On This Day - What happened 23 August

Sultan Selim I (1512–1520) dramatically expanded the Empire's eastern and southern frontiers by defeating Shah Ismail of Safavid Iran, in the Battle of Chaldiran.

On August 23, 1848, Austrian troops opened fire on unarmed demonstrators and shot several.

In 1901, after the Boxer Rebellion started, Tang Caichang and Tan Sitong of the previous Foot Emancipation Society organised the Independence Army. The Independence Army Uprising was planned to occur on 23 August 1900. Their goal was to overthrow Empress Dowager Cixi to establish a constitutional monarchy under the Guangxu Emperor. Their plot was discovered by the governor general of Hunan and Hubei. About twenty conspirators were arrested and executed.

On August 23, Japanese Army reinforcements succeeded in landing in northern Shanghai. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) ultimately committed over 200,000 troops, along with numerous naval vessels and aircraft, to capture the city. After more than three months of intense fighting, their casualties far exceeded initial expectations.

The Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany on 23 August 1939.

The situation reached a general crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilize against the Polish border. On 23 August, when tripartite negotiations about a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom and Soviet Union stalled, the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany. The Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those two powers to divide-up Poland between them.

Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland, and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it.

Hitler's repeated refusal to allow their withdrawal at the Battle of Stalingrad led to the almost total destruction of the 6th Army. Over 200,000 Axis soldiers were killed and 235,000 were taken prisoner. Begun 23 Aug. 1942

In the Battle of Stalingrad Germany and Axis forces fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Southern Russia, the battle took place from 23 August 1942 to 2 February 1943, it is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. Resulting complete destruction of the German 6th Army. After their defeat at Stalingrad, the German High Command had to withdraw considerable military forces from the Western Front to replace their losses.

Coup d'état led by King Michael I of Romania on 23 August 1944.

Neil's mother and sister attended his graduation ceremony on August 23, 1950.

Neil was released from active duty on August 23, 1952, but remained in the reserves.

Halimah was born in 23 August 1954, in the Colony of Singapore.

Phoenix was born on August 23, 1970, in Madras, Oregon, the first child of Arlyn Dunetz and John Lee Bottom.

Bryant was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of three children and only son of former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He was also the maternal nephew of basketball player John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. His middle name, Bean, was derived from his father's nickname "Jellybean". Bryant's family was Catholic and he had always practiced his faith.

Williams also appeared on the cover of August 23, 1979, issue of Rolling Stone, photographed by Richard Avedon.

First anti-Soviet protests in Lithuania took place on August 23, 1987.

On August 23, 1987, the 48th anniversary of the secret protocols of the 1939 Molotov Pact between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin that ultimately turned the then-independent Baltic states over to the Soviet Union, thousands of demonstrators marked the occasion in the three Baltic capitals to sing independence songs and attend speeches commemorating Stalin's victims. The gatherings were sharply denounced in the official press and closely watched by the police but were not interrupted.

The Baltic Way or Baltic Chain was a peaceful political demonstration on August 23, 1989. An estimated 2 million people joined hands to form a human chain extending 600 kilometres (370 mi) across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

On 23 August, Saddam appeared on state television with Western hostages to whom he had refused exit visas. In the video, he asks a young British boy, Stuart Lockwood, whether he is getting his milk, and goes on to say, through his interpreter, "We hope your presence as guests here will not be for too long. Your presence here, and in other places, is meant to prevent the scourge of war".

In Foxfire, released on 23 August 1996, Jolie played a drifter who unites four teenage girls against a teacher who has sexually harassed them.

On August 23, 2007, the company announced a $2 billion repurchase agreement for Countrywide Financial. This purchase of preferred stock was arranged to provide a return on investment of 7.25% per annum and provided the option to purchase common stock at a price of $18 per share.

Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and several other cities in the People's Republic of China from 6 to 23 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23 teams to participate. Men's teams were allowed to augment their squad with three players over the age of 23. Argentina won the tournament.

Ibrahimović started the 2009–10 season with his competitive debut for Barcelona on 23 August 2009 by assisting a Lionel Messi goal, leading them to the Supercopa de España, beating Athletic Bilbao 5–1 on aggregate.

Jolie and Pitt married on 23 August 2014, at their estate Château Miraval in Correns, France.

Immobile made his Bundesliga debut on 23 August in the opening match of Dortmund's 2014–15 Bundesliga campaign which saw them lose 2–0 to Bayer Leverkusen at home.

Around 100 contributors worked on Bitcoin Core 0.13.0 which was released on 23 August 2016.

On August 23, 2017, Whole Foods shareholders, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, approved the deal.