On This Day - What Happened On October 23 | Britannica

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1983 U.S. and French troops attacked in Beirut On this day in 1983, suicide bombers drove truckloads of high explosives into the barracks of U.S. Marines and French paratroopers in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen and 58 French troops. NARA

Featured Biography

Pelé Brazilian athlete bornOctober 23, 1940Tres Coracoes, BrazildiedDecember 29, 2022 (aged 82)São Paulo, BrazilMarka/Fioroni/age fotostock 1962 Doug Flutie American football player 1959 Nancy Grace American legal commentator 1954 Ang Lee Taiwan-born film director 1942 Michael Crichton American author 1940 Pelé Brazilian athlete See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2003 Soong Mei-ling, the second wife of the Nationalist Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek and a powerful political figure in her own right, died at age 106. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about ChinaEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2001 Apple introduced the iPod, a portable media player that became one of the most successful and revolutionary products of the early 2000s.Courtesy of Apple 1998 Britney Spears released the single “…Baby One More Time,” which, accompanied by its provocative music video, became a huge hit and helped make her a pop star.Kevin Kane—Wireimage/Getty Images 1956 The Hungarian Revolution began with a massive demonstration in Budapest. Take our plots and revolutions quiz© Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com 1956 The International Atomic Energy Agency was created with the purpose of increasing the contribution of atomic energy to world peace. Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about world organizationsSarajevo-x 1944 During World War II, U.S. forces under the leadership of Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., commenced a decisive air and sea battle against the Japanese on the central Philippine island of Leyte. How much do you know about World War II?Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1942 The British, led by Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, launched a successful infantry attack against German forces at El-Alamein, Egypt, during World War II. Take our quiz about Germany and World War IINational Archives, Washington, D.C. 1941 The Disney animated classic Dumbo had its world premiere. Take our Disney quiz© The Walt Disney Company 1925 Johnny Carson—who, as host of The Tonight Show (1962–92), established the standard format for television chat shows—was born in Corning, Iowa.NBC photo 1901 A statue of Albert Pike was dedicated in Washington, D.C. The city's only outdoor public monument to a Confederate general, it was torn down by protesters in 2020 and reinstalled by the federal government in 2025.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.