December 23

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{{This date in recent years}}

{{Day}}

Events

=Pre-1600=

=1601–1900=

=1901–present=

Births

=Pre-1600=

=1601–1900=

=1901–present=

Deaths

=Pre-1600=

=1601–1900=

=1901–present=

  • 1902Frederick Temple, English archbishop and academic (born 1821)
  • 1906Mdungazwe Ngungunyane Nxumalo, last emperor of the Gaza Empire (born c.1850)
  • 1912Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist and academic (born 1850)
  • 1926Swami Shraddhanand, Indian monk, missionary, and educator (born 1856)
  • 1930Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay, Turkish lieutenant and educator (born 1906)
  • 1931Wilson Bentley, American meteorologist and photographer (born 1865)
  • 1939Anthony Fokker, Indonesia-born Dutch pilot and engineer, designed the Fokker Dr.I and Fokker D.VII (born 1890){{cite book|title=Aircraft & Aerospace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ll8pAQAAIAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Peter Isaacson Publications Pty. Limited|page=41}}
  • 1946John A. Sampson, American gynecologist and academic (born 1873)
  • 1948Akira Mutō, Japanese general (born 1883)
  • 1948 – Hideki Tojo, Japanese general and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Japan (born 1884)
  • 1948 – Seishirō Itagaki, Japanese general (born 1885)
  • 1948 – Heitarō Kimura, Japanese general (born 1888)
  • 1948 – Iwane Matsui, Japanese general (born 1878)
  • 1948 – Kenji Doihara, Japanese general (born 1883)
  • 1948 – Kōki Hirota, Japanese diplomat and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1878)
  • 1950Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (born 1878)
  • 1953Lavrentiy Beria, Soviet general and politician, head of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (born 1899)
  • 1954René Iché, French soldier and sculptor (born 1897)
  • 1961Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, American author (born 1875)
  • 1961 – Kurt Meyer, German general (born 1910)
  • 1970Charles Ruggles, American actor (born 1886)
  • 1970 – Aleksander Warma, Estonian lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (born 1890)
  • 1972Andrei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-104 (born 1888)
  • 1973 – Irna Phillips, American screenwriter, created Guiding Light and As the World Turns (born 1901)
  • 1979Peggy Guggenheim, American-Italian art collector (born 1898)
  • 1982Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1920)
  • 1983Colin Middleton, Irish painter and illustrator (born 1910)
  • 1984Joan Lindsay, Australian author and playwright (born 1896)
  • 1992Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (born 1934)
  • 1994Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director, and playwright (born 1905)
  • 1995Patric Knowles, English actor (born 1911)
  • 1998Joe Orlando, Italian-American author and illustrator (born 1927)
  • 2000Billy Barty, American actor (born 1924)
  • 2000 – Victor Borge, Danish-American comedian, pianist, and conductor (born 1909)
  • 2001Bola Ige, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Oyo State (born 1930)
  • 2004P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (born 1921)
  • 2005Lajos Baróti, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1914)
  • 2005 – Yao Wenyuan, Chinese writer and politician, member of the Gang of Four (born 1931){{cite news|title=Yao Wenyuan, 74, Member of Gang of Four, Is Dead|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/07/obituaries/07yao.html?_r=0|newspaper=New York Times|date = 7 January 2006|access-date=16 October 2023|last1 = Barboza|first1 = David}}
  • 2006Charlie Drake, English actor (born 1925)
  • 2006 – Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (born 1952)
  • 2006 – Johnny Vincent, English footballer (born 1947)
  • 2007William Francis Ganong, Jr., American physiologist and academic (born 1924)
  • 2007 – Michael Kidd, American dancer and choreographer (born 1915)
  • 2007 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (born 1925){{cite book|author=Harris M. Lentz III|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3zGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA287|date=20 May 2008|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3481-7|pages=287–8}}
  • 2009Robert L. Howard, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1939)
  • 2009 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Tibetan general and politician (born 1910)
  • 2009 – Edward Schillebeeckx, Belgian theologian and academic (born 1914)
  • 2010Fred Hargesheimer, American soldier and pilot (born 1916)
  • 2010 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (born 1918)
  • 2011Aydın Menderes, Turkish economist and politician (born 1946)
  • 2012Jean Harris, American educator and murderer (born 1923)
  • 2012 – Eduardo Maiorino, Brazilian mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (born 1979)
