May 23rd, 1278

Born on May 23rd, 1278

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 272,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 555 days, exactly on November 3rd, 2025, people who were born on May 23rd, 1278 will be 273,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 23rd?

May 23rd, 2008

The International Court of Justice awarded the Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, resolving a 29-year-old territorial dispute in the Singapore Strait.

May 23rd, 1999

Professional wrestler Owen Hart died immediately before a match after dropping 70 feet (21 m) onto the ring during a botched entrance.

May 23rd, 1974

The Airbus A300, the first twin-engined wide-body airliner, went into service with Air France.

May 23rd, 1939

The U.S. Navy submarine Squalus sank off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, during tests, causing 26 men to drown.

May 23rd, 1895

Backed by Samuel J. Tilden, the Astor Library and the Lenox Library agreed to merge and form the New York Public Library.

May 23rd, 1873

The North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories.

May 23rd, 1862

American Civil War: Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson defeated a Union force at the Battle of Front Royal in Virginia, taking around 700 prisoners.

May 23rd, 1706

War of the Spanish Succession: The Grand Alliance armies routed the Franco-Spanish-Bavarian army in Ramillies, present-day Belgium.

May 23rd, 1555

Gian Pietro Carafa became Pope Paul IV, beginning a tumultuous four-year papacy during which the Papal States suffered a serious military defeat.

May 23rd, 1533

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled Henry VIII's marriage to his first wife Catherine of Aragon (pictured), beginning events that would culminate in the English Reformation.

May 23rd, 1430

Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc (pictured) was captured by Burgundian forces at the Siege of Compiègne.

May 23rd, 1949

Cold War: The Western occupying powers approve the Basic Law and establish a new German state, the Federal Republic of Germany.

May 23rd, 1948

Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.

May 23rd, 1945

World War II: Germany's Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.

May 23rd, 1939

The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on May 23rd

Same Day
Who's birthday is on May 23rd?

70

Carl Linnaeus

Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (1707–1778)

*May 23rd, 1707, Råshult †January 10th, 1778, Linnaeus Hammarby

31

Jordan Rakei

New Zealander-Australian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer

*May 23rd, 1992, Hamilton

35

Sara Hjort Ditlevsen

Danish actress

*May 23rd, 1988, Copenhagen

66

Martin McGuinness

Sinn Féin politician and deputy First Minister (1950-2017)

*May 23rd, 1950, Derry †March 21st, 2017, Altnagelvin Area Hospital

32

Lena Meyer-Landrut

German singer

*May 23rd, 1991, Hanover

90

Gayatri Devi

Maharani of Jaipur and Indian politician (1919–2009)

*May 23rd, 1919, London †July 29th, 2009, Jaipur

90

Joan Collins

English actress, author and columnist

*May 23rd, 1933, London

56

Wotan Wilke Möhring

German actor

*May 23rd, 1967, Detmold

65

Lea DeLaria

American actor, comedian and singer

*May 23rd, 1958, Belleville

72

Anatoly Karpov

Russian chess player

*May 23rd, 1951, Zlatoust

65

Thomas Bestvater

Swiss actor

*May 23rd, 1958, Herrliberg

36

Bray Wyatt

American professional wrestler (1987–2023)

*May 23rd, 1987, Brooksville †August 24th, 2023, Clermont

77

John Payne

American actor 1912-1989

*May 23rd, 1912, Roanoke †December 6th, 1989, Malibu

26

Cassandre Beaugrand

French triathlete

*May 23rd, 1997, Livry-Gargan

51

Rubens Barrichello

Brazilian racing driver

*May 23rd, 1972, São Paulo

82

John Bardeen

American physicist and engineer

*May 23rd, 1908, Madison †January 30th, 1991, Boston

69

Alan García

President of Peru (1985–1990 and 2006–2011)

*May 23rd, 1949, Lima †April 17th, 2019, Lima

88

Susan Cooper

English-American fantasy writer

*May 23rd, 1935, Burnham

46

Hans Frank

German lawyer, Nazi politician, General Governor of Nazi occupied Poland and convicted war criminal (1900-1946)

*May 23rd, 1900, Karlsruhe †October 16th, 1946, Nuremberg

71

Robert Moog

Electronic music pioneer and inventor from the United States (1934-2005)

*May 23rd, 1934, New York City †August 21st, 2005, Asheville

73

William Barr

77th & 85th United States Attorney General

*May 23rd, 1950, New York City

40

Margaret Fuller

American writer and women's activist (1810–1850)

*May 23rd, 1810, Cambridge †July 19th, 1850, Fire Island

62

Philippe Cochet

French politician

*May 23rd, 1961, 6th arrondissement of Lyon

49

Ken Jennings

American game show contestant, host, and writer

*May 23rd, 1974, Edmonds

39

Hugo Almeida

Portuguese footballer

*May 23rd, 1984, Figueira da Foz

35

Angelo Ogbonna

Italian footballer

*May 23rd, 1988, Cassino

85

Jean Françaix

French composer and pianist

*May 23rd, 1912, Le Mans †September 25th, 1997, Paris

75

Anthony May

British actor

*May 23rd, 1946, Reigate †December 24th, 2021

62

Daniele Massaro

Italian association football player

*May 23rd, 1961, Monza

54

Maurice Barthélemy

French actor, film director and screenwriter

*May 23rd, 1969, La Paz

65

Drew Carey

American actor, voice actor, comedian, sports executive, and game show host

*May 23rd, 1958, Cleveland

75

Herbert Marshall

Actor (1890-1966)

*May 23rd, 1890, London †January 22nd, 1966, Beverly Hills

48

Otto Lilienthal

German aviation pioneer (1848-1896)

*May 23rd, 1848, Anklam †August 10th, 1896, Berlin

53

Yigal Amir

Israeli extremist and murder convict

*May 23rd, 1970, Herzliya

83

Pär Lagerkvist

Swedish writer (1891–1974)

*May 23rd, 1891, Växjö †July 11th, 1974, Danderyd

34

Annemarie Schwarzenbach

Swiss writer, journalist and photographer

*May 23rd, 1908, Zürich †November 15th, 1942, Sils im Engadin/Segl

82

Joshua Lederberg

American molecular biologist (1925 - 2008)

*May 23rd, 1925, Montclair †February 2nd, 2008, New York City

26

Pedro Chirivella

Spanish professional footballer

*May 23rd, 1997, Valencia

79

John Newcombe

Australian tennis player

*May 23rd, 1944, Sydney

68

Randy Graff

American actress

*May 23rd, 1955, Brooklyn

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on May 23rd

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on May 23rd.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1278 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1278