Discover what happened on July 23 in history as remarkable achievements, historic milestones, technological advances, and unforgettable moments helped shape the world we know today.
What Happened on July 23 in History?
Important events on this day include Ford Motor Company selling its first automobile, the beginning of the 1967 Detroit riot, the launch of Landsat 1 to study Earth from space, the debut of Diet Coke, and the opening of Dutch Village in Holland, Michigan.
JULY 23 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1715 – The first lighthouse in America was authorized for construction at Little Brewster Island, MA.
1827 – The first swimming school in the United States opened in Boston, MA. Students included John Quincy Adams and James Audubon.
1829 – The first typewriter, called a typographer, was patented by William Austin Burt.
1880 – The first U.S. commercial hydro-electric power plant began operation in Grand Rapids, MI on the Grand River.
1903 – The Ford Motor Company sold its first car. It had a price tag of $850. The automobile featured a twin-cylinder combustion engine designed and manufactured by Henry Ford.
1904 – Charles E. Menches is often credited with inventing the ice cream cone at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
1926 – Fox Films purchased the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
1938 – In Utah, the first federal game preserve was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
1958 – Dutch Village in Holland, MI opened for the first time. On their first day they had a total of two customers and made $12.73.
1962 – Telstar relayed the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
1967 – In Detroit, MI, one of the deadliest civil disturbances in U.S. history began on 12th Street in the inner city. The riots killed 43 people, injured 342 and burned about 1,400 buildings.
1972 – The U.S. launched Landsat 1 (ERTS-1). It was the first Earth-resources satellite.
1982 – Diet Coke was introduced.
1982 – The movie “The World According to Garp”, starring Robin Williams, premiered in theaters.
1982 – The International Whaling Commission decided to end commercial whaling by 1985-86.
1984 – Vanessa Williams became the first Miss America to resign when she surrendered her crown after nude pictures of her appeared in “Penthouse” magazine.
1985 – Commodore unveiled the personal computer Amiga 1000.
1986 – Britain’s Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London. (They divorced in 1996.)
1992 – The “New B-93”, 93.7 WBCT-FM in Grand Rapids, MI, hit the airwaves.
1993 – The movie “Coneheads”, starring Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin, debuted in theaters.
1995 – The comet Hale-Bopp was discovered. It became visible to the naked eye on Earth nearly a year later.
1997 – Digital Equipment Corporation filed antitrust charges against computer chipmaker Intel.
1998 – U.S. scientists at the University of Hawaii clone more than 50 “carbon-copy” mice.
1999 – The movie “Inspector Gadget: The Movie”, starring Matthew Broderick, premiered in theaters.
2000 – Lance Armstrong won his second Tour de France.
2015 – NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-452b (a planet sometimes quoted to be an “Earth 2.0” or “Earth’s Cousin”) by the Kepler space telescope.
2021 – Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians announced it would be re-named the Guardians, after the Guardians of Traffic, eight large Art Deco statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge, located near their playing field.
2022 – The World Health Organization declared mpox (then widely known as monkeypox) a global health emergency.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JULY 23:
Jim Hall – 91 years old (1935) – Race car driver
Anthony Kennedy – 90 years old (1936) – Lawyer and jurist
Ronny Cox – 88 years old (1938) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
Madeline Bell – 84 years old (1942) – Singer-songwriter
Edie McClurg – 81 years old (1945) – Actress and comedian
John Hall – 78 years old (1948) – Politician
Alex Kozinski – 76 years old (1950) – Romanian-born American lawyer and judge
Janis Siegel – 74 years old (1952) – Jazz singer
Nikos Galis – 69 years old (1957) – Basketball player
Ken Green – 68 years old (1958) – Golfer
Nancy Savoca – 67 years old (1959) – Director, producer, and screenwriter
Susan Graham – 66 years old (1960) – Soprano and educator
Al Perez – 66 years old (1960) – Wrestler
Michael Durant – 65 years old (1961) – Pilot and author
Woody Harrelson – 65 years old (1961) – Actor and activist
Eriq La Salle – 64 years old (1962) – Actor, director, and producer
Slash – 61 years old (1965) – English-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
Gary Payton – 58 years old (1968) – Basketball player and actor
Stephanie Seymour – 58 years old (1968) – Model and actress
Shawn Levy – 58 years old (1968) – Canadian-American director and producer
Raphael Warnock – 57 years old (1969) – Politician and minister
Charisma Carpenter – 56 years old (1970) – Actress
Sam Watters – 56 years old (1970) – Singer-songwriter and producer
Dalvin DeGrate – 55 years old (1971) – Rapper and producer
Alison Krauss – 55 years old (1971) – Singer-songwriter and fiddler
Joel Stein – 55 years old (1971) – Journalist
Marlon Wayans – 54 years old (1972) – Actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Nomar Garciaparra – 53 years old (1973) – Baseball player and sportscaster
Kathryn Hahn – 53 years old (1973) – Actress
Monica Lewinsky – 53 years old (1973) – Activist and former White House intern
Maurice Greene – 52 years old (1974) – Sprinter
Scott Clemmensen – 49 years old (1977) – Ice hockey player and coach
Lauren Groff – 48 years old (1978) – Novelist and short story writer
Michelle Williams – 47 years old (1979) – Singer-songwriter and actress
Daniel McClellan – 46 years old (1980) – Biblical scholar and social media personality
Sandeep Parikh – 46 years old (1980) – Actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Joe Mather – 44 years old (1982) – Baseball player
Gerald Wallace – 44 years old (1982) – Basketball player
Paul Wesley – 44 years old (1982) – Actor, director, and producer
Aaron Peirsol – 43 years old (1983) – Swimmer
Brandon Roy – 42 years old (1984) – Basketball player
Celeste Thorson – 42 years old (1984) – Actress, producer, and screenwriter
Donald Young – 37 years old (1989) – Tennis player
Harris English – 37 years old (1989) – Professional golfer
Lili Simmons – 33 years old (1993) – Actress
Danielle Bradbery – 30 years old (1996) – Singer
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JULY 23:
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