  • 2013Chryssa, Greek-American sculptor (born 1933)
  • 2013 – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and weapons designer, designed the AK-47 rifle (born 1919){{cite news |last=Alpert |first=Lukas I. |author2=Miller, Stephen |title=Designer of the Popular Kalashnikov Rifle Dies |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304020704579276314199448756?mod=e2fb |access-date=23 December 2013 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=23 December 2013}}
  • 2013 – Yusef Lateef, American saxophonist, composer, and educator (born 1920){{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/arts/music/yusef-lateef-innovative-jazz-saxophonist-and-flutist-dies-at-93.html|title=Yusef Lateef, Innovative Jazz Saxophonist and Flutist, Dies at 93|first=Peter|last=Keepnews|date=December 24, 2013|website=The New York Times}}
  • 2013 – Ricky Lawson, American drummer and composer (born 1954){{Cite magazine|title=Drummer Ricky Lawson Dead at 59|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5847915/drummer-ricky-lawson-dead-at-59|access-date=2021-01-14|magazine=Billboard|date=26 December 2013|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2013-12-26|title=Ricky Lawson, Drummer on Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You,' Dead at 59|url=https://www.spin.com/2013/12/ricky-lawson-drummer-dead/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=Spin}}
  • 2013 – G. S. Shivarudrappa, Indian poet and educator (born 1926)
  • 2013 – Robert W. Wilson, American philanthropist and art collector (born 1928)
  • 2014Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (born 1944)
  • 2014 – Robert V. Hogg, American statistician and academic (born 1924)
  • 2015Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1941)
  • 2015 – Don Howe, English footballer and manager (born 1935)
  • 2015 – Jean-Marie Pelt, French biologist, pharmacist, and academic (born 1933)
  • 2015 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1923){{cite web|title=12 Eylül darbesinin başbakanı Bülend Ulusu hayatını kaybetti|url=http://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/12-eylul-darbesinin-basbakani-bulend-ulusu-hayatini-kaybetti,rd8SxLslCESLHx39jCqogA|publisher=NTV (Turkey)|access-date=23 December 2015}}
  • 2017Maurice Hayes, Irish educator and politician (born 1927)
  • 2020Leslie West, American singer and guitarist (born 1945){{cite magazine |last1=Browne |first1=David |title=Leslie West, Mountain Guitarist Who Belted 'Mississippi Queen,' Dead at 75 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/leslie-west-dead-1106777/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=23 December 2020 |access-date=23 December 2020}}
  • 2021Joan Didion, American writer (born 1934){{cite news |last1=Grimes |first1=William |title=Joan Didion, 'New Journalist' Who Explored Culture and Chaos, Dies at 87 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/23/books/joan-didion-dead.html |access-date=28 December 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=December 23, 2021 |ref=joan_didion}}
  • 2022Brandon Montrell, American TikTok personality and stand-up comedian (born 1979)https://www.fox8live.com/2022/12/24/comedian-brandon-boogie-b-montrell-identified-man-slain-outside-new-orleans-grocery-store/ December 24, 2022; Fox8Live (New Orleans, LA); accessed January 1, 2023.
  • 2023William Pope.L, American performance artist (born 1955){{cite news |last1=Heinrich |first1=Will |title=Pope.L, Provocative Performance Artist, Dies at 68 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/pope-l-dead.html |access-date=9 January 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=December 27, 2021 |ref=william_pope.l}}
  • 2024Shyam Benegal, Indian director and screenwriter (born 1934){{Cite news |last=Travelli |first=Alex |last2=K.B. |first2=Pragati |date=December 26, 2024 |title=Shyam Benegal, Indian Filmmaker Who Explored Social Issues, Dies at 90 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/movies/shyam-benegal-dead.html |access-date=December 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}
  • 2024 – Dési Bouterse, Surinamese general and politician, 9th President of Suriname (born 1945){{Cite news |last=Moses |first=Claire |date=December 25, 2024 |title=Desi Bouterse, Fugitive Former Dictator of Suriname, Dies at 79 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/25/world/americas/bouterse-suriname-dead.html |access-date=December 27, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}
  • 2024 – Sophie Hediger, Swiss snowboarder (born 1998){{Cite web |date=December 24, 2024 |title=Swiss Olympic snowboarder dies in avalanche at 26 years old - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sophie-hediger-swiss-olympic-snowboarder-dead-avalanche/ |access-date=December 27, 2024 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}

==Holidays and observances==

References

{{Reflist}}