August 23rd

2011
Judges in New York put an end to the sensational sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, setting him free after prosecutors questioned the credibility of the hotel housekeeper who'd accused the French diplomat.
Wikipedia talk:Biographies of living persons/Archive 32
2010
Golfer Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren, divorced.
Elin Nordegren
2008
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama introduced his choice of running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.
Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection, 2008 ...
2005
Israeli forces evicted militant holdouts from two Jewish settlements, completing a historic withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank.
Second Sino-Japanese War
2003
Former Roman Catholic priest John Geoghan, a convicted child molester, was killed by a fellow inmate in a Massachusetts prison.
2000
The first season finale of the reality show "Survivor" aired on CBS, with contestant Richard Hatch winning the $1 million prize.
Survivor: Borneo
1996
Osama bin Laden issues message entitled "A declaration of war against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy places".
Fatawā of Osama bin Laden
1990
Armenia Declares Independence From the Soviet Union. The Western Asian country had been part of the USSR since 1922. Until 1936, the country was part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR), along with Azerbaijan and Georgia. In 1936, the TSFSR was broken up and Armenia was renamed the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The country declared itself independent of the USSR on the 23rd of August, 1990, and finally achieved independence a year later on September 21, 1991.
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
1989
Yusuf Hawkins, an African-American teenager, was shot dead by white youths in Brooklyn.
Death of Yusef Hawkins
1979
Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defected while the Bolshoi Ballet was on tour in New York.
Alexander Godunov
1966
First Photograph of the Earth Taken From the Orbit of the Moon. NASA’s Lunar Orbiter 1 was the first American unmanned spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Taking black and white pictures of the Earth was not the Orbiter’s main task. Its primary task was to scope out landing sites on the Moon for future spacecrafts.
Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project
1960
Broadway librettist Oscar Hammerstein II died at age 65.
Oscar Hammerstein II
1944
Romania Switches Sides in World War II. A coup in the Southeast European country moved its allegiance from the Axis powers to the Allies during the Second World War. In the early years of WW II, Romania had tried to remain neutral but in 1940, due to external pressures, the country joined Nazi Germany and the Axis powers. On this day, King Michael I removed the government of Ion Antonescu and declared Romanian support to the Allies. Some experts believe that by switching sides Romania helped shorten the war by several months.
Romania in World War II
1942
Battle of Stalingrad: 600 Luftwaffe planes bomb Stalingrad (40,000 die).
Battle of Stalingrad
1939
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty.
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
1927
Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery.
Calvin Goddard (ballistics)
1926
Silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31.
Rudolph Valentino
1914
Japan declared war on Germany in World War I.
Germany–Japan relations
1912
Actor and dancer Gene Kelly was born in Pittsburgh.
Portal:University of Pittsburgh/Selected biography
1904
Snow Chains Patented. Harry D. Weed of New York was awarded a patent for snow chains by the United States Patent Office. Snow chains are attached to tires of vehicles to improve their traction on snowy and icy roads.
Snow chains
1850
1st US National Women's Rights Convention convenes in Worcester, Massachusetts.
National Women's Rights Convention
1775
Britain's King George III proclaimed the American colonies in a state of open rebellion.
American Revolution
1754
France's King Louis XVI was born at Versailles.
King Louis XVI of France
1542
Rabbi Joseph Caro completes his commentary of Tur Code.
Shulchan Aruch
1305
Scottish leader and national hero, William Wallace, was executed in London.
William Wallace
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