May 23rd, 1820

Born on May 23rd, 1820

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 74,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 518 days, exactly on September 25th, 2025, people who were born on May 23rd, 1820 will be 75,000 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

Born on May 23rd, 1820

71

Lorenzo Sawyer

American judge

*May 23rd, 1820, Le Roy †September 7th, 1891, San Francisco

66

James Buchanan Eads

American civil engineer (1820–1887)

*May 23rd, 1820, Lawrenceburg †March 8th, 1887, Nassau

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

90

Gayatri Devi

Maharani of Jaipur and Indian politician (1919–2009)

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

32

Lena Meyer-Landrut

German singer

*May 23rd, 1991, Hanover

75

Apollon Maykov

Russian poet and translator (1821-1897)

*May 23rd, 1821, Moscow †March 8th, 1897, Saint Petersburg

90

Joan Collins

English actress, author and columnist

*May 23rd, 1933, London

40

Margaret Fuller

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

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

72

Ludwig Schwarz

Astronomer

*May 23rd, 1822, Gdańsk †September 17th, 1894, Tartu

56

Wotan Wilke Möhring

German actor

*May 23rd, 1967, Detmold

65

Lea DeLaria

American actor, comedian and singer

*May 23rd, 1958, Belleville

77

John Payne

American actor 1912-1989

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

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

48

Otto Lilienthal

German aviation pioneer (1848-1896)

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

82

John Bardeen

American physicist and engineer

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

60

Robert Latane Montague

American politician (1819-1880)

*May 23rd, 1819, Middlesex County †March 2nd, 1880

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

Same year
Born in 1820

65

Georg Curtius

German classical scholar and philologist (1820-1885)

*April 16th, 1820, Lübeck †August 12th, 1885, Jelenia Góra

74

Friedrich Engels

German philosopher, sociologist and economist (1820–1895)

*November 28th, 1820, Barmen †August 5th, 1895, London

90

Florence Nightingale

English social reformer, statistician, and founder of modern nursing (1820-1910)

*May 12th, 1820, Florence †August 13th, 1910, London

63

Gustave Le Gray

French photographer

*August 30th, 1820, Villiers-le-Bel †July 29th, 1884, Cairo

49

Henry Jarvis Raymond

American journalist and politician (1820–1869)

*January 24th, 1820, Livingston County †June 18th, 1869, New York City

83

Herbert Spencer

English philosopher and political theorist (1820–1903)

*April 27th, 1820, Derby †December 8th, 1903, Brighton

52

David Kalisch

German writer (1820-1872)

*February 23rd, 1820, Wrocław †August 21st, 1872, Berlin

84

Charles Moore

Australian botanist (1820-1905)

*May 10th, 1820, Dundee †April 30th, 1905, Sydney

61

Edmond Membrée

French composer (1820-1882)

*November 14th, 1820, Valenciennes †September 10th, 1882, Domont

67

Jenny Lind

Swedish classical singer

*October 6th, 1820, Stockholm †November 2nd, 1887, Malvern

56

Donald McLean

New Zealand politician and government official (1820–1877)

*October 27th, 1820, Tiree †January 5th, 1877, Napier

86

Susan B. Anthony

American women's rights activist

*February 15th, 1820, Adams †March 13th, 1906, Rochester

81

Cornelius Gurlitt

German composer (1820-1901)

*February 10th, 1820, Altona †June 17th, 1901, Altona

89

Nadar

French photographer and balloonist (1820–1910)

*April 6th, 1820, rue Saint-Honoré †March 20th, 1910, avenue Franklin-D.-Roosevelt

94

Fanny Crosby

19th century Christian hymnist

*March 24th, 1820, Brewster †February 12th, 1915, Bridgeport

52

William John Macquorn Rankine

Civil engineer

*July 5th, 1820, Edinburgh †December 24th, 1872, Glasgow

69

Émile Augier

French writer (1820-1889)

*September 17th, 1820, Valence †October 25th, 1889, Villa Augier

69

Dion Boucicault

Irish actor and dramatist

*December 26th, 1820, Dublin †September 18th, 1890, New York City

57

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy

King of Sardinia-Piemont and Italy (1849-1878)

*March 14th, 1820, Turin †January 9th, 1878, Rome

29

Anne Brontë

British novelist and poet (1820-1849)

*January 17th, 1820, Thornton †May 28th, 1849, Scarborough

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

Yes: 1820 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
May 1820