September 23 in History

Israel launches airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, killing more than 490 people.

Voting begins in the five-day sham annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine, leading to Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

A grand jury in Kentucky declines to indict three police officers for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor in a drug raid gone wrong, leading to nationwide protests in the U.S.

Twenty people die on the first of two days of rioting in Papua and West Papua over an alleged racist incident.

Twenty-five people are killed after Typhoon Usagi passes Hong Kong and China.

Teresa Lewis becomes the first woman to be executed by the U.S. state of Virginia since 1912, and the first woman in the state to be executed by lethal injection.

Matti Saari kills ten people at a school in Finland before committing suicide.

Over 3,000 people die in Haiti after Hurricane Jeanne produces massive flooding and mudslides.

Qantas Flight 1 overruns a runway in Bangkok during a storm, causing minor injuries to some passengers.

Gulf Air Flight 771 is destroyed by a bomb, killing all 112 people on board.

Argentine general election: Juan Perón returns to power in Argentina.

Seven people die, 46 people are injured, and more than 150 boats capsize when a squall hits Lake Michigan during Michigan's first coho salmon sport fishing season.

Typhoon Wilda, one of the strongest typhoons to ever strike Japan, makes landfall, causing at least 30 fatalities and sinking at least 64 ships.

Flying Tiger Line Flight 923, a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation registered as N6923C, ditches into the Atlantic Ocean killing 28 out the 76 occupants onboard. The remaining 48 were rescued six hours later.

U.S. President John F. Kennedy nominates African American civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, although pro-segregation Southern senators manage to delay his confirmation until September 11, 1962.

Little Rock schools integration crisis: President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas, and federalizes the Arkansas National Guard, ordering both to support the integration of Little Rock Central High School.

A tropical storm originating in the eastern Pacific Ocean passes into the Gulf of Mexico and is upgraded and named Hurricane Flossy just hours before striking the Gulf Coast and causing 15 deaths and an estimated USD$24.8 million in damages.

An all-white jury in Mississippi finds Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam not guilty in the torture-murder of 14-year-old African American boy Emmett Till.

After being accused of financial improprieties, Senator Richard Nixon delivers his "Checkers speech" nationwide on television and radio, defending his actions and successfully salvaging his nomination as the Republican candidate for Vice President.

George VI, king of the United Kingdom, has his left lung removed in an operation after a malignant tumour was found.

Korean War: The Battle of Hill 282 is the first US friendly-fire incident on British military personnel since World War II.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes South Khorasan in Iran, killing over 500 people.

World War II: The Matanikau action on Guadalcanal begins: U.S. Marines attack Japanese units along the Matanikau River.

Saudi National Day: Crown Prince (later king) Faisal of Saudi Arabia, on behalf of Ibn Saud, proclaims the unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the current iteration of the Third Saudi State.

The Louisiana hurricane dissipates over Kansas after forcing around 4,500 people to evacuate and causing $1.45 million in damages.

World War I: The Battle of Haifa takes place in present-day Israel, part of the Ottoman Empire at that time.

The United Mine Workers of America launch a strike which eventually escalated into the Colorado Coalfield War.

Norway and Sweden sign the Karlstad Treaty, peacefully dissolving the Union between the two countries.

Philippine-American War: the American Asiatic Squadron destroys a Filipino battery at the Battle of Olongapo.

On the night of 23–24 September, the steamship Arctique runs aground near Cape Virgenes leading to the discovery of nearby placer gold, beginning the Tierra del Fuego gold rush.

The Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society is founded.

The Grito de Lares occurs in Puerto Rico against Spanish rule.

Astronomers Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch Adams and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate on the discovery of Neptune.

Tripolitsa, Greece, is captured by Greek rebels during the Greek War of Independence.

Second Anglo-Maratha War: The Battle of Assaye is fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India.

American Revolutionary War: John Paul Jones, naval commander of the United States, on board the USS Bonhomme Richard, wins the Battle of Flamborough Head.

First English Civil War: The Battle of Powick Bridge, the first engagement between the primary field armies of the Royalists and the Parliamentarians, ends in a Royalist victory.

King Philip II of Spain issues cedula, ordering a halt to colonizing efforts in Florida.

The Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Wars of the Roses, is won by the Yorkists.

The Battle of Kherlen is the second significant victory over Ming dynasty China by the Mongols since 1368.

