June 23rd in History

79 - Vespasian, Roman Emperor dies

1018 - Henry I, Margrave of Austria dies

1532 - Henry VIII and François I sign a secret treaty against Emperor Charles V.

1683 - William Penn signs a friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.

1760 - Seven Years' War: Battle of Landeshut – Austria defeats Prussia.

1794 - Empress Catherine II of Russia grants Jews permission to settle in Kiev.

1848 - Beginning of the June Days Uprising in Paris, France.

1894 - The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

1913 - Second Balkan War: The Greeks defeat the Bulgarians in the Battle of Doiran.

1919 - Estonian War of Independence: the decisive defeat of the Baltische Landeswehr in the Battle of Cesis. This day is celebrated as Victory Day in Estonia.

1940 - World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler surveys newly defeated Paris in now occupied France.

1941 - The Lithuanian Activist Front declares independence from the Soviet Union and forms the Provisional Government of Lithuania; it lasts only briefly as the Nazis will occupy Lithuania a few weeks later.

1956 - The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferring a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa.

1961 - Cold War: the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent, comes into force after the opening date for signature set for the December 1st, 1959

1972 - Watergate Scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins.

1972 - Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to prohibit sexual discrimination to any educational program receiving federal funds.

2012 - Ashton Eaton breaks the decathlon world record at the United States Olympic Trials.

Famous Birthdays

47 BC - Caesarion, son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra

1373 - Joanna II of Naples

1456 - Margaret of Denmark, Queen consort of Scotland

1703 - Marie Leszczyńska, Queen consort of France and Navarre, wife of Louis XV of France

1763 - Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress consort of the French, first wife of Napoleon I

1894 - Edward VIII of the United Kingdom  (after abdication The Duke of Windsor)

1912 - Alan Turing, mathematician

1936 - Costas Simitis, 180th Prime Minister of Greece

1940 - Stuart Sutcliffe, singer and bassist

1948 - Darhyl S. Ramsey, author

1965 - Paul Arthurs, musician

1975 - Jeffrey Carlson, actor

1976 - Emmanuelle Vaugier, actress

1980 - Francesca Schiavone, tennis player

1989 - Marielle Jaffe, model and actress

1991 - Katie Armiger, singer