samurai strategist and one of Takeda Shingen’s Twenty-Four Generals.
Julius III
Renaissance pope remembered for reviving the Council of Trent and his patronage of the arts.