The Battle of Arnemuiden, in which a French force defeats the English, is the first naval battle of the Hundred Years' War and the first naval battle in which gunpowder artillery is used.

Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V agree to the Concordat of Worms to put an end to the Investiture Controversy.

Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, is deified.

Lai Kuan-lin, Taiwanese film director

Song Yu-qi, Chinese singer

John Collins, American basketball player

Napheesa Collier, American basketball player

Lee Mi-joo, South Korean singer and entertainer

Bai Lu, Chinese Actress

Petteri Lindbohm, Finnish ice hockey player

Angel Garza, Mexican wrestler

Lee Alexander, Scottish footballer

Key, South Korean singer and entertainer

Melanie Oudin, American tennis player

Brandon Jennings, American basketball player

Taniela Lasalo, Australian rugby league player

Juan Martín del Potro, Argentinian tennis player

Kairi Sane, Japanese wrestler

Yannick Weber, Swiss ice hockey player

Skylar Astin, American actor and singer

Martin Cranie, English footballer

Chris Volstad, American baseball player

Joba Chamberlain, American baseball player

Chris Johnson, American football player

Cush Jumbo, British actress

Lukáš Kašpar, Czech ice hockey player

Hasan Minhaj, American comedian, actor, and television host

Patrick Ehelechner, German ice hockey player

Matt Kemp, American baseball player

Anneliese van der Pol, Dutch-American entertainer

Shane del Rosario, American mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (died 2013)

Joffrey Lupul, Canadian ice hockey player

Mait Künnap, Estonian tennis player

Shyla Stylez, Canadian pornographic actress (died 2017)

Robert Doornbos, Dutch racing driver

Helen Richardson-Walsh, English field hockey player

Ricky Davis, American basketball player

Bryant McKinnie, American football player

Fábio Simplício, Brazilian footballer

Lote Tuqiri, Fijian-Australian rugby player

Benjamin Curtis, American guitarist, drummer, and songwriter (died 2013)

Anthony Mackie, American actor

Matthieu Descoteaux, Canadian ice hockey player

Dmitri Kulikov, Estonian footballer

Fabio Ongaro, Italian rugby player

Rachael Yamagata, American singer-songwriter and pianist

Sarah Blasko, Australian singer-songwriter and producer

Robert James-Collier, English actor

Kip Pardue, American actor and model

Valeriy Sydorenko, Ukrainian boxer

Volodymyr Sydorenko, Ukrainian boxer

Kim Dong-moon, South Korean badminton player

Chris Hawkins, English journalist and producer

Eric Miller, Irish rugby player, footballer, and coach

Vitali Yeremeyev, Kazakhstani ice hockey player

Ben Duckworth, Australian rugby league player

Matt Hardy, American wrestler

Layzie Bone, American rapper

Ingrid Fliter, Argentinian pianist

Vangelis Krios, Greek footballer and coach

Sam Bettens, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Alistair Campbell, Zimbabwean cricketer

Jermaine Dupri, American rapper and producer

Karl Pilkington, English actor and producer

Moin Khan, Pakistani cricketer and coach

Eric Montross, American basketball player and sportscaster (died 2023)

Sean Spicer, American political aide, 30th White House Press Secretary

Adrian Brunker, Australian rugby league player

Lucia Cifarelli, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player

Ani DiFranco, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Giorgos Koltsidas, Greek footballer

Donald Audette, Canadian ice hockey player

Patrick Fiori, French singer-songwriter

Jan Suchopárek, Czech footballer and manager

Yvette Fielding, English actress and producer

Adam Price, Welsh politician

LisaRaye McCoy, American actress, model, fashion designer, and First Lady of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Chris Wilder, English footballer and manager

Pete Harnisch, American baseball player and coach

Mark Woodforde, Australian tennis player and sportscaster

Clayton Blackmore, Welsh footballer and manager

Josefa Idem, German-born Italian kayaker

Koshi Inaba, Japanese singer-songwriter

Larry Krystkowiak, American basketball player and coach

Katie Mitchell, English director and producer

Julian Parkhill, English biologist and academic

Bill Phillips, American businessman and author

Anne-Marie Cadieux, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter

Alex Proyas, Egyptian-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter

Deborah Orr, Scottish journalist (died 2019)

