Year retrospective · 1920s

1923

1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1923rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 923rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 23rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1920s decade.

Recorded events

10

top entries

Notable births

4

Notable deaths

16

Decade

1920s

Timeline

Defining events of 1923

  1. 1923 Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.

    Peptide hormone

    Insulin is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (INS) gene. It is the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and protein by promoting the absorption of glucose from the blood into cells of the liver, fat, and skeletal muscles.

  2. 1923 Racially motivated Nihon Shōgakkō fire lit by a serial arsonist kills 10 children in Sacramento, California.

    1923 anti-Japanese arson in California

    The Nihon Shōgakkō fire, or Japanese mission school fire, was a racially motivated arson that killed ten children in Sacramento, California, on April 15, 1923, at the dormitory of a Buddhist boarding school for students of Japanese ancestry. Fortunato Valencia Padilla, a Mexican-American itinerant from the Rio Grande Valley, admitted to committing the arson after his arrest in July 1923. Padilla confessed to at least 25 other fires in California, 13 of which were committed against Japanese households and Japanese-owned properties.

  3. 1923 The Duke of York (the future King George VI) weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.

    King of the United Kingdom from 1936 to 1952

    George VI was the King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, and the first Head of the Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949.

  4. 1923 Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.

    Former stadium in Wembley Park, London

    The original Wembley Stadium, ; originally known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, London, England, best known for hosting important football matches. It stood on the same site now occupied by its successor.

  5. 1923 The United Kingdom gives the name "Ross Dependency" to part of its claimed Antarctic territory and makes the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand its administrator.

    New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica

    The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It is claimed by New Zealand, a claim mutually accepted only by Australia, the UK, France and Norway, which are countries that also have territorial claims in Antarctica. Under the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, of which all territorial claimants are signatories, including New Zealand, all claims are held in abeyance.

  6. 1923 The first British Track and Field championships for women are held in London, Great Britain.

    British athletics event

    The 1923 WAAA Championships were the first national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The tournament was held on 18 August 1923, at the Oxo Sport Grounds in Downham, Lewisham in South London.

  7. 1923 U.S. Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes president upon the death of President Warren G. Harding.
  8. 1923 Captain Lowell Smith and Lieutenant John P. Richter perform the first mid-air refueling on De Havilland DH-4B, setting an endurance flight record of 37 hours.
  9. 1923 United Kingdom and Nepal formally sign an agreement of friendship, called the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816.
  10. 1923 Texas Tech University is founded as Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas.

Arrivals

Born in 1923

Jules Deschênes 1923– Canadian judge (1923–2000)
Jules Deschênes 1923– Canadian judge (1923–2000)
Jules Deschênes 1923– Canadian judge (1923–2000)
Jules Deschênes 1923– Canadian judge (1923–2000)

Farewells

Died in 1923

Savina Petrilli Religious figure (1851–1923)
Wilhelm Röntgen German physicist (1845–1923)
Salvador Seguí Catalan anarchist (1887–1923)
Johannes Diderik van der Waals Dutch physicist (1837–1923)
Savina Petrilli Religious figure (1851–1923)
Wilhelm Röntgen German physicist (1845–1923)
Salvador Seguí Catalan anarchist (1887–1923)
Johannes Diderik van der Waals Dutch physicist (1837–1923)
Savina Petrilli Religious figure (1851–1923)
Wilhelm Röntgen German physicist (1845–1923)
Salvador Seguí Catalan anarchist (1887–1923)
Johannes Diderik van der Waals Dutch physicist (1837–1923)

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