April 23
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Featured Event
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On this day in 1986, the Coca-Cola Company introduced New Coke, a reformulated soft drink meant to replace its flagship beverage and boost sales at the expense of its rival Pepsi. Public outrage ensued, however, and even the company’s own bottlers rebelled. Just 79 days later, old Coke—now called Coca-Cola Classic—went back on sale. New Coke was discontinued in 2002. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London (http://www.npg.org.uk)
To begin then with Shakespeare; he was the man who of all Modern, and perhaps Ancient Poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul. All the Images of Nature were still present to him, and he drew them not laboriously, but luckily: when he describes any thing, you more than see it, you feel it too.
William Shakespeare—the poet, dramatist, and actor who is regarded as the national poet of England and perhaps the most famous dramatist of all time—died this day in 1616 in his native town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
Famous Birthdays
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SpaceX/NASA (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
2021
Shortly after launch, astronauts in a SpaceX capsule headed to the International Space Station were told to put on their spacesuits as a precaution against a possible collision with space debris. (U.S. Space Command, which was responsible for the warning, later claimed it was an error and that the astronauts were never at risk.) [How worried should we be about trash in space?]
© mark reinstein/Shutterstock.com
2007
Boris Yeltsin—who became in 1991 the first popularly elected leader in Russia’s history and guided the country through a stormy decade of political and economic retrenching until his resignation on the eve of 2000—died at age 76. [Sort fact from fiction in our Russia quiz.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2005
The first video—showing YouTube cofounder Jawed Karim’s visit to the San Diego Zoo—was uploaded to YouTube. Approximately one year later the site had some 100 million videos. [Take our computers and technology quiz.]
© Keystone—Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1998
James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr., died in prison at age 70. [Read about the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1993
The East African country of Eritrea began three days of voting on a referendum to make official its independence from Ethiopia. [Explore the legacy of the European colonization of Africa.]
C. Goldsmith/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
1984
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler announced that researchers had found what was believed to be the virus that causes AIDS; the infectious agent was later named HIV. [Learn about the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic in the United States.]
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1976
The Ramones, who were hugely influential in the rise of punk rock on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, released their eponymous debut album. [How much do you know about musical groups?]
© David Redfern—Redferns/Retna Ltd.
1936
Singer-songwriter Roy Orbison, known for his soaring voice and his carefully crafted ballads of loneliness and heartache, was born in Vernon, Texas. [Test your knowledge of songwriters.]
© 1931 Warner Brothers, Inc.; photograph from a private collection
1931
The film classic The Public Enemy was released in American theaters, and James Cagney’s landmark performance as a gangster made him a star. [How much do you know about movies?]
© Mike Liu/Shutterstock.com
1914
Wrigley Field (then known as Weeghman Park) hosted its first Major League Baseball game; the stadium later became the home of the Chicago Cubs. [Take our Chicago quiz.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1906
Russian Tsar Nicholas II promulgated the Fundamental Laws, which marked the end of unlimited autocracy but fell short of the reforms promised in the October Manifesto. [Discover more about Nicholas II’s reign.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1858
Physicist Max Planck, who originated quantum theory, was born in what is today Kiel, Germany. [Sort fact from fiction in our physics quiz.]
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942 (object no. NPG.65.48)
1791
James Buchanan, the 15th U.S. president, was born near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. [Test your knowledge of the birthplaces of U.S. presidents.]
Antiqua Print Gallery/Alamy
1016
Upon the death of King Ethelred II of England, his son claimed the throne as Edmund II. [Take our kings of England quiz.]