Chi McBride, American actor

William C. McCool, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (died 2003)

Kurt Beyer, American wrestler

Luis Moya, Spanish race car driver

Jason Alexander, American actor, singer, and voice artist

Frank Cottrell-Boyce, English author and screenwriter

Hans Nijman, Dutch mixed martial artist and wrestler (died 2014)

Chris O'Sullivan, Australian rugby league player

Elizabeth Peña, American actress (died 2014)

Karen Pierce, English diplomat

Danielle Dax, English singer-songwriter and producer

Khaled El Sheikh, Bahraini singer-songwriter

Tony Fossas, Cuban-American baseball player and coach

Marvin Lewis, American football player and coach

Larry Mize, American golfer

Rosalind Chao, American actress

Peter David, American author, actor, and screenwriter (died 2025)

Tom Hogan, Australian cricketer

Paolo Rossi, Italian footballer (died 2020)

Charlie Barnett, American actor (died 1996)

Cherie Blair, English lawyer and academic

Nicholas Witchell, English journalist

Mark Bego, American author

Anshuman Gaekwad, Indian cricketer

Dennis Lamp, American baseball player

Kim Duk-soo, Korean musician

Jim Morrison, American baseball player and manager

Steven Springer, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2012)

George Garzone, American saxophonist and educator

Floella Benjamin, Trinidadian-English actress, academic, and politician

Bruce Springsteen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Kostas Tournas, Greek singer-songwriter

Dan Toler, American guitarist (died 2013)

Christian Bordeleau, Canadian ice hockey player

Mary Kay Place, American actress

Neal Smith, American drummer and songwriter

Franz Fischler, Austrian politician

Bernard Maris, French economist and journalist (died 2015)

Genista McIntosh, Baroness McIntosh, English politician

Davorin Popović, Bosnian singer-songwriter (died 2001)

Anne Wheeler, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter

Igor Ivanov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Alan Old, English rugby player

Paul Petersen, American actor, singer, author, and activist

Eric Bogle, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist

Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer-songwriter

Marty Schottenheimer, American football player and coach (died 2021)

Sila María Calderón, Puerto Rican-American businesswoman and politician, 12th Secretary of State of Puerto Rico

Colin Low, Baron Low of Dalston, Scottish scholar and politician

David Renneberg, Australian cricketer

George Jackson, American activist and author, co-founded the Black Guerrilla Family (died 1971)

Simon Nolet, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Norma Winstone, English singer-songwriter

Michel Temer, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 25th Vice President of Brazil

Dick Thornett, Australian rugby player and water polo player (died 2011)

Henry Blofeld, English cricketer and journalist

Roy Buchanan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1988)

Joan Hanham, Baroness Hanham, English politician

Sonny Vaccaro, American businessman

Arie L. Kopelman, American businessman (died 2024)

Romy Schneider, German-French actress (died 1982)

Jacques Poulin, Canadian author and translator (died 2025)

George Eastham, English footballer (died 2024)

Valentín Paniagua, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 91st President of Peru (died 2006)

Sylvain Saudan, Swiss skier

Tareq Suheimat, Jordanian physician, general, and politician (died 2014)

Prem Chopra, Indian actor

Les McCann, American soul-jazz singer and pianist (died 2023)

Ron Tindall, English-Australian footballer, cricketer, and manager (died 2012)

Per Olov Enquist, Swedish journalist, author, and playwright (died 2020)

Lloyd J. Old, American immunologist and academic (died 2011)

Georg Keßler, German footballer and manager

Hilly Kristal, American businessman, founded CBGB (died 2007)

Stan Lynde, American author and illustrator (died 2013)

Gerald Merrithew, Canadian educator and politician (died 2004)

Sehba Akhtar, Pakistani poet and songwriter (died 1996)

Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (died 1987)

Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (died 2004)

Frank Foster, American saxophonist and composer (died 2011)

Roger Grimsby, American journalist and actor (died 1995)

André Cassagnes, French toy maker, created the Etch A Sketch (died 2013)

John William Coltrane, American jazz saxophonist and composer (died 1967)

Denis C. Twitchett, English historian and scholar (died 2006)

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and publisher (died 1978)

Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (died 2016)

Vello Helk, Estonian-Danish historian and author (died 2014)

Mickey Rooney, American actor, singer, director, and producer (died 2014)

