May 23rd, 1878

Born on May 23rd, 1878

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 53,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 700 days, exactly on March 28th, 2026, people who were born on May 23rd, 1878 will be 54,000 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?

31

Jordan Rakei

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

*May 23rd, 1992, Hamilton

90

Gayatri Devi

Maharani of Jaipur and Indian politician (1919–2009)

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

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

70

Carl Linnaeus

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

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

32

Lena Meyer-Landrut

German singer

*May 23rd, 1991, Hanover

90

Joan Collins

English actress, author and columnist

*May 23rd, 1933, London

77

John Payne

American actor 1912-1989

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

87

Tudor Arghezi

Romanian writer

*May 23rd, 1880, Bucharest †July 14th, 1967, Bucharest

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

75

Herbert Marshall

Actor (1890-1966)

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

76

James Gleason

American actor (1882-1959)

*May 23rd, 1882, New York City †April 12th, 1959, Woodland Hills

82

John Bardeen

American physicist and engineer

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

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

80

Corrado Gini

Italian statistician (1884-1965)

*May 23rd, 1884, Motta di Livenza †March 13th, 1965, Rome

83

Pär Lagerkvist

Swedish writer (1891–1974)

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

36

Bray Wyatt

American professional wrestler (1987–2023)

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

Same year
Born in 1878

81

Dorothea Douglass

English tennis and badminton player

*September 3rd, 1878, Ealing †January 7th, 1960, Kensington

74

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953

*December 18th, 1878, Gori †March 5th, 1953, Kuntsevo Dacha

86

Ernst Rodenwaldt

German racial hygienist, university teacher and military physician (1878-1965)

*August 5th, 1878, Berlin †June 4th, 1965, Ruhpolding

87

Marie-Elisabeth Lüders

German politician (1878–1966)

*June 25th, 1878, Berlin †March 23rd, 1966, West Berlin

63

Walter Otto

German historian

*May 30th, 1878, Wrocław †November 1st, 1941, Munich

64

Janusz Korczak

Polish educator (1878-1942)

*July 22nd, 1878, Warsaw †August 7th, 1942, Treblinka extermination camp

89

Carl Sandburg

American writer and editor

*January 6th, 1878, Galesburg †July 22nd, 1967, Flat Rock

74

Ferenc Molnár

Hungarian-born dramatist and novelist (1878-1952)

*January 12th, 1878, Budapest †April 1st, 1952, New York City

87

Elizabeth Arden

Canadian American businesswoman

*December 31st, 1878, Woodbridge †October 18th, 1966, New York City

51

Gustav Stresemann

German politician, statesman, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1878-1929)

*May 10th, 1878, Berlin †October 3rd, 1929, Berlin

98

Eileen Gray

Irish architect and designer (1878-1976)

*August 9th, 1878, Enniscorthy †October 31st, 1976, 14th arrondissement of Paris

56

Erich Mühsam

German-Jewish anarchist writer (1878–1934)

*April 6th, 1878, Berlin †July 10th, 1934, Oranienburg concentration camp

51

Pierre Fatou

French mathematician and astronomer

*February 28th, 1878, Lorient †August 9th, 1929, Pornichet

48

Albert Corey

French long distance runner (1878-1926)

*April 16th, 1878, Meursault †August 3rd, 1926, Paris

77

Paul Renner

German type designer (1878–1959)

*August 9th, 1878, Wernigerode †April 25th, 1956, Überlingen

89

Lise Meitner

Austrian-Swedish physicist

*November 7th, 1878, Vienna †October 27th, 1968, Cambridge

87

Martin Buber

German Jewish Existentialist philosopher and theologian (1878–1965)

*February 8th, 1878, Vienna †June 13th, 1965, Jerusalem

74

Julia Dean

Actress (1878-1952)

*May 13th, 1878, Saint Paul †October 17th, 1952, Hollywood

45

Pancho Villa

Mexican revolutionary (1878-1923)

*June 5th, 1878, San Juan del Río, Durango †July 20th, 1923, Hidalgo del Parral

73

Owen Johnson

American novelist and short story writer

*August 27th, 1878, New York City †January 27th, 1952, Massachusetts

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 1878 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1878