October 23rd

Roman Republican civil wars: Second Battle of Philippi - Brutus's army is decisively defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian. Brutus commits suicide.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek died at age 105.

Chechen rebels seized a crowded Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage. Russian forces stormed the building the next day.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army of Northern Ireland commences disarmament after peace talks.

Swatch Announces Internet Time. The Swiss watch company invented a new unit of time called the .beat, which corresponds to 1 minute and 26.4 seconds. Under the Internet Time system, a day is divided into 1000 .beats.

A suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International airport in Lebanon killed 241 U.S. Marines and sailors.

US national debt hits $1 trillion.

Paleontologist Elso Barghoorn announces discovery of a 3.4-billion year old one-celled fossil, the earliest life form.

President Richard Nixon agreed to turn White House tape recordings requested by the Watergate special prosecutor over to Judge John J. Sirica.

Jean-Paul Sartre Turns Down Nobel Prize. The French existentialist philosopher and writer published a letter in the newspaper Le Figaro to explain why he did not want to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature he had been awarded the day before on October 22. In his letter, he said he did not want to take sides in the East and West struggle of the Cold War, by accepting an award that was given out by Western institutions.

The United Nations General Assembly convened in New York for the first time.

During WW II, Britain launches major offensive at El Alamein, Egypt.

25,000 women marched in New York City, demanding the right to vote.