On this day...

303 Emperor Diocletian orders general persecution of Christians
1455 Johannes Gutenberg prints first book, the Bible (estimated date)
1574 5th War of Religion breaks out in France
1778 Baron von Steuben joins the Continental Army at Valley Forge
1813 First US raw cotton-to-cloth mill founded in Waltham, Massachusetts
1821 College of Apothecaries organized in Philadelphia; first US pharmacy college
1822 Boston is incorporated as a city
1836 Alamo besieged by Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed
1846 Polish revolutionaries march on Cracow, but are defeated
1847 Battle of Buena Vista, Mexico; Zachary Taylor defeats Mexicans
1852 "H M S Birkenhead" sinks off South Africa killing 420 troops
1861 By popular referendum, Texas becomes 7th state to secede from US
1870 Mississippi is readmitted to US
1883 Alabama becomes first US state to enact an antitrust law
1927 US Radio Commission created (FCC predecessor)
1934 Casey Stengel becomes manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers
1936 First rocket air mail flight, Greenwood Lake, NY
1942 Japanese sub fires on oil refinery in Ellwood, California
1945 US Marines raise flag on Iwo Jima
1954 First mass inoculation with Salk vaccine (Pittsburgh)
1958 5-time world driving champion Juan Fangio kidnapped by Cuban rebels
1960 Demolition begins on Brooklyn's Ebbets Field
1967 25th amendment (presidential succession) declared ratified
1968 Wilt Chamberlain becomes first NBA to score 25,000 points
1970 Guyana becomes a republic (National Day)
1973 Gold goes up $10 overnight to record $95 an ounce in London
1979 Frank Peterson, Jr., named first black general in Marine Corps
1980 Eric Heiden wins all 5 speed skating golds at Lake Placid Olympics
1980 Oil tanker explosion off Pilos, Greece, causes 37 million gallon spill
1981 Attempted military coup in Spain
1983 USFL NJ Generals sign Heisman winner Herschel Walker (3 years-$5 million)
1985 US Senate confirms Edwin Meese III as attorney general
1987 Supernova 1987A in LMC first seen; first naked-eye supernova since 1604
1988 15th Winter Olympic games opens in Calgary, Alberta
1992 16th Olympic Winter games closes in Albertville, France

Birthdays which occurred on February 23rd:

1685 George Frideric Handel, Halle England, baroque composer
1744 Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founded House of Rothschild
1818 Major General Jeremy F. Gilmer, Chief Engineer Confederate War Dept.
1865 Barney Dreyfuss, baseball owner (Pittsburgh Pirates)
1883 Karl Jaspers, Germany, existentialist philosopher
1883 Victor Fleming, Pasadena CA, director (Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind)
1904 William L. Shirer, historian (Rise & Fall of the Third Reich)
1913 Charles Leonard, US, pentathelete (Olympic-1936)
1917 Kenneth Tobey, actor (Chuck-Whirlybirds)
1929 Elston Howard, Yankee catcher (first black NY Yankee/1963 AL MVP)
1930 Johnny Seven, NYC, actor (Ironside, Amy Prentiss)
1933 Lee Calhoun, 110m hurdler (Olympic Gold 1956, 1960)
1938 Diane Varsi, San Mateo CA, actress (Peyton Place)
1938 Sylvia Chase, St. Paul MN, newscaster (ABC Weekend News, 20/20)
1939 Majel Barrett, Columbus Ohio, actress (Christine Chapel-Star Trek)
1940 Peter Fonda, actor (Easy Rider)
1943 Jada Rowland, NYC, actress (Penny-Hamptons, Amy-Secret Storm)
1944 Johnny Winter [John Dawson], Leland MS, guitarist (Silver Train)
1946 Rusty Young, rock steel guitarist (Poco-Heat of the Night)
1947 Shakira Caine, Guyana, actress (Man Who Would be King)
1951 Ed "Too Tall" Jones, NFL defensive end (Dallas Cowboys)
1952 Brad Whitford, Massachusettes, rock guitarist (Aerosmith)
1955 Howard Jones, rock vocalist (Things Can Only Get Better)
1956 Maren Jensen, Glendale CA, actress (Battlestar Galactica)
1965 Helena Sukova, Czech, tennis player
1966 Marc Price, actor/comedian (Skippy-Family Ties)

Deaths which occurred on February 23rd:

1554 Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey's father, is executed
1821 John Keats, Romantic poet, dies of tuberculosis at 25 in Rome
1848 John Quincy Adams, 6th US president, dies of a stroke at 80
1915 Robert Smalls, Reconstruction congressman, dies at 75 in SC
1922 Henri Landru, executed for having 11 wives, in France
1934 Augusto Sandino, Nicaraguan patriot, assassinated by National Guard
1965 Stan Laurel, comedian (Laurel & Hardy), dies in California