This Day In History : November 23

1977 United States

European Weather Satellite Meteosat 1 Launched from Cape Canaveral

On November 23, 1977, the European Space Agency successfully launched Meteosat 1 from Cape Canaveral. This pioneering weather satellite marked the beginning of Europe's capability to monitor weather patterns from space, significantly enhancing meteorological observations and forecasts.

Also on This Day in History November 23

Discover what happened on November 23 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, November 23
  • 1869 Valdemar Poulsen

    Danish engineer and inventor who in 1903 developed the first device for generating continuous radio waves, thus aiding the development of radio broadcasting.

  • 1837 Johannes Diderik van der Waals

    Dutch physicist who was awarded the 1910 Nobel Prize for Physics for his research on the gaseous and liquid states of matter.

  • 1933 Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov

    Soviet cosmonaut who was flight engineer on the Soyuz 7 (1969) and the Soyuz 11 (1971) missions.

  • 1883 Archibald Gowanlock Huntsman

    Canadian marine ecologist, zoologist and educator who was a pioneer oceanographer and fisheries biologist.

  • 1934 Rita R. Colwell

    Rita Rossi Colwell is an American environmental microbiologist and scientific administrator. Colwell holds degrees in bacteriology, genetics, and oceanography and studies infectious diseases

Deaths on This Day, November 23
  • 1864 Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve

    German-Russian astronomer, one of the greatest 19th-century astronomers and the first in a line of four generations of distinguished astronomers.

  • 1534 Otto Brunfels

    German botanist, considered by Carolus Linnaeus to be one of the founders of modern botany.

  • 1902 Walter Reed

    US Army pathologist and bacteriologist who led the experiments in Cuba (1900) that proved that yellow fever is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito.

  • 1910 Octave Chanute

    American aeronautical engineer whose work and interests profoundly influenced Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright and the invention of the airplane.

  • 1937 Jagadish Chandra Bose

    Indian physicist and plant physiologist who investigated the properties of very short radio waves, wireless telegraphy, and radiation-induced fatigue in inorganic materials.

1889

First jukebox installed

In 1889, the first jukebox was installed when an entrepreneur named Louis Glass and his business associate, William S. Arnold, placed a coin-operated Edison cylinder phonograph in the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
1976

First Person Dives 100 Meters Without Breathing Equipment

On November 23, 1976, Jacques Mayol became the first person to dive to a depth of 100 meters in the sea without the use of breathing equipment. This remarkable achievement in free diving showcased the limits of human endurance and opened new possibilities in underwater exploration.
1910

Last Person Executed in Sweden

On November 23, 1910, Johan Alfred Ander became the last person to be executed in Sweden. His execution marked the end of capital punishment in the country, leading to the eventual abolition of the death penalty in Sweden in 1921.
1955

The Cocos Islands Transferred from U.K. to Australian Control

On November 23, 1955, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands were officially transferred from British to Australian control. This administrative change aimed to streamline governance and align the islands more closely with the nearby Australian territories.
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