Discover what happened on June 23 in history, featuring breakthroughs in education, aviation, technology, entertainment, and a uniquely strange moment from Michigan history involving a missing circus python.
What Happened on June 23 in History?
Important events on this day include the first SAT exam being administered, Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 crashing over Lake Michigan, Batman premiering in theaters in 1989, and Michigan’s famous “Big Sid” circus snake escape capturing headlines in 1978.
JUNE 23 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1836 – Congress approved the Deposit Act, which contained a provision for turning over surplus federal revenue to the states.
1868 – Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention that he called a “Type-Writer.”
1904 – The first American motorboat race got underway on the Hudson River in New York, NY.
1917 – In a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retired 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth. Ruth had been ejected for punching an umpire.
1926 – The College Board administers the first SAT exam.
1926 – The first lip reading tournament in America was held in Philadelphia, PA.
1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, NY on the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane.
1938 – The Civil Aeronautics Authority was established.
1938 – Marineland opened near St. Augustine, FL.
1950 – A furious squall on Lake Michigan caused the worst commercial aviation disaster at that time — Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 went down with 58 on board.
1960 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared Enovid to be the first officially approved combined oral contraceptive pill in the world.
1963 – Jimmy Piersall, of the New York Mets, hit his 100th career home run and ran the bases backwards as promised.
1969 – Warren E. Burger was sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
1972 – President Richard Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman discussed a plan to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI’s Watergate investigation.
1978 – A 7 year old, 16 foot python, weighing 140 pounds, named “Big Sid”, slithered away from a traveling circus in Standale, MI. The search for “Big Sid” continued for weeks, until his capture on July 24th, 1978. Read more about “Big Sid” here.
1980 – David Letterman’s daytime TV show debuted on NBC.
1988 – George Steinbrenner fired Yankees manager Billy Martin for the fifth time, and replaced him with Lou Piniella.
1989 – The movie “Batman”, directed by Tim Burton and starring Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, premiered in theaters.
1989 – The movie “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” debuted in theaters.
1992 – Mob boss John Gotti, “The Teflon Don,” was sentenced to life in prison, where he died a decade later.
1993 – Lorena Bobbitt of Manassas, VA, cut off a part of her sleeping husband John’s penis with a kitchen knife. She drove off with the severed appendage and threw it from the car window. Police found it and a surgeon reattached it.
1996 – The Nintendo 64 video console debuted in Japan.
2000 – The stop-action animated movie “Chicken Run” hit theaters.
2003 – Apple Computer Inc. unveiled the new Power Mac desktop computer.
2005 – Roger Ebert received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2013 – In Arizona, aerialist Nik Wallenda completed a quarter mile tightrope walk over the Little Colorado River Gorge, to become the first man to successfully walk across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope.
2015 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey completed its 60,000th orbit around Mars. The spacecraft entered orbit on October 23, 2001.
2015 – Verizon announced it had completed its $4.4 billion purchase of AOL, Inc.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JUNE 23:
Richard Bach – 90 years old (1936) – Novelist and essayist
Vint Cerf – 83 years old (1943) – Computer scientist and Internet pioneer
Ellyn Kaschak – 83 years old (1943) – Psychologist and academic
Ted Shackelford – 80 years old (1946) – Actor
Clarence Thomas – 78 years old (1948) – Lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Glenn Danzig – 71 years old (1955) – Singer-songwriter and producer
Tony Hill – 70 years old (1956) – Football player and sportscaster
Randy Jackson – 70 years old (1956) – Bass player and producer
Frances McDormand – 69 years old (1957) – Actress, winner of the Triple Crown of Acting
Donald Harrison – 66 years old (1960) – Saxophonist, composer, and producer
LaSalle Thompson – 65 years old (1961) – Basketball player, coach, and manager
Chuck Billy – 64 years old (1962) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Joss Whedon – 62 years old (1964) – Director, producer, and screenwriter
Sylvia Mathews Burwell – 61 years old (1965) – Government and non-profit executive
Chico DeBarge – 60 years old (1966) – Singer and pianist
Martin Klebba – 57 years old (1969) – Actor, producer, and stuntman
Robert Brooks – 56 years old (1970) – Football player
Selma Blair – 54 years old (1972) – Actress
Mark Hendrickson – 52 years old (1974) – Basketball and baseball player
Kevin Dyson – 51 years old (1975) – Football player and coach
Mike James – 51 years old (1975) – Basketball player
Wade Barrett – 50 years old (1976) – Soccer player and manager
Joe Becker – 50 years old (1976) – Guitarist and composer
Brandon Stokley – 50 years old (1976) – Football player
Jason Mraz – 49 years old (1977) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Shaun O'Hara – 49 years old (1977) – Football player and sportscaster
Memphis Bleek – 48 years old (1978) – Rapper, producer, and actor
Matt Light – 48 years old (1978) – Football player and sportscaster
LaDainian Tomlinson – 47 years old (1979) – Football player
Becky Cloonan – 46 years old (1980) – Author and illustrator
Melissa Rauch – 46 years old (1980) – Actress
Marcel Reece – 41 years old (1985) – Football player
Christy Altomare – 40 years old (1986) – Actress and singer-songwriter
Chellsie Memmel – 38 years old (1988) – Gymnast
Katie Armiger – 35 years old (1991) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Tim Anderson – 33 years old (1993) – Baseball player
Elliana Walmsley – 19 years old (2007) – Dancer
Lilliana Ketchman – 18 years old (2008) – Dancer and YouTuber
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JUNE 23:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
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