August 23
August 23 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 130 days remain until the year's end. It falls in summer (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Virgo.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On August 23 the Sun's declination is approximately +10.7°. At this latitude the Sun is north of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere longer days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a August 23.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Battle of Kursk Day (Russia)
- Christian feast day: Ascelina
- Christian feast day: Asterius, Claudius, and Neon
- Christian feast day: Éogan of Ardstraw
- Christian feast day: Lupus (Luppus) of Novae
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2023 — Chandrayaan-3 mission initiated first Moon landing in Indian history. ↗(3 years ago)more
Chandrayaan-3 is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by ISRO. The mission consists of Vikram, a lunar lander, and Pragyan, a lunar rover, as replacements for the equivalents on Chandrayaan-2, which had crashed on landing in 2019.
2023 — A business jet carrying key leadership members of the Russian private military company Wagner Group crashes, killing all ten people on board. ↗(3 years ago)more
The Wagner Group, officially known as PMC Wagner, is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) that was controlled until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Putin, and since then by Pavel Prigozhin. The Wagner Group has used infrastructure of the Russian Armed Forces.
- 2013 — A riot at the Palmasola prison complex in Santa Cruz, Bolivia kills 31 people. ↗(13 years ago)
more
On August 23, 2013, a prison riot broke out at Palmasola, a maximum-security prison in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The riot started when members of one cell block attacked a rival gang in another, using propane tanks as flame throwers. Thirty-one people were killed, including an 18-month-old child who was living at the prison.
- 2012 — A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, killing six people and injuring 28 others. ↗(14 years ago)
more
On 23 August 2012, a hot air balloon on a commercial sightseeing flight crashed in stormy weather on the Ljubljana Marsh in central Slovenia, killing 6 of the 32 people on board.
2011 — A magnitude 5.8 (class: moderate) earthquake occurs in Virginia. Damage occurs to monuments and structures in Washington, D.C. and the resulted damage is estimated at 200 million–300 million USD. ↗(15 years ago)more
On August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Virginia at 1:51:04 p.m. EDT. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was 38 mi (61 km) northwest of Richmond and 5 mi (8 km) south-southwest of the town of Mineral.
2011 — Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is overthrown after the National Transitional Council forces take control of Bab al-Azizia compound during the Libyan Civil War. ↗(15 years ago)more
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician, and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his overthrow by Libyan rebel forces in 2011 during the First Libyan Civil War.
2010 — The Manila hostage crisis occurred near the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, Philippines killing 9 people including the perpetrator while injuring 9 others. ↗(16 years ago)more
The Manila hostage crisis, officially known as the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident, took place in Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines, on August 23, 2010. A tourist bus carrying 25 people, consisting of 21 Hong Kongers and four Filipinos, was hijacked by Rolando Mendoza, a former officer of the Philippine National Police.
2007 — The skeletal remains of Russia's last royal family members Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia are discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia. ↗(19 years ago)more
Alexei Nikolaevich was the last Russian tsesarevich. He was the youngest child and only son of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. He was born with haemophilia, which his parents tried treating with the methods of peasant faith healer Grigori Rasputin.
2006 — Natascha Kampusch, who had been abducted at the age of ten, escapes from her captor Wolfgang Přiklopil, after eight years of captivity. ↗(20 years ago)more
Natascha Maria Kampusch is an Austrian author and former talk show host. At the age of 10, on 2 March 1998, she was abducted and held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper, Wolfgang Přiklopil, for more than eight years, until she escaped on 23 August 2006. Upon her escape, Přiklopil died by suicide by train at a nearby station.
2000 — Gulf Air Flight 072 crashes into the Persian Gulf near Manama, Bahrain, killing 143. ↗(26 years ago)more
Gulf Air Flight 072 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Cairo International Airport, Egypt, to Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain, operated by Gulf Air. On 23 August 2000 at 19:30 Arabia Standard Time (UTC+3), the Airbus A320 crashed minutes after executing a go-around following a failed attempt to land on Runway 12.
1994 — Eugene Bullard, the only African American pilot in World War I, is posthumously commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. ↗(32 years ago)more
Eugene Jacques Bullard was one of the first African-American military pilots, although Bullard flew for France, not the United States. Bullard was one of the few black combat pilots during World War I, along with Pierre Réjon from France, William Robinson Clarke, a Jamaican who flew for the Royal Flying Corps, Domenico Mondelli from Italy, and Ahmet Ali Ç...
1991 — The World Wide Web is opened to the public. ↗(35 years ago)more
The World Wide Web is a public interconnected information system that enables content sharing over the Internet. It facilitates access to documents and other web resources according to specific rules of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
Notable births
2000 — Boryana Kaleyn, Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast and Olympic silver medalist ↗(26 years ago)more
Boryana Nikolaeva Kaleyn is a Bulgarian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2024 Paris Olympic all-around silver medalist. She is the 2023 European all-around champion, the 2024 European champion with hoop, the 2021 and 2022 European all-around silver medalist, and the 2022 European champion with ball, ribbon, and in the team competition.
1998 — P. J. Washington, American basketball player ↗(28 years ago)more
Paul Jamaine Washington Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
1997 — Lil Yachty, American rapper and singer ↗(29 years ago)more
Miles Parks McCollum, known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper and professional wrestling manager. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night", the lead single from his debut extended play (EP), Summer Songs.
1996 — Alejo Igoa, Argentine YouTuber ↗(30 years ago)more
Alejo Igoa is an Argentine YouTuber. He has twice won the Best YouTuber of the Year award at the Martín Fierro Awards in 2019 and 2023. Since passing El Reino Infantil in July 2025, he is the most subscribed channel in Argentina and most subscribed Spanish-speaking channel overall.
1995 — Cameron Norrie, British tennis player ↗(31 years ago)more
Cameron Norrie is a British professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 8, achieved on 12 September 2022 and a doubles ranking of No. 117, achieved on 13 June 2022. He is currently the No. 1 singles player from Great Britain.
Notable deaths
2023 — Dmitry Utkin, Russian army officer, founder of Wagner Group (born 1970) ↗(3 years ago)more
Dmitry Valerievich Utkin was a Russian military officer and mercenary. He served as a special forces officer in the GRU, where he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the co-founder and military commander of the Russian state-funded Wagner Group, with his military alias reportedly being Wagner. Utkin was a neo-Nazi.
2023 — Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian businessman, chief of Wagner Group (born 1961) ↗(3 years ago)more
Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin was a Russian mercenary leader, rebel commander, and oligarch. He led the Wagner Group, a private military company, and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until he launched a one-day rebellion in June 2023.
2023 — Terry Funk, American professional wrestler (born 1944) ↗(3 years ago)more
Terrance Dee Funk was an American professional wrestler and actor. Funk is known for the length of his career, which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements. He is also known for his influential hardcore wrestling style he pioneered in the latter part of his career.
2021 — Elizabeth Blackadder, Scottish painter and printmaker (born 1931) ↗(5 years ago)more
Dame Elizabeth Violet Blackadder, Mrs Houston, was a Scottish painter and printmaker. She was the first woman to be elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy of Arts.
2015 — Augusta Chiwy, Congolese-Belgian nurse (born 1921) ↗(11 years ago)more
Augusta Marie Chiwy was a Belgian nurse who was a volunteer during the Siege of Bastogne in 1944. She worked with the U.S. Army physician John Prior and with fellow Belgian nurse Renée Lemaire, treating injured soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (236) | 2^2 × 59 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (130) | 2 × 5 × 13 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 23082026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | +10.69° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 64 days |