Britannica On This Day December 23 2023 * Aleksander Kwaśniewski inaugurated as Polish president, Akihito is featured, and more *

This Day in History: December 23

Featured Event

1995





Aleksander Kwaśniewski inaugurated as Polish president
Aleksander Kwaśniewski, formerly an apparatchik of Poland's ruling communist party, was sworn in as the country's president this day in 1995, having narrowly defeated Lech Wałęsa, Poland's first postcommunist president.

More Events On This Day

Russian weapons designer Mikhail Kalashnikov—who invented the AK-47 (automatic Kalashnikov Model 1947), an assault rifle that became one of the most successful and ubiquitous firearms of the modern era—died in Izhevsk, Russia.Take our weapons and warfare quiz
Vladimir Vyatkin/AP Images
2001

Argentina announced the suspension of payments on its external debt—the biggest debt default in history to date.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about South America
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1972

American gridiron football running back Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers made “the Immaculate Reception,” a dramatic catch that is regarded as one of the most famous plays in NFL history.Test your knowledge of American football
1968

Eighty-two crewmen of the USS Pueblo were released after being held in captivity for 11 months by North Korea, which claimed the U.S. Navy intelligence ship had crossed into its waters.
:copyright: Znm/Dreamstime.com
1941

Early in World War II, invading Japanese forces defeated U.S. troops at the Battle of Wake Island.Sort fact from fiction in our wars throughout history quiz
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1929

American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Chet Baker, who was noted for the plaintive, fragile tone of both his playing and his singing, was born.Test your knowledge of music
Prestige Records
1913

With the signing of the Federal Reserve Act by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, the Federal Reserve System came into being.Take our quiz about the history of currency
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1876

The first comprehensive constitution of the Ottoman Empire went into effect, giving the sultan full executive power.How much do you know about the Ottoman Empire?
1815

British author Jane Austen published her fourth novel, Emma, which centres on a precocious young woman whose misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities occasions several romantic misadventures.Test your knowledge of Jane Austen
:copyright: 1996 Miramax Films
1805

Joseph Smith, an American prophet whose writings, along with the Bible, provide the theological foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Mormon denominations, was born.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about religions
Courtesy of the Community of Christ, Independence, Missouri
1783

Before the Continental Congress, George Washington resigned as commander in chief of the Continental Army.Did George Washington really say, “I can't tell a lie”?
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Jean McGinley Draper, 1954.9.2

Featured Biography

Akihito
emperor of Japan [born 1933]

BornDecember 23, 1933 (age 89)
Tokyo, Japan
(Birthday tomorrow)




Joseph Dunford
United States general



Akihito
emperor of Japan [born 1933]



Chet Baker
American musician and vocalist



Madam C.J. Walker
American businesswoman and philanthropist



Joseph Smith
American religious leader [1805–1844]