El Santo, Mexican Luchador enmascarado, film actor, and folk icon (died 1984)

Asima Chatterjee, Indian chemist (died 2006)

Aldo Moro, Italian academic and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Italy (died 1978)

Julius Baker, American flute player and educator (died 2003)

Clifford Shull, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2001)

Carl-Henning Pedersen, Danish painter and sculptor (died 2007)

Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Pakistani linguist, author, and critic (died 2005)

Tony Smith, American sculptor and educator (died 1980)

Frank Moss, American lawyer and politician (died 2003)

Jakob Streit, Swiss anthroposophist and author (died 2009)

Lorenc Antoni, Kosovo-Albanian composer and conductor (died 1991)

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Indian poet, academic, and politician (died 1974)

Tiny Bradshaw, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1958)

Anne Desclos, French journalist and author (died 1998)

Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (died 1976)

Charles Ritchie, Canadian diplomat, High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom (died 1995)

Arthur Folwell, English-Australian rugby league player, coach, and administrator (died 1966)

Cec Fifield, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1957)

Su Buqing, Chinese mathematician and academic (died 2003)

Jaroslav Seifert, Czech poet and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1986)

Bill Stone, English soldier (died 2009)

Tom C. Clark, American lawyer and judge, 59th Attorney General of the United States (died 1977)

Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (died 1988)

Les Haylen, Australian journalist and politician (died 1977)

Paul Delvaux, Belgian painter (died 1994)

Walter Pidgeon, Canadian-American actor and singer (died 1984)

Miron Merzhanov, Russian architect and engineer (died 1975)

Johnny Mokan, American baseball player (died 1985)

Friedrich Paulus, German field marshal (died 1957)

Walter Lippmann, American journalist and publisher, co-founded The New Republic (died 1974)

John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish biologist, physician, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1971)

Moshe Zvi Segal, Israeli rabbi and scholar (died 1968)

Mary Mallon, American cook and typhoid carrier (died 1938)

John Lomax, American teacher, musicologist, and folklorist (died 1948)

Pekka Halonen, Finnish painter (died 1933)

Emma Orczy, Hungarian-English author and playwright (died 1947)

Suzanne Valadon, French model and painter (died 1938)

Mary Church Terrell, American author and activist (died 1954)

Robert Bosch, German engineer and businessman, founded Robert Bosch GmbH (died 1942)

Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxe-Meiningen (died 1923)

James Carroll Beckwith, American painter and academic (died 1917)

William Stewart Halsted, American physician and surgeon (died 1922)

Ellen Hayes, American mathematician and astronomer (died 1930)

Victoria Woodhull, American journalist and activist (died 1927)

John Colton, English-Australian politician, 13th Premier of South Australia (died 1902)

Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist and academic (died 1896)

William Holmes McGuffey, American author and academic (died 1873)

Johann Franz Encke, German astronomer and academic (died 1865)

Theodor Körner, German soldier and author (died 1813)

Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (died 1860)

Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (died 1811)

Emperor Kōkaku of Japan (died 1840)

John Loudon McAdam, Scottish engineer (died 1836)

Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (died 1813)

Ferdinand VI of Spain (died 1759)

Jeremy Collier, English bishop and theologian (died 1726)

Joseph Dudley, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (died 1720)

Giovanni Maria Bononcini, Italian violinist and composer (died 1678)

Eleonore Gonzaga, Italian wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1655)

Francesco Barberini, Catholic cardinal (died 1679)

Bagrat III of Imereti, King of Imereti (died 1565)

Kublai Khan, Mongolian emperor (died 1294)

Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (died 1186)

Augustus, Roman emperor (died 14 AD)

John Elliott, Australian businessman (born 1941)

Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver (born 1933)

Juliette Gréco, French singer and actress (born 1927)

Charles Kuen Kao, Hong Kong-American-British electrical engineer and physicist (born 1933)

Gary Kurtz, American film producer (born 1940)

Jane Fortune, American author, journalist, and philanthropist (born 1942)

Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher (born 1930)

A. W. Davis, American basketball player and coach (born 1943)

Irven DeVore, American anthropologist and biologist (born 1934)

Don Manoukian, American football player and wrestler (born 1934)

Al Suomi, American ice hockey player and referee (born 1913)

Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj, Syrian colonel and politician (born 1925)

