Summary of the Day ✨ 23 December (23/12)
Tragedy struck globally as a plane crash in Turkey killed Libyan military leadership while Nigeria witnessed ethnic massacres claiming over 200 lives, and Guinea experienced a power vacuum coup following its president’s death. Simultaneously, Istanbul faced a terrorist attack at its airport and Nepal moved to transition from monarchy to federal republic.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: The crash of Harmony Jets Flight 185 killed all eight people on board, including the Libyan Army chief Mohammed al-Haddad in Ankara, Turkey.
- 2023: A series of massacres targeting Berom civilians unfold in the Plateau State in Nigeria, killing over 200 people and further injuring over 500. No group claims responsibility.
- 2015: A bomb explodes at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport, killing one airport cleaner. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks claim responsibility for the attack four days later.
- 2008: A coup d’état occurs in Guinea hours after the death of President Lansana Conté.
- 2007: An agreement is made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state.
- 2005: An Antonov An-140, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan, heading across the Caspian Sea, crashes, killing 23 people.
- 2003: An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field in Kai County, Chongqing, China, kills at least 234.
- 2002: A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.
- 1990: History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia’s overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
- 1986: Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.
- 1984: After experiencing an engine fire, Aeroflot Flight 3519 attempts to make an emergency landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport but crashes, killing 110 of the 111 people on board.
- 1979: Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
- 1978: Alitalia Flight 4128 crashes into the Tyrrhenian Sea while on approach to Falcone Borsellino Airport in Palermo, Italy, killing 108.
- 1972: The Immaculate Reception is caught by Franco Harris to win the Pittsburgh Steelers their first ever playoff victory, after defeating the Oakland Raiders.
- 1972: A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor and musician
- 2000: Victor Boniface, Nigerian footballer
- 1999: Samuel Lino, Brazilian footballer
- 1996: Bartosz Kapustka, Polish footballer
- 1994: Reed Alexander, American actor
- 1992: Spencer Daniels, American actor
- 1992: Mbwana Samatta, Tanzanian footballer
- 1992: Jeff Schlupp, German footballer
- 1991: Kyren Wilson, English snooker player
- 1990: Brice Dja Djédjé, Ivorian footballer
- 1990: Mitch Haniger, American baseball player
- 1990: Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress and singer
- 1989: David Szymanski, American video game developer
- 1988: Mallory Hagan, American beauty queen, Miss America 2013
- 1987: Tommaso Bellazzini, Italian footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Shyam Benegal, Indian director and screenwriter (born 1934)
- 2024: Dési Bouterse, Surinamese general and politician, 9th President of Suriname (born 1945)
- 2024: Sophie Hediger, Swiss snowboarder (born 1998)
- 2023: William Pope.L, American performance artist (born 1955)
- 2022: Brandon Montrell, American TikTok personality and stand-up comedian (born 1979)
- 2021: Joan Didion, American writer (born 1934)
- 2020: Leslie West, American singer and guitarist (born 1945)
- 2017: Maurice Hayes, Irish educator and politician (born 1927)
- 2015: Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1941)
- 2015: Don Howe, English footballer and manager (born 1935)
- 2015: Jean-Marie Pelt, French biologist, pharmacist, and academic (born 1933)
- 2015: Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1923)
- 2014: Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (born 1944)
- 2014: Robert V. Hogg, American statistician and academic (born 1924)
- 2013: Chryssa, Greek-American sculptor (born 1933)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Birthday of the Queen Silvia, an official flag flying day (Sweden)
- Children’s Day (South Sudan and Sudan)
- Christian Feast Day:
Abassad (Coptic Church) - Christian Feast Day:
Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs (Coptic Church) - Christian Feast Day:
Dagobert II - Christian Feast Day:
John Cantius - Christian Feast Day:
O Emmanuel - Christian Feast Day:
Psote (Coptic Church) - Christian Feast Day:
Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland; The last day of preparations before Christmas. - Christian Feast Day:
Victoria - Christian Feast Day:
December 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Day of all level operational control structures servicemen (Ukraine)
- Festivus, a secular holiday made popular by the sitcom Seinfeld
- HumanLight (Secular humanism in United States)
- Kisan Diwas (Uttar Pradesh, India)