SEPTEMBER 23 | Birthdays and Events
Famous Birthdays
People born on September 23
Alexander Twilight
Died: June 19, 1857 (age 61 years)
The first African American to graduate with a BA degree from a university or college in America. He graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1823. He was also the first African American to hold public office.
William Holmes McGuffey
Died: May 4, 1873 (age 72 years)
Author widely known for writing the of elementary school textbooks McGuffey Readers.
Victoria Woodhull
Died: June 9, 1927 (age 88 years)
Journalist and activist who ran for President in the 1872 election.
Mary Mallon
Died: November 11, 1938 (age 69 years)
Cook and typhoid carrier known as "Typhoid Mary." She is believed to have infected at least 57 people and the first person in the U.S. to be identified as an asymptomatic carrier.
Mickey Rooney
Died: April 6, 2014 (age 93 years)
Critically acclaimed actor whose career lasted over nine decades, appearing in over 300 films during his career. At the time of his death, he was one of the last living silent film actors.
André Cassagnes
Died: January 16, 2013 (age 86 years)
French toy maker who created the Etch A Sketch.
John Coltrane
Died: July 17, 1967 (age 40 years)
Saxophonist and composer who is considered one of the most influential people in Jazz history.
Ray Charles
Died: June 10, 2004 (age 73 years)
Considered one of the most influential musicians of all time.
Lloyd J. Old
Died: November 28, 2011 (age 78 years)
One of the founders of the field of Cancer Immunology.
Julio Iglesias
One of the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world. He is considered one of the top record sellers in music history, having sold more than 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages.
Bruce Springsteen
Rock musician known as "The Boss." He has released 21 studio albums since the beginning of his career in 1972.
Jason Alexander
Actor, singer, and voice artist who is most recognizable for his character George Costanza in the sitcom Seinfeld.
Historical Events on September 23
Events that occurred on September 23 throughout history
Harvard College holds their first graduation commencement.
Harvard College (Cambridge, Massachusetts) holds their first graduation commencement.
The New York Knickerbockers becomes the first baseball team.
The NY Knickerbockers organizes and adopts a rulebook and becomes the first baseball team.
The planet Neptune is discovered.
Astronomers Urbain Le Verrier, John Couch Adams, and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate together on the discovery of Neptune.
Billy the Kid is arrested for the first time.
Billy the Kid is arrested for the first time in Silver City, New Mexico. He is put in jail for receiving stolen clothing from a Chinese laundry.
Herman Hollerith patents his mechanical tabulating machine.
Herman Hollerith patents his mechanical tabulating machine. The machine tallied the 1890 U.S. Census in just a few months.
Throop College is established in California.
Vocational and preparatory school Troop College is established in California. The College would become the prestigious California Institute of Technology, otherwise known as Caltech.
The first Frontier Days Rodeo is celebrated in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The first Frontier Days Rodeo is celebrated in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The one day celebration in 1897 is not a 10-day summer festival referred to as the "Daddy of 'em All."
Gene Tunney beats heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey by unanimous decision.
Gene Tunney beats heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey by 10-round unanimous decision in the "Upset of the Decade." Fought at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Sesquicentennial Stadium, the match drew a record 120,557 spectators.
King George VI the United Kingdom has his left lung removed.
King George VI the United Kingdom has his left lung removed after a malignant tumor was found. The operation was performed at Buckingham Palace to keep the diagnosis from the public.
An all-white jury in Mississippi finds two men not guilty in the murder of Emmett Till.
An all-white jury in Mississippi finds Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam not guilty in the torture-murder of the 14-year-old Emmett Till. Openly aware of double jeopardy, the two men later confessed to the death in a magazine interview.
President Eisenhower orders U.S. troops to support the integration at Little Rock.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower orders U.S. troops to Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas to support the integration of nine Black students after President Eisenhower took control of the National Guard after Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus ordered them to block the student's entrance.
The Jetsons premieres on television.
The futuristic cartoon The Jetsons premieres on television. The animation was the first television show in color for ABC.
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