May 23rd, 1842

Born on May 23rd, 1842

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 66,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 549 days, exactly on October 30th, 2025, people who were born on May 23rd, 1842 will be 67,000 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, 1842

68

Maria Konopnicka

Polish writer and activist (1842-1910)

*May 23rd, 1842, Suwałki †October 8th, 1910, Lviv

42

Emmanuel Gallard-Lepinay

French painter

*May 23rd, 1842, Aulnay †March 6th, 1885, 17th arrondissement of Paris

84

Manuel Santa Cruz Loidi

Basque military leader and priest (1842-1926)

*May 23rd, 1842, Elduain †August 10th, 1926, Buesaco

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

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

70

Carl Linnaeus

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

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

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

90

Joan Collins

English actress, author and columnist

*May 23rd, 1933, London

48

Otto Lilienthal

German aviation pioneer (1848-1896)

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

56

Wotan Wilke Möhring

German actor

*May 23rd, 1967, Detmold

65

Lea DeLaria

American actor, comedian and singer

*May 23rd, 1958, Belleville

68

Ernst von Ihne

German architect (1848-1917)

*May 23rd, 1848, Elberfeld †April 21st, 1917, Berlin

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

77

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá

Son of Bahá'u'lláh and leader of the Bahá'í Faith

*May 23rd, 1844, Tehran †November 28th, 1921, Haifa

36

Bray Wyatt

American professional wrestler (1987–2023)

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

40

Margaret Fuller

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

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

82

John Bardeen

American physicist and engineer

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

71

Justus Brinckmann

German art historian

*May 23rd, 1843, Hamburg †February 8th, 1915, Bergedorf

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 1842

70

Karl May

German author (1842-1912)

*February 25th, 1842, Hohenstein-Ernstthal †March 30th, 1912, Radebeul

56

Stéphane Mallarmé

French Symbolist poet (1842–1898)

*March 18th, 1842, Paris †September 9th, 1898, Fontainebleau

81

Alfred Marshall

British economist

*July 26th, 1842, Bermondsey †July 13th, 1924, Cambridge

68

William James

American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist (1842–1910)

*January 11th, 1842, Astor House †August 26th, 1910, Tamworth

48

Heinrich Heydemann

German classical archaeologist

*August 28th, 1842, Greifswald †September 10th, 1890, Halle (Saale)

75

Abdul Hamid II

34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1909

*September 21st, 1842, Istanbul †February 10th, 1918, Beylerbeyi Palace

76

Arrigo Boito

Italian poet and opera composer and librettist of Verdi's opera ''Otello'' (1842-1918)

*February 24th, 1842, Padua †June 10th, 1918, Milan

47

Charles Grad

French politician (1842-1890)

*December 8th, 1842, Turckheim †July 3rd, 1890, Wintzenheim

88

Giovanni Boldini

Italian painter (1842-1931)

*December 31st, 1842, Ferrara †January 12th, 1931, Paris

80

Cornelie Richter

German salonnière

*March 4th, 1842, Berlin †July 19th, 1922, Berlin

71

Ambrose Bierce

American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist

*June 24th, 1842, Meigs County †November 30th, 1913, Chihuahua City

70

Jules Massenet

French composer (1842–1912)

*May 12th, 1842, Saint-Étienne †August 13th, 1912, Paris

66

François Coppée

French poet and novelist

*January 26th, 1842, Paris †May 23rd, 1908, 7th arrondissement of Paris

85

Giovanni Giolitti

Italian statesman (1842–1928)

*October 27th, 1842, Mondovì †July 17th, 1928, Cavour

80

James Dewar

Scottish chemist and physicist (1842–1923)

*September 20th, 1842, Kincardine †March 27th, 1923, London

68

Ellen Swallow Richards

American chemist (1842-1911)

*December 3rd, 1842, Dunstable †March 30th, 1911, Boston

77

John H. Bankhead

American politician (1842-1920)

*September 13th, 1842, Marion County †March 1st, 1920, Washington, D.C.

76

John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

English physicist (1842–1919)

*November 12th, 1842, Maldon †June 30th, 1919, Witham

79

Madeleine Brès

French physician

*November 25th, 1842, Bouillargues †November 30th, 1921, Montrouge

78

Peter Kropotkin

Russian revolutionary socialist and philosopher (1842–1921)

*November 27th, 1842, Moscow †February 8th, 1921, Dmitrov

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 1842 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1842