562 Two earthquakes in 553 and 557 caused cracks in the main dome and eastern half-dome of the Hagia Sophia. The main dome collapsed completely during a subsequent earthquake in May 558. The emperor Justinian ordered an immediate restoration. It reopened on December 23, 562. Hagia Sophia was the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.
1230 Berengaria of Navarre, wife of Richard I of England, died on December 23, 1230. Berengaria eventually settled in Le Mans, one of her dower properties, after the death of King Richard. She was a benefactress of L'Épau Abbey in Le Mans, entered the conventual life, and was buried in the abbey, following her death.
1534 The seven islands that form Mumbai were originally home to communities of fishing colonies. The islands were ruled by successive kingdoms and indigenous empires before the arrival of Portuguese settlers. They were ceded to the Portuguese by The Treaty of Bassein on December 23, 1534. The place passed from the Portuguese to the English in 1661 as part of the dowry of the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza, when she married King Charles II.
1688 By 1688 James II of England's attempts to restore Catholicism were alienating his subjects. A group of seven conspirators invited his daughter Mary and her Dutch Protestant husband William of Orange to invade England. William advanced to London unopposed deposing James II and claiming the throne. James left for exile in France on December 23, 1688 where he was received by his cousin and ally, Louis XIV, who offered him a palace and a pension.
1230 Berengaria of Navarre, wife of Richard I of England, died on December 23, 1230. Berengaria eventually settled in Le Mans, one of her dower properties, after the death of King Richard. She was a benefactress of L'Épau Abbey in Le Mans, entered the conventual life, and was buried in the abbey, following her death.
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| Effigy of Berengaria at L'Épau Abbey, Le Mans By MOSSOT |
1534 The seven islands that form Mumbai were originally home to communities of fishing colonies. The islands were ruled by successive kingdoms and indigenous empires before the arrival of Portuguese settlers. They were ceded to the Portuguese by The Treaty of Bassein on December 23, 1534. The place passed from the Portuguese to the English in 1661 as part of the dowry of the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza, when she married King Charles II.
1688 By 1688 James II of England's attempts to restore Catholicism were alienating his subjects. A group of seven conspirators invited his daughter Mary and her Dutch Protestant husband William of Orange to invade England. William advanced to London unopposed deposing James II and claiming the throne. James left for exile in France on December 23, 1688 where he was received by his cousin and ally, Louis XIV, who offered him a palace and a pension.
1776 Thomas Paine's The American Crisis pamphlet series were published to inspire the Americans in their battles against the British army, during the American Revolution. General George Washington ordered them to be read to every corporal's guard in the army. The first pamphlet was read aloud to the Continental Army on December 23, 1776, just before the Battle of Trenton, in order to bolster morale and resistance among patriots, as well as shame neutrals and loyalists toward the cause.
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| The first page from the first edition of The American Crisis |
1777 Alexander I, the Emperor of Russia (Tsar) between 1801 and 1825, was born Aleksandr Pavlovich on December 23, 1777 in Saint Petersburg. Alexander was the eldest son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Alexander improved the condition of the serfs and promoted education, doubling the number of Russian universities by establishing those at Saint Petersburg, Kharkov, and Kazan. greatest achievement was his victory over Napoleon, who had invaded Russia in 1812,
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| General George Washington Resigning His Commission John Trumbull, 1824 |
1805 Joseph Smith Jr, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born on December 23, 1805. The son of a Vermont farmer, Joseph Smith, Jr claimed that at the age of 14, while praying in a wooded area near his home, he was confronted by two heavenly messengers. The angels told Smith not to join any existing churches because all taught incorrect doctrines. The true church, he was informed, is not yet present on earth.
1815 Jane Austen's novel Emma was first published on December 23, 1815. Austen published two thousand copies of the novel at her own expense, retaining the copyright and paying a 10% commission to her London publisher John Murray. Early reviews of Emma were generally favorable, though several criticized what they saw as a lack of story.
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| Title page of first edition, volume 1 of 3 |
1823 The earliest depictions of Santa Claus and Father Christmas have him wearing a green cloak.. His modern image, with flying reindeer and entry down chimneys, began with Clement Clarke Moore’s poem A Visit From St Nicholas, which was published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823.
1848 The Illustrated London News published the first-ever Christmas supplement by a newspaper on December 23, 1848, with an illustration of the royal family by their Christmas tree at Windsor (see below). The supplement also included festive stories, poems, and articles about Christmas customs and traditions from around the world.
1867 American entrepreneur and philanthropist Sarah Breedlove, known as Madam C. J. Walker, was born on December 23, 1867. Madam C. J. Walker is regarded as the first female self-made millionaire in America. She made her fortune by developing and marketing a successful line of beauty and hair products for black women under the company she founded, Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company.
1888 On December 23, 1888, Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh's painting companion, threatened to leave him alone to spend a hard winter in Arles. In retaliation, the tortured Dutchman came at the French artist with an open razor. He was stopped by Gauguin, but instead cut off part of his own left earlobe. The incident led to Van Gogh's painting Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, which was sold privately in the late 1990s for an estimated US$80/$90 million.
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| Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear |
1905 The Blonde and Brunette Beauty Show, the UK’s first beauty contest, was held in Newcastle upon Tyne on December 23, 1905. The winner, whose name is not recorded, was awarded a gold bangle and bracelet.
1919 The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 was enacted on December 23, 1919 in the United Kingdom. In effect, this act lifted most of the existing common-law restrictions on women in the United Kingdom; they were now able, for example to serve as magistrates or jurors, or enter the professions.
1954 The first successful kidney transplants between living patients were undertaken was performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston on December 23, 1954. Murray and his assistants removed one of Robert Herrick's kidneys and grafted it into his twin brother, Richard, who was dying of kidney failure. Richard Herrick made a successful recovery and lived another eight years.
1970 The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York was topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m) on December 23, 1970. This made it the tallest building in the world until it was surpassed by the Sears Tower in Chicago in 1973. The entire World Trade Center site was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
1986 Piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the Rutan Voyager became the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, landing at California's Edwards Air Force Base after a nine-day trip on December 23, 1986. They covered 24,986 miles, more than doubling the old distance record set by a Boeing B-52 bomber in 1962.
1997 After his relationship with Mia Farrow ended acrimoniously in 1992, Woody Allen confessed to a relationship with their adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. According to Mia Farrow, her former husband Frank Sinatra offered to have Allen’s legs broken when he discovered the affair. Woody Allen married Soon-Yi Previn on December 23, 1997.
2007 On December 28, 2007, an interim constitution was promulgated in the Kingdom of Nepal, marking the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the country's transition to a federal democratic republic. Subsequently, in April 2008, Nepal held its first Constituent Assembly election, and on May 28, 2008, the Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, officially ending the centuries-old monarchy.
2011 The communications satellite Meridian 5 was launched on December 23, 2011, with the rocket performing nominally during first and second stage flight. During third stage flight, an anomaly occurred which prevented the rocket from reaching orbit. One piece of debris fell through the roof of a house in Cosmonaut Street in the Siberian village of Vagaitsevo. Despite debris falling in residential areas, no injuries were reported.
2016 While filming the movie Entebbe on December 23, 2016, about a plane being hijacked at Malta International Airport, an actual hijacked plane landed at the airport on the day of the filming. They then filmed the real hostages being released and edited it into the movie. The producer called it a "blessing from the sky on a day of bad acting."
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