A Day in the Past

On this day: 23 April

141 things happened on 23 April, from 215 BC to 2018. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 9

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 28

1985 41 years ago

Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.

Find out more: Coca-Cola (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “The Rolling Stones released Sticky Fingers, the first album on their own”?

    1. 1971
    2. 1927
    3. 1564
    Show the answer

    A: 1971. 1971 — that’s 55 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “The first knights of the Order of the Garter, an order of chivalry founded by”?

    1. 1564
    2. 1971
    3. 1348
    Show the answer

    C: 1348. 1348 — that’s 678 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. The Rolling Stones released Sticky Fingers, the first album on their own
    2. Charles II was crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland at Westminster
    3. The first knights of the Order of the Garter, an order of chivalry founded by
    Show the answer

    C: The first knights of the Order of the Garter, an order of chivalry founded by. 1971: The Rolling Stones released Sticky Fingers, the first album on their own · 1661: Charles II was crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland at Westminster · 1348: The first knights of the Order of the Garter, an order of chivalry founded by Find it on the page

  4. “Charles II was crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland at Westminster” happened in 1661. How many years ago was that?

    1. 365 years
    2. 375 years
    3. 355 years
    Show the answer

    A: 365 years. 2026 − 1661 = 365. Find it on the page

Born on this day 40

Famous people whose birthday is 23 April.

Remembering 21

Well-known people who died on 23 April.

Special days 19

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 23 April somewhere in the world.

For older readers 24 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “April 23” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.