Historical events on August 23
AUGUST 23, 2006
Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of ten in Vienna, escaped from her captor's house in Strasshof an der Nordbahn after more than eight years in captivity.
Natascha Maria Kampusch is an Austrian author and former talk show host. At the age of 10, on 2 March 1998, she
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AUGUST 23, 1898
The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departed London.
The Southern Cross Expedition, otherwise known as the British Antarctic Expedition, 1898–1900, was the first British venture of the Heroic Age of
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AUGUST 23, 1933
The Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane made landfall in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and went on to cause at least 47 deaths in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.
The 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane was among the most damaging hurricanes in the Mid-Atlantic states in the eastern United States. The sixth storm
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AUGUST 23, 1775
King George III issued a proclamation (copy pictured) that declared elements of the American colonies of Great Britain to be in a state of "open and avowed rebellion".
George III was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union
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AUGUST 23, 1954
The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departed from Marseille, France.
The Cruise of the Kings was a royal cruise around the Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 1954, organised by Queen Frederica
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AUGUST 23, 2011
A 5.8 MW earthquake struck the Piedmont region of Virginia, and was felt by more people than any other quake in U.S. history.
The moment magnitude scale is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude based on its seismic moment. Mw was defined in a 1979
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AUGUST 23, 2010
A former Philippine National Police officer hijacked a tourist bus in Manila, holding its occupants hostage for nearly eleven hours and killing eight of them before being killed by police himself.
The Philippine National Police is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong
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AUGUST 23, 1873
The Albert Bridge, spanning the River Thames in London, opened to traffic.
Albert Bridge is a road bridge over the River Thames connecting Chelsea in Central London on the north bank to Battersea on
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AUGUST 23, 1939
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (pictured), a ten-year mutual non-aggression treaty, which also secretly divided northern and eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the
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AUGUST 23, 1989
Singing Revolution: Approximately two million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres (419.7 mi) across the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet republics to demonstrate their desire for independence.
The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three
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AUGUST 23, 1305
William Wallace, a leader of Scottish resistance against England during the Wars of Scottish Independence, was hanged, drawn and quartered.
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.
AUGUST 23, 1914
In their first major action of the First World War, the British Expeditionary Force engaged German troops in Mons, Belgium.
World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the
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AUGUST 23, 1943
Second World War: A decisive Soviet victory against German forces at the Battle of Kursk gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all
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