October 23

1491 Saint Ignatius of Loyola was born Íñigo López on October 23, 1491 at the castle of Loyola in today's Basque Country, near the Pyrenees in Spain. The youngest of thirteen children, Íñigo López was brought up by María de Garín, the local blacksmith's wife, after his own mother died soon after his birth. The co-founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) he became its first Superior General at Paris in 1541. During the Counter-Reformation, he gained prominence as a religious leader.

St. Ignatius of Loyola by Peter Paul Rubens

1642 12,400 Royalists fought 15,000 Parliamentarians in the Battle of Edgehill on October 23, 1642 as part of the English Civil War. Each side lost 500 dead and suffered 1,500 wounded -and each claimed it had won. The physician William Harvey was present at the battle, helping the wounded on several occasions and protecting the King's children (including the 12-year-old future King Charles II). He spent much of the battle hiding with them under a hedge.

1739 The incident that provoked the War of Jenkins’ Ear happened in 1739 when a Spanish officer supposedly sliced off the ear of a ship's captain named Robert Jenkins. The pickled ear was presented to an incensed Parliament who decided that Spain needed to be taught a lesson. War was declared on October 23, 1739 and the subsequent conflict lasted three years.

1903 In 1903 a wax crayon was developed in Europe and was first used to mark crates and boxes. Later called Crayola, it made its way in several colors to the USA. where the boxes of eight retailed for five cents on October 23, 1903. The eight colors in the first box of Crayola Crayons were the same found in an 8-pack today: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, brown, violet (purple) and black.

1906 On October 23, 1906, Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first powered heavier-than-air flight in Europe. Santos-Dumont piloted his 14-bis biplane before a large crowd of witnesses at the grounds of Paris' Château de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne for a distance of 60 metres (197 ft) at a height of about five meters (16 ft).

1918 Charlie Chaplin's first wife was the actress Mildred Harris. They married privately on October 23, 1918, in Los Angeles when she was 17 and him 29. The couple quarreled about her contract with Louis B. Mayer and her career. In addition Chaplin felt she was not his intellectual equal. In 1920, Mildred filed for divorce based on mental cruelty.

1936 Radio Times, the world's first and longest running radio and television listings magazine, was first published in 1923. The launch of the first regular 405-line television service by the BBC was reflected in the London edition of the Radio Times on October 23, 1936. This was a key moment in broadcasting history, as it marked the first time regular television listings appeared in the magazine alongside radio listings following the BBC’s groundbreaking television service launch.

1940 Brazilian footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born to a poor family on October 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. Named after the inventor Thomas Edison, his nickname Pelé arose when he mispronounced the name of a local goalkeeper called Bile. Voted Football Player of the Century by the IFFHS in 1999, Pelé is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all-time. In his career he played in 1,363 matches and scored 1,281 goals, the most ever football career goals.

1942 The Second Battle of El Alamein was fought between October 23 and November 11, 1942 near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein during World War II's Desert Campaign. "Let us pray that the Lord mighty in battle will give us the victory" prayed General Montgomery, the commander of the Allied forces prior to the battle.

A mine explodes close to a British tank 

1944 The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon, from October 23-26 1944 when Allied forces started the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese Empire. It is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and according to gross tonnage sunk the largest naval battle in history. It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks.

1955 The State of Vietnam referendum held on October 23, 1955 determined the future governmental form of the nation that was to become South Vietnam. It was contested by Prime Minister Ngô Đinh Diệm, who proposed a republic, and former emperor Bảo Đại, the head of state. Diệm won the election, which was widely marred by electoral fraud, with 98.2% of the vote.

1956 The Hungarian Revolution began on October 23, 1956 as a peaceful student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building. The revolt spread quickly across Hungary and the government collapsed, but by January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition.

1964 The flag of Zambia was hoisted for the first time at midnight on October 23, 1964, symbolising patriotism and the nation's natural resources. Zambia achieved full independence when Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia the following day.

1966 The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their first single "Hey Joe", at De Lane Lea studios in London on October 23, 1966. Within months, Hendrix had earned three UK Top Ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary".

1967 Helen Palmer, the wife of Ted Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, committed suicide on October 23, 1967. American children's author, editor, and philanthropist Helen Palmer had a long struggle with illnesses, including cancer. Geisel cheated on his wife with Audrey Stone Dimond while she was sick. Helen found out about the affair and committed suicide with an overdose of barbiturates.

2001 Apple Inc unveiled its iPod portable player on October 23, 2001. The first iPod cost $399 when introduced. It had 5 GB of storage - worth about 1,000 songs - and only connected with Apple Mac computers. The first iPod's price and Mac-only compatibility caused sales to be relatively slow until 2004.

2009 American singer Katy Perry and English comedian Russell Brand began dating in September 2009 at the MTV Video Music Awards, which Brand was hosting. The couple married on October 23, 2010 during a traditional Hindu ceremony in Rajasthan, India. Brand announced in late December 2011, that they were divorcing after 14 months of marriage.

2010 Sony stopped making cassette-based Walkman devices in Japan on October 23, 2010.  These portable cassette players were iconic and played a significant role in the history of personal audio devices. It's estimated that by the time they ceased production, Sony had manufactured approximately 200 million cassette-based Walkmans since their introduction in the late 1970s. These devices revolutionized the way people listened to music on the go and became a cultural symbol of that era.

2015 Hurricane Patricia, a tropical cyclone that impacted Western Mexico, broke the record for the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Western Hemisphere in terms of barometric pressure. On October 23, 2015, it achieved a barometric pressure of 879 mbar (hPa; 25.96 inHg). Furthermore, the flight-level winds reached 221 mph (356 km/h), the highest ever reliably observed or estimated globally in a tropical cyclone.