August 23
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1864: The Battle of Mobile Bay ends
The Confederate forces at Fort Morgan, doomed for lack of supplies, surrendered on this day in 1864, and the Battle of Mobile Bay came to an end. With that, the Confederacy lost its last foothold on the Gulf Coast. But getting to this point required one of the American Civil War’s most famous naval gambles, coupled with a legendary command: “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”
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Popular Graphic Arts Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital file no. LC-DIG-pga-04035); Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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William Wallace executed
On this day in London, William Wallace was executed for treason, condemned for leading Scottish resistance forces during the first years of the long and ultimately successful struggle to free Scotland from English rule. [How much do you know about England, Scotland, and Wales?]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland
French zoologist Baron Georges Cuvier—whose work, which included classifying animals based on their internal structure and not their outward appearance, laid the foundation of comparative anatomy—was born this day in 1769.
Famous Birthdays
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Department of Space/Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
2023
India became the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon; its Chandrayaan-3 probe was also the first to land in the Moon’s south polar region. [Sort fact from fiction in our space exploration quiz.]
MC2 Jesse Awalt/U.S. Department of Defense
2011
After rebel forces captured his compound in Tripoli, Muammar al-Qaddafi’s four-decade rule of Libya ended; although his whereabouts were initially unknown, he was discovered two months later in the Libyan city of Surt and killed. [Test your knowledge of Libya.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2000
The first season of the U.S. version of the reality TV game show Survivor ended, with Richard Hatch being pronounced the winner; the hugely popular series was credited with launching the reality TV fad of the early 21st century. [Take our quiz about American reality TV.]
© Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
1978
American basketball player Kobe Bryant, one of the NBA’s leading players in the early 21st century, was born in Philadelphia. [How much do you know about basketball?]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1973
A botched bank robbery in Stockholm resulted in a hostage situation, and, over the course of a six-day standoff, the captives formed an unlikely bond with their captor, giving rise to the term “Stockholm syndrome.” [Take our Psychology 101 quiz.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1939
Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact dividing eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. [Sort fact from fiction in our World War II quiz.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1927
Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed for murder in Massachusetts, despite a mishandled trial and the widespread belief that they were innocent. [Read about 10 “trials of the century,” including the Sacco-Vanzetti case.]
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
1926
“The Great Lover,” motion-picture actor Rudolph Valentino, died suddenly at age 31, prompting widespread public grief from his fans. [Take our quiz about actors and acting.]
© ullstein bild Dtl/Getty Images
1923
Running in Stockholm, Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi set a new mile record of 4 minutes 10.4 seconds. During his career, Nurmi established 25 world records at various distances and won nine gold Olympic medals.
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London
1849
English poet, critic, and editor William Ernest Henley, who introduced the early work of many of the great English writers of the 1890s in his journals, was born in Gloucester. [Name that author in our quiz.]
Malikbek
1514
The Ottomans won a decisive victory over the Ṣafavids of Iran at the Battle of Chāldirān. [Match the battle with the war.]