May 23rd, 1949

Born on May 23rd, 1949

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 27,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 639 days, exactly on January 19th, 2026, people who were born on May 23rd, 1949 will be 28,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 23rd, 1949?

May 23rd, 1949

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

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Germany

What else 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, 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, 1949

69

Alan García

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

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

74

Isabel Celaá

Spanish and Basque politician

*May 23rd, 1949, Bilbao

65

Moncho Alpuente

Spanish journalist (1949-2015)

*May 23rd, 1949, Madrid †March 21st, 2015, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

66

Herbert Brödl

Austrian film director

*May 23rd, 1949, St. Pölten †December 16th, 2015, Enzenkirchen

74

Carol E Barnett

Composer

*May 23rd, 1949, Dubuque

74

Daniel DiNardo

Catholic cardinal

*May 23rd, 1949, Steubenville

74

Charytín Goyco

Dominican actress and singer

*May 23rd, 1949, El Seibo Province

45

Martin Cahill

Irish mob boss

*May 23rd, 1949, Dublin †August 18th, 1994, Dublin

74

Allan A. Goldstein

Director, screenwriter

*May 23rd, 1949, Brooklyn

74

Marilyn McIntyre

American actress

*May 23rd, 1949, Erie

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

66

Martin McGuinness

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

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

72

Anatoly Karpov

Russian chess player

*May 23rd, 1951, Zlatoust

35

Sara Hjort Ditlevsen

Danish actress

*May 23rd, 1988, Copenhagen

31

Jordan Rakei

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

*May 23rd, 1992, Hamilton

73

William Barr

77th & 85th United States Attorney General

*May 23rd, 1950, New York City

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

65

Lea DeLaria

American actor, comedian and singer

*May 23rd, 1958, Belleville

65

Thomas Bestvater

Swiss actor

*May 23rd, 1958, Herrliberg

56

Wotan Wilke Möhring

German actor

*May 23rd, 1967, Detmold

73

Linda Thompson

American actress

*May 23rd, 1950, Memphis

75

Anthony May

British actor

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

70

Carl Linnaeus

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

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

36

Bray Wyatt

American professional wrestler (1987–2023)

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

79

John Newcombe

Australian tennis player

*May 23rd, 1944, Sydney

88

Susan Cooper

English-American fantasy writer

*May 23rd, 1935, Burnham

65

Drew Carey

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

*May 23rd, 1958, Cleveland

62

Philippe Cochet

French politician

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

77

John Payne

American actor 1912-1989

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

Same year
Born in 1949

75

Joachim Witt

German rock musician

*February 22nd, 1949, Hamburg

74

Rudy Hartono

Indonesian badminton player

*August 18th, 1949, Surabaya

75

Åse Kleveland

Swedish-Norwegian singer and politician

*March 18th, 1949, Stockholm

70

Jahn Teigen

Norwegian singer, musician, and comedian (1949–2020)

*September 27th, 1949, Tønsberg Municipality †February 24th, 2020, Ystad

74

David Rubenstein

American businessman

*August 11th, 1949, Baltimore

74

Sherman Howard

American actor

*June 11th, 1949, Chicago

74

Egon Flaig

German university teacher, Historian of classical antiquity and writer

*May 16th, 1949, Oberstenfeld

74

Meryl Streep

American actress (born 1949)

*June 22nd, 1949, Summit

74

Odaline de la Martinez

American conductor and composer

*October 31st, 1949, Matanzas

74

Gertrúd Ladányi

Badminton player

*May 3rd, 1949, Esztergom

66

Papa Wemba

Congolese singer and musician

*June 14th, 1949, Lubefu †April 24th, 2016, Abidjan

67

Denis Johnson

American writer (novel, drama, poetry, essay) (1949-2017)

*July 1st, 1949, Munich †May 24th, 2017, Sea Ranch

40

Stiv Bators

American punk rock vocalist and guitarist

*October 22nd, 1949, Youngstown †June 3rd, 1990, 1st arrondissement of Paris

74

Sverre Årnes

Norwegian writer

*May 14th, 1949, Surnadal Municipality

74

Gloria Gaynor

American singer

*September 7th, 1949, Newark

75

Jessica Lange

American actress

*April 20th, 1949, Cloquet

67

Carlos Slepoy

Argentinian lawyer (1949-2017)

*October 2nd, 1949, Buenos Aires †April 17th, 2017, Madrid

68

Stanley Greene

American photographer (1949-2017)

*February 14th, 1949, Brooklyn †May 19th, 2017, Paris

74

Bruce Springsteen

American rock singer (born 1949)

*September 23rd, 1949, Long Branch

74

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel (1996–1999, 2009–2021, 2022–present)

*October 21st, 1949, Tel Aviv

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

Born on May 23rd, 1949
Future birthdays

Leap year

No: With 365 days 1949 is a normal year and no leap year.

Calendar
May 1949