A Day in the Past

On this day: 23 May

131 things happened on 23 May, from AD 230 to 2022. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

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In the UK 4

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

1533 493 years ago

UK story

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled Henry VIII's marriage to his first wife Catherine of Aragon, beginning events that would culminate in the English Reformation.

Find out more: Thomas Cranmer (Wikipedia)

Around the world 34

1844 182 years ago

Báb: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Baháʼí Faith.

Find out more: Báb (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

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

  1. In which year did this happen: “Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled Henry VIII's marriage to”?

    1. 1997
    2. 1533
    3. 1977
    Show the answer

    B: 1533. 1533 — that’s 493 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “Robert the Bruce, king of Scots, defeats John Comyn, earl of Buchan”?

    1. 1950
    2. 1919
    3. 1308
    Show the answer

    C: 1308. 1308 — that’s 718 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Robert the Bruce, king of Scots, defeats John Comyn, earl of Buchan
    2. The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with
    3. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled Henry VIII's marriage to
    Show the answer

    A: Robert the Bruce, king of Scots, defeats John Comyn, earl of Buchan. 1308: Robert the Bruce, king of Scots, defeats John Comyn, earl of Buchan · 1998: The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with · 1533: Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled Henry VIII's marriage to Find it on the page

  4. “The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with” happened in 1998. How many years ago was that?

    1. 38 years
    2. 28 years
    3. 18 years
    Show the answer

    B: 28 years. 2026 − 1998 = 28. Find it on the page

Born on this day 39

Famous people whose birthday is 23 May.

Remembering 17

Well-known people who died on 23 May.

Special days 11

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

For older readers 26 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 “May 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.