Gil Dozier, American captain, lawyer, and politician (born 1934)

Ruth Patrick, American botanist and immunologist (born 1907)

Henry Champ, Canadian journalist and academic (born 1937)

Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Minister of Defence for Russia (born 1948)

Roberto Rodríguez, Venezuelan baseball player and coach (born 1941)

Corrie Sanders, South African boxer (born 1966)

Sam Sniderman, Canadian businessman, founded Sam the Record Man (born 1920)

Malcolm Douglas, Australian hunter and television host (born 1941)

Paul B. Fay, American sailor and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (born 1918)

Peter Leonard, Australian journalist (born 1942)

Loren Pope, American journalist and author (born 1910)

Malcolm Arnold, English trumpet player and composer (born 1921)

Etta Baker, American singer and guitarist (born 1913)

Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (born 1933)

Billy Reay, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (born 1918)

Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and journalist (born 1937)

Ron Hewitt, Welsh footballer (born 1928)

Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player and manager (born 1947)

Carl Rowan, American journalist and author (born 1925)

Raoul Berger, American attorney and law professor (born 1901)

Ivan Goff, Australian-American screenwriter and producer (born 1910)

Ray Bowden, English footballer (born 1909)

Mary Frann, American actress (born 1943)

Natalie Savage Carlson, American author (born 1906)

Jerry Barber, American golfer (born 1916)

Robert Bloch, American author and screenwriter (born 1917)

Madeleine Renaud, French actress (born 1900)

Ivar Ivask, Estonian poet and scholar (born 1927)

Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (born 1918)

James Van Fleet, American general (born 1892)

Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian-Serbian explorer and author (born 1912)

Bob Fosse, American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director (born 1927)

Chief Dan George, Canadian actor, author, and poet (born 1899)

Jim Fouché, State President of South Africa (born 1898)

Catherine Lacey, English actress (born 1904)

Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (born 1950)

Cliff Arquette, American actor and comedian (born 1905)

Robbie McIntosh, Scottish drummer (born 1950)

Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1904)

James Waddell Alexander II, American mathematician and topologist (born 1888)

Pio of Pietrelcina, Italian priest and saint (born 1887)

Stanislaus Zbyszko, Polish wrestler and strongman (born 1879)

Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (born 1876)

Siegfried Bettmann, German engineer (born 1863)

Sam Barry, American basketball player and coach (born 1892)

Jakob Schaffner, Swiss author and critic (born 1875)

Elinor Glyn, English author, screenwriter, and producer (born 1864)

Hale Holden, American businessman (born 1869)

Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (born 1856)

Francisco León de la Barra, Mexican politician and diplomat, interim president, 1911 (born 1863)

Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist, physicist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1865)

Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (born 1897)

Donato Álvarez, Argentinian general (born 1825)

William Marsh Rice, American businessman, founded Rice University (born 1816)

Emmanuel Benner, French artist (born 1836)

Wilkie Collins, English novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1824)

Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (born 1811)

Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (born 1823)

Louis-Joseph Papineau, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1786)

Prosper Mérimée, French archaeologist and historian (born 1803)

Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun, founded the Sisters of Providence (born 1800)

José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguayan general and politician (born 1764)

John Ainsworth Horrocks, English-Australian explorer (born 1818)

Vincenzo Bellini, Italian composer (born 1801)

John Rogers, American lawyer and politician (born 1723)

Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop and botanist (born 1718)

Robert Dodsley, English poet and playwright (born 1703)

Herman Boerhaave, Dutch botanist and physician (born 1668)

Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (born 1655)

Valentin Conrart, French author, founded the Académie française (born 1603)

Pontus de Tyard, French priest and poet (born 1521)

Azai Hisamasa, Japanese warlord (born 1524)

John Jewel, English bishop (born 1522)

Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (born 1513)

Beatrice of Naples, queen consort of Hungary (born 1457)

Charles, Prince of Viana, King of Navarre (born 1421)

Adolph I, Duke of Cleves (born 1373)

John I, Duke of Lorraine (born 1346)

Dan I of Wallachia

Beatrice of Provence, countess regnant of Provence (born 1234)

Wenceslaus I of Bohemia

Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic historian, poet, and politician (born 1178)

Robert de Sablé, French knight

Al-Mutanabbi, Arab poet (born 915)

Ælfwald I, king of Northumbria