Brutus Falls at Philippi
Brutus was defeated and killed himself at the Second Battle of Philippi on October 23, 42 BC. The Roman Republic was over.
The Arrow Incident Opens the Second Opium War
On October 23, 1856, British forces attacked the forts on the Pearl river near Guangzhou, opening the Second Opium War.
The Meiji Era Begins
On October 23, 1868, the reign name Meiji was adopted in Japan, beginning the era of rapid reform after the fall of the shogunate.
Santos-Dumont Makes a Powered Flight
Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first officially witnessed flight in Europe on October 23, 1906, in his 14-bis aircraft.
The Second Battle of El Alamein Begins
The Second Battle of El Alamein began on October 23, 1942. Montgomery's Eighth Army broke Rommel's line and turned the tide in North Africa.
The Hungarian Revolution Begins
The Hungarian Revolution began on October 23, 1956, with a demonstration in Budapest. Soviet forces crushed it weeks later.
Pasternak Wins the Nobel Prize
Boris Pasternak won the Nobel Prize on October 23, 1958 for Doctor Zhivago. Soviet pressure forced him to decline it.
Bombing of the Beirut Barracks
A truck bomb killed 241 US Marines in Beirut on October 23, 1983. A second bomb killed 58 French troops. The force withdrew soon after.
The Paris Peace Agreements End the Cambodian Conflict
On October 23, 1991, the Paris peace agreements were signed, ending Cambodia's long conflict and placing the country under a UN authority.
Apple Introduces the iPod
Apple released the iPod on October 23, 2001, a player that held a thousand songs. It transformed music and made Apple a giant.
The Moscow Theatre Hostage Crisis
On October 23, 2002, armed hostage takers seized a Moscow theatre with about 850 people inside, demanding a Russian withdrawal from Chechnya.