Hankering For History: Events that happened today in history, October 23rd!

Here are some of the great historical events that happened today, October 23rd, in history!

1641	Rebellion in Ireland. Catholics, under Phelim O’Neil, rise against the Protestants and massacred men, women and children to the number of 40,000 (some say 100,000).
1694	American colonial forces led by Sir William Phips, fail in their attempt to seize Quebec.
1707	The Parliament of Great Britain, created by the Acts of Union between England and Scotland, held its first meeting.
1783	Virginia emancipates slaves who fought for independence during the Revolutionary War.
1861	President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in Washington, D.C. for all military-related cases.
1918	President Wilson feels satisfied that the Germans are accepting his armistice terms and agrees to transmit their request for an armistice to the Allies. The Germans have agreed to suspend submarine warfare, cease inhumane practices such as the use of poison gas, and withdraw troops back into Germany.
1925	Comedian and talk show host Johnny Carson was born in Corning, Iowa.
1929	The first transcontinental air service begins from New York to Los Angeles.
1942	Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein in Egypt during World War II.
1942	The Western Task Force, destined for North Africa, departs from Hampton Roads, Virginia.
1952	The Nobel Prize for Medicine is awarded to Ukranian-born microbiologist Selmart A. Waksman for his discovery of an effective treatment of tuberculosis.
1954	In Paris, an agreement is signed providing for West German sovereignty and permitting West Germany to rearm and enter NATO and the Western European Union.
1956	An anti-Stalinist revolt began in Hungary.
1973	President Richard M. Nixon agreed to turn White House tape recordings requested by the Watergate special prosecutor over to Judge John J. Sirica.
1973	A U.N. sanctioned cease-fire officially ends the Yom Kippur war between Israel and Syria.
1983	A truck filled with explosives, driven by a Moslem terrorist, crashes into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The bomb kills 237 Marines and injures 80. Almost simultaneously, a similar incident occurs at French military headquarters, where 58 die and 15 are injured.
1987	The U.S. Senate rejected the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork, 58-42.
1993	Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter became the second player to end a World Series with a home run in an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6.
1998	Dr. Barnett Slepian, a doctor who performed abortions, was killed at his home in suburban Buffalo, N.Y., when a sniper fired through his kitchen window.
1998	Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed a land-for-peace agreement at the White House, following nine days of talks at Wye River, Md.
2001	Apple Computer Inc. introduced the iPod portable digital music player.
2002	Gunmen seized a crowded Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage and threatening to kill them unless the Russian army pulled out of Chechnya.
2003	Madame Chiang Kai-shek, widow of the Chinese nationalist leader, died in New York at age 105.
2006	Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for his role in the company’s collapse.

Today’s historical facts are from various sites including, but not limited too: the History Channel, The New York Times, WHG Historynet.com, HistoryOrb.com, and On This Day blogs from my blogroll.