December 23 is the 356th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 9 days remaining, 10 in leap years.
- 1790 - Jean François Champollion, egyptologist, deciphered the Rosetta Stone (+ 1832)
- 1805 - Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (+ 1844)
- 1822 - Wilhelm Bauer[?], engineer (+ 1875)
- 1862 - Connie Mack[?], baseball executive (+ 1956)
- 1885 - Pierre Brissaud, French artist
- 1891 - Alexandr Rodchenko[?], Russian painter/photographer (+ 1956)
- 1918 - Helmut Schmidt, German Bundeskanzler 1974-1982
- 1918 - José Greco[?], dancer (+ 2000)
- 1922 - Calder Willingham[?], writer (+ 1995)
- 1923 - James Stockdale, United States Navy admiral
- 1933 - Akihito, Emperor of Japan
- 1935 - Paul Hornung[?], American football star
- 1940 - Jorma Kaukonen[?], musician
- 1943 - Silvia, Queen of Sweden
- 1946 - Susan Lucci[?], soap opera actress
- 1948 - Jack Ham[?], American football star
- 1958 - Victoria Williams, singer
- 1964 - Eddie Vedder, musician (Pearl Jam)
- 1971 - Corey Haim, actor
- 1978 - Ken Hidaka[?], character in Weiss Kreuz
- 1872 - Theophile Gautier, poet, novelist
- 1939 - Anthony Fokker, aircraft manufacturer
- 1948 - Hideki Tojo (Prime Minister of Japan), hanged for war crimes
- 1970 - Charles Ruggles[?], actor
- 1973 - Charles Atlas[?], bodybuilder
- 1973 - Irna Phillips[?], soap opera writer, director, producer
- 1979 - Peggy Guggenheim, art collector
- 1982 - Jack Webb, actor, producer, director
- 1992 - Eddie Hazel, guitarist, originally with Funkadelic
- 2000 - Victor Borge, Danish/American humorist and pianist
- 2000 - Billy Barty[?], actor
See Also:
December 22 - December 24 - November 23 - January 23 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December