January 23
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Featured Event
© Reg Lancaster—Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Richard Nixon announces an end to the war in Vietnam
On this day in 1973, U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon announced an end to the seemingly never-ending conflict in Vietnam. However, while the Paris Peace Accords (which were formally signed four days later) brought an end to direct U.S. military involvement, the conflict raged on until April 1975, when Saigon was captured by North Vietnamese forces. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Artothek/Imagno/brandstaetter images—Hulton Archive/Getty Images
French painter Édouard Manet, born this day in 1832, defied traditional techniques of representation and chose modern, urban subjects, antagonizing the critics but paving the way for Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
Famous Birthdays
More on January 23
© Mario Beauregard/Dreamstime.com
2021
American talk-show host Larry King, whose easygoing interviewing style helped make Larry King Live (1985–2010) one of CNN’s longest-running and most popular programs, died at age 87. [Take our quiz about American personalities.]
© stocklight/Shutterstock.com
2011
American physical fitness guru Jack LaLanne, who became the first host of a televised exercise program with the debut of The Jack LaLanne Show (1951–85), died at age 96. [Sort fact from fiction in our physical education quiz.]
NBC photo
2005
American comedian Johnny Carson—who, as host of The Tonight Show (1962–92), established the standard format for television talk shows and came to be considered the king of late-night TV—died at age 79. [Test your knowledge of pop culture.]
Courtesy of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, the Glazier Collection
U.S. Department of State
1997
Madeleine Albright, who had earlier served as U.S. ambassador to the UN, became secretary of state in U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton’s administration. She was the first woman to hold that cabinet post.
Ron Kuntz—Reuters/© Archive Photos
1986
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland inducted its first class, which included Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Elvis Presley. [How much do you know about rock ’n’ roll?]
AP Images
1977
The TV miniseries Roots, an adaptation of Alex Haley’s best-selling novel, debuted; it became one of the most popular shows in the history of American television and brought mainstream attention to Black American history. [Take our quiz about African American history.]
NARA
1964
The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes before a citizen can participate in a federal election, was ratified. Such taxes had previously imposed unfair restrictions on Black American voters. [Test your knowledge of amendments to the U.S. Constitution.]
Consumer Unity/California Department of Rehabilitation
1939
Disability rights activist Ed Roberts, who is considered the founder of the independent-living movement, was born in San Mateo, California.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1885
Lead Belly—a folk-blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose ability to perform a vast repertoire of songs, in conjunction with his notoriously violent life, made him a legend—was born (most likely) on this day. [Take our quiz about musicians.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-57850)
1849
Elizabeth Blackwell received an M.D. degree from Geneva Medical College in New York, becoming the first American-trained woman physician. [Take our quiz about famous firsts for women.]
© Kit Leong/stock.adobe.com
1789
Georgetown College (now Georgetown University) was established in Washington, D.C.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1556
An earthquake in China killed or injured an estimated 830,000 people, which is believed to have reduced the population of the two provinces affected (Shaanxi, where the quake was centered, and neighboring Shanxi) by about 60 percent. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about natural disasters.]