February 23 in History

Significant events that happened on this day.

Historical Events

2011

A man in Florida was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon—a Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme

During a heated argument, the man allegedly threw the Mexican fast food item at his girlfriend's face. Police took the crime seriously, charging him w...

1998

Netscape announced that its browser would be free and open-source

This decision led to the creation of the Mozilla project and eventually Firefox. At the time, Netscape Navigator was locked in the 'Browser Wars' with...

1997

Scientists announced they had successfully cloned an adult sheep named Dolly

Major

The announcement sent shockwaves through the scientific and ethical communities worldwide. Dolly was actually born on July 5, 1996, but the research w...

1987

Supernova 1987A became visible from Earth, the closest observed supernova in 383 years

Astronomers in the Southern Hemisphere witnessed a star exploding in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy. The stellar explosion was bright eno...

1954

The first mass inoculation of children against polio began in Pittsburgh

Major

Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was administered to schoolchildren in what would become one of the largest clinical trials in medical history. Within a...

1947

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was founded

This organization would go on to make life simultaneously more organized and more annoying by creating standards for everything from paper sizes to qu...

1941

Glenn Seaborg discovered plutonium

Seaborg and his team at Berkeley successfully isolated plutonium-239, which would become crucial to nuclear weapons and power. He was so secretive abo...

1905

The Rotary Club, the world's first service club, was founded in Chicago

Lawyer Paul Harris started the club so professionals could network and socialize while doing good deeds. The name 'Rotary' came from the early practic...

1896

The Tootsie Roll was introduced to America by Leo Hirschfield

Hirschfield named the chewy chocolate candy after his daughter Clara, whose nickname was 'Tootsie.' It became the first individually wrapped penny can...

1836

The Battle of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas

Major

Around 200 Texan defenders faced off against several thousand Mexican troops led by General Santa Anna. The 13-day siege became a legendary symbol of...

1633

Samuel Pepys was born, who would later become famous for his detailed diary

Pepys kept a diary from 1660-1669 that provides an incredibly detailed look at Restoration England, including eyewitness accounts of the Great Fire of...

1455

Johannes Gutenberg printed his first Bible using movable type

Major

The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, was completed on this date, revolutionizing the spread of information. This technological breakt...