1564: The birth of poet & playwright William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. He died on his 52nd birthday in 1616.
1661: Charles II was crowned King of England, completing the restoration of the monarchy. His father, Charles I, had been beheaded by Oliver Cromwell following the Civil War.
1945: President Truman confronts Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov Less than two weeks after taking over as president after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman gives a tongue-lashing to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. The incident indicated that Truman was determined to take a “tougher” stance with the Soviets than his predecessor had.
1954: British forces launch “Operation Anvil” against the Kenyan people who support the Mau Mau uprising against the colonial occupation of the country. The centre of Mau Mau activity, Nairobi, will have 50,000 residents evicted as suspected loyalists, and relocated elsewhere.
1971: The Rolling Stones release Sticky Fingers. The album is often considered one of the British rock band’s best. It includes hits like “Brown Sugar” and ”Wild Horses”.
1984: The discovery of the virus causing AIDS is announced. French virologists Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of HIV.
1985: The Coca-Cola Company introduced New Coke, a reformulated soft drink meant to replace its flagship beverage; due to public outrage, however, the previous version of Coke was brought back as “Coca-Cola Classic” less than three months later.
1988: Kanellos Kanellopoulos flies across the Aegean Sea in a human-powered aircraft. The Greek Olympic cyclist flew a record-breaking 115 km (71 mi) from Crete to Santorini in the MIT Daedalus aircraft, which was named after the mythological inventor of aviation.
1990: Charlie Wilson, the ‘silent man’ of the Great Train Robbery (8th August 1963), was shot dead at his home near Marbella, Spain.
1993: Voting for Eritrea’s independence: On this day in 1993, after a long history of foreign rule and decades of war, the small East African country of Eritrea began three days of voting on a referendum to make official its independence from Ethiopia.
2020: President Donald Trump suggested a dangerous theory that injecting disinfectant could cure the Coronavirus. In his press conference, he said: “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?”
2005: The first YouTube video is posted. The 18-second clip “Me at the Zoo” shows co-founder Jawed Karim at San Diego Zoo. It has been viewed more than 13 million times (2014).
2016: Tanzania’s coconut crop now being harvested will amount to 543,107 tonnes, making the country the world’s 10th biggest producer of coconuts.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY APRIL 23
John Cena, 47 years
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He was born on 23rd April 1977. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2001 but has been performing part-time since 2018.
Gigi Hadid, 29 years
Jelena Noura “Gigi” Hadid is an American fashion model and television personality. She was born on 23 April 1995. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. Throughout her career, Hadid has made at least 45 appearances in International Vogue. Models.com ranks her as one of the “New Supers.”
Tobi’ Amusan, 27 years
Oluwatobiloba Ayomide “Tobi” Amusan OON is a Nigerian track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles and also competes as a sprinter. She was born on 23 April 1997 in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria. Amusan is the current world record holder in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.12 seconds which she set in 2022.
J M W Turner (23 April 1775 – 19 December 1851)
J M W Turner, an English painter was born. He was one of the greatest masters of British watercolour landscape painting. His painting of Raby Castle, commissioned by the third earl of Darlington, was one of Turner’s most successful “house portraits.” He died at the age of 76.
William Shakespeare ( April 1564 – April 23, 1616)
According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to be certain of the exact day on which he was born, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn. Shakespeare’s date of death is conclusively known, however: it was April 23, 1616. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon”. He was 52 years old and had retired to Stratford three years before.
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