128 things happened on 23 December, from AD 558 to 2021. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1815 · 211 years ago
Jane Austen's novel Emma was first published, even though its title page gives the year as 1816. It was the last of her novels to come out while she was alive. The story is set in Highbury, an imaginary village in Surrey, and follows the friendships and roman…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
King James II escaped from England to France after losing his throne in the Glorious Revolution. He was replaced by his daughter, Mary II, and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange, who was also James's nephew. William and Mary ruled together as joint monarchs. James was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland.
UK story
Jane Austen's novel Emma was first published, even though its title page gives the year as 1816. It was the last of her novels to come out while she was alive. The story is set in Highbury, an imaginary village in Surrey, and follows the friendships and romances of a few local families. It is a comedy of manners, a funny story about how people behave in polite society.
UK story
The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act became law in the United Kingdom. It removed most of the old legal rules that had held women back. Women could now join the professions, which are jobs that need special training, and the bodies that run them. They could also serve on juries and be awarded university degrees.
UK story
The Pioneer Helmet went on public display for the first time, at the New Walk Museum in Leicester. Made by the Anglo-Saxons in the late 600s, it had been found that March in Wollaston, Northamptonshire. It is one of only six Anglo-Saxon helmets ever discovered, and it has a boar on top of its crest. It later moved to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.
UK story
American Revolutionary War: American troops, overwhelmed by British reinforcements, retreated from the Battle of Iron Works Hill.
The poem 'Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas' was published in the Troy Sentinel, a newspaper in New York State, USA. It is now better known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. No author's name was printed with it. In 1837 Clement Clarke Moore said he had written it, but some people think the real writer was Henry Livingston Jr.
The opera Hansel and Gretel by the German composer Engelbert Humperdinck was first performed in Weimar, Germany, conducted by Richard Strauss. It is based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. The idea came from Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, who had written songs about the story for her children at Christmas. The opera is still most often performed at Christmas time.
The first transistor, invented by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, was demonstrated at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, USA. A transistor is a small device that can switch or boost electrical signals. Transistors replaced much bigger valves and became one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. The transistor is often called one of the most important inventions in history.
A team of American surgeons carried out the world's first successful kidney transplant. In a transplant, an organ from one person is given to another person whose own organ no longer works properly. The team, which included Joseph Murray and Hartwell Harrison, performed the operation between identical twins. It was a landmark moment in the history of medicine.
The aircraft Voyager landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, after flying all the way around the world. It was the first aircraft to do this without stopping or refuelling. Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager had taken off nine days earlier, on 14 December. The plane was designed by Dick's brother, Burt Rutan.
Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks.
Yohl Ikʼnal (signature pictured) acceded to the throne of the Maya city-state of Palenque.
Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque.
The Ilkhanate ruler Ghazan defeats a Mamluk army that opposes his invasion into Syria in the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar near Homs.
Moscow State Academy of Choreography is founded under the reign of Catherine II. It is the second ballet school in Russia after Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.
George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis (painting shown).
The Battle of Savenay: A decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution.
First day of the Constantinople Conference which resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (pictured) severed part of his left ear and gave it to a woman in a brothel in Arles, France.
The Tampere conference, where Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin meet for the first time, is held in Tampere, Finland.
The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System.
World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.
First World War: Allied forces gained a strategic victory at the Battle of Magdhaba on the Sinai Peninsula.
Spanish Civil War: The Spanish Republic legalizes the Regional Defence Council of Aragon.
Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupies Wake Island.
The first film adaptation of Väinö Linna's novel The Unknown Soldier, directed by Edvin Laine, premieres.
Leading the Australia national cricket team, Ian Craig became the youngest-ever Test cricket captain at the time.
Tokyo Tower, then the world's tallest freestanding tower, opened.
The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state.
The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 417 metres (1,368 ft), making it the tallest building in the world.
The Immaculate Reception is caught by Franco Harris to win the Pittsburgh Steelers their first ever playoff victory, after defeating the Oakland Raiders.
Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
About 88 percent of eligible voters in Slovenia voted to secede from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
An agreement is made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state.
The Guinean military engineered a coup d'état, announcing that it planned to rule the country for two years prior to a new presidential election.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Jane Austen's novel Emma is published”?
A: 1815. 1815 — that’s 211 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “The rare Anglo-Saxon Pioneer Helmet goes on display”?
A: 1997. 1997 — that’s 29 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: Jane Austen's novel Emma is published. 1815: Jane Austen's novel Emma is published · 1919: A new law lets women join the professions and sit on juries · 1997: The rare Anglo-Saxon Pioneer Helmet goes on display Find it on the page
“A new law lets women join the professions and sit on juries” happened in 1919. How many years ago was that?
A: 107 years. 2026 − 1919 = 107. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 23 December.
UK story
Richard Arkwright was an English inventor and businessman of the early Industrial Revolution. He led the development of the spinning frame, a machine for spinning cotton into thread. It became known as the water frame once it was powered by a water wheel. His methods at his mill in Cromford, Derbyshire, earned him the title 'father of the modern industrial factory system'.
UK story
Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright. In 2009 she became Poet Laureate, a great honour for a poet in the United Kingdom. She held the role until 2019 and was the first woman and the first Scottish-born poet to do so. Her poems are written in language that is easy to understand.
Well-known people who died on 23 December.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 23 December somewhere in the world.
UK story
Tom Bawcock's Eve is a festival held every year on 23 December in the village of Mousehole, Cornwall. It remembers Tom Bawcock, a legendary local man who went fishing in a terrible storm to save the village from hunger. People eat stargazy pie, which has fish heads poking through the crust as if gazing at the stars. The story was made popular by Antonia Barber's children's book The Mousehole Cat.
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.
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 “December 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.