May 23rd, 1888

Born on May 23rd, 1888

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 49,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 361 days, exactly on April 15th, 2025, people who were born on May 23rd, 1888 will be 50,000 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, 1888

83

Zack Wheat

American baseball player

*May 23rd, 1888, Hamilton †March 11th, 1972, Sedalia

88

Adriaan Roland Holst

Dutch writer

*May 23rd, 1888, Amsterdam †August 5th, 1976, Bergen

77

Melecio Arranz

Filipino politician (1888-1966)

*May 23rd, 1888, Alcala †April 24th, 1966

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

90

Gayatri Devi

Maharani of Jaipur and Indian politician (1919–2009)

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

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

70

Carl Linnaeus

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

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

75

Herbert Marshall

Actor (1890-1966)

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

90

Joan Collins

English actress, author and columnist

*May 23rd, 1933, London

83

Pär Lagerkvist

Swedish writer (1891–1974)

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

77

John Payne

American actor 1912-1989

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

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

56

Wotan Wilke Möhring

German actor

*May 23rd, 1967, Detmold

65

Lea DeLaria

American actor, comedian and singer

*May 23rd, 1958, Belleville

82

John Bardeen

American physicist and engineer

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

72

Anatoly Karpov

Russian chess player

*May 23rd, 1951, Zlatoust

80

Corrado Gini

Italian statistician (1884-1965)

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

65

Thomas Bestvater

Swiss actor

*May 23rd, 1958, Herrliberg

33

Rafael Buelna

Mexican military personnel (1890-1924)

*May 23rd, 1890, Mocorito †January 12th, 1924, Morelia

36

Bray Wyatt

American professional wrestler (1987–2023)

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

85

Jean Françaix

French composer and pianist

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

Same year
Born in 1888

85

Oswald Menghin

Austrian prehistorian

*April 19th, 1888, Merano †November 29th, 1973, Buenos Aires

81

Mary Barratt Due

Norwegian pianist

*April 9th, 1888, Bergen †December 24th, 1969, Oslo

76

T. S. Eliot

US-born British poet (1888–1965)

*September 26th, 1888, St. Louis †January 4th, 1965, Kensington

101

Irving Berlin

American composer and lyricist (1888–1989)

*May 11th, 1888, Talačyn †September 22nd, 1989, New York City

65

Eugene O'Neill

American playwright (1888–1953)

*October 16th, 1888, New York City †November 27th, 1953, Boston

88

Edith Evans

British actress (1888–1976)

*February 8th, 1888, London †October 14th, 1976, Cranbrook

77

Clemence Dane

English novelist (1888-1965)

*February 21st, 1888, London Borough of Lewisham †March 28th, 1965, London

58

Antoinette Perry

American actress, stage director and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing

*June 27th, 1888, Denver †June 28th, 1946, Manhattan

81

Otto Stern

German-American physicist (1888–1969)

*February 17th, 1888, Żory †August 17th, 1969, Berkeley

57

John Logie Baird

Scottish inventor, demonstrating the world's first working television

*August 14th, 1888, Helensburgh †June 14th, 1946, Bexhill-on-Sea

85

Sol Hurok

Ukraine-born American impresario

*April 9th, 1888, Pogar †March 5th, 1974, New York City

88

Hermann Pünder

German politician (1888-1976)

*April 1st, 1888, Trier †October 3rd, 1976, Fulda

87

Hans Thirring

Austrian physicist (1888-1976)

*March 23rd, 1888, Vienna †March 22nd, 1976, Vienna

53

José Raúl Capablanca

Cuban chess player (1888-1942)

*November 6th, 1888, Havana †March 8th, 1942, New York City

72

George Relph

British stage and film actor (1888-1960)

*January 27th, 1888, Cullercoats †April 24th, 1960, London

88

Paul Morand

French writer (1888-1976)

*March 13th, 1888, 8th arrondissement of Paris †July 23rd, 1976, Paris

83

Maurice Chevalier

French singer, actor, and entertainer (1888–1972)

*September 12th, 1888, Paris †January 1st, 1972, Paris

73

Werner Jaeger

German-american classical philologist (1888-1961)

*July 30th, 1888, Lobberich †October 19th, 1961, Cambridge

90

Giorgio de Chirico

Italian artist (1888–1978)

*July 10th, 1888, Volos †November 20th, 1978, Rome

70

Maxwell Anderson

American playwright and writer (1888–1959)

*December 15th, 1888, Atlantic †February 28th, 1959, Stamford

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: 1888 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 1888