What happened on August 23 ?

686 - Charles Martel, grandfather of Charlemagne (d. 741)

1486 - Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat and historian (d. 1566)

1524 - François Hotman, French lawyer and writer (d. 1590)

1623 - Stanis?aw Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer (d. 1675)

1724 - Abraham Yates, American Continental Congressman (d. 1796)

1741 - Jean-François de Galaup, count de La Pérouse, French explorer (d. 1788)

1754 - King Louis XVI of France (d. 1792)

1769 - Georges Cuvier, French biologist and statesman (d. 1832)

1783 - William Tierney Clark, English civil engineer (d. 1852)

1785 - Oliver Hazard Perry, U.S. naval officer (d.1819)

1805 - Anton von Schmerling, Austrian statesman (d. 1893)

1829 - Moritz Cantor, German mathematician (d.1920)

1847 - Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1927)

1849 - William Ernest Henley, British poet, critic, and editor (d. 1903)

1852 - Arnold Toynbee, English economist and social reformer (d.1883)

1854 - Moritz Moszkowski, Polish/German composer (d. 1925)

1864 - Eleftherios Venizalos, Prime Minister of Greece (d.1936)

1869 - Edgar Lee Masters, American author (d. 1950)

1875 - William Eccles, English radio pioneer (d. 1966)

1875 - Eugene Lanceray, Russian artist (d. 1946)

1880 - Alexander Grin, Russian writer (d. 1932)

1883 - Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV, U.S. general (d. 1953)

1884 - Will Cuppy, American humorist (d. 1949)

1900 - Ernst Krenek, Austrian-born composer (d. 1991)

1901 - John Sherman Cooper, U.S. Senator from Kentucky (d. 1991)

1903 - William Primrose, Scottish violist (d. 1982)

1905 - Constant Lambert, British composer (d. 1951)

1911 - Birger Ruud, Norwegian athelete (d. 1998)

1912 - Gene Kelly, American dancer and actor (d. 1996)

1917 - Tex Williams, American singer (d. 1985)

1921 - Kenneth Arrow, American economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner

1922 - George Kell, baseball player

1923 - Edgar F. Codd, English computer scientist (d. 2003)

1924 - Ephraim Kishon, Israeli writer (d. 2005)

1924 - Robert Solow, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate

1927 - Dick Bruna, Dutch illustrator

1929 - Vera Miles, American actress

1930 - Michel Rocard, Prime Minister of France

1931 - Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1932 - Houari Boumedienne, President of Algeria (d. 1978)

1932 - Mark Russell, American comedian, musician, and political commentator

1933 - Robert Curl, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate

1933 - Pete Wilson, Governor of California

1934 - Barbara Eden, American actress

1934 - Sonny Jurgensen, American football player

1936 - Henry Lee Lucas, American serial killer (d. 2001)

1943 - Nelson DeMille, American novelist

1947 - Keith Moon, English singer and drummer (The Who) (d. 1978)

1947 - David Robb, British actor

1949 - Shelley Long, American actress

1949 - Geoff Capes, English Strongman

1949 - Rick Springfield, Australian singer and actor

1951 - Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya (d. 2004)

1951 - Queen Noor of Jordan

1952 - Vicky Leandros, Greek singer

1953 - Bobby G, British singer (Bucks Fizz)

1954 - Charles Busch, American director, writer, actor and drag queen

1956 - Andreas Floer, German mathematician (d. 1991)

1958 - Julio Franco, NY Mets, oldest regular position player in MLB history

1963 - Hans-Henning Fastrich, German field hockey player

1963 - Kenny Wallace, American race car driver

1965 - Roger Avary, Canadian-born screenwriter, director, and producer

1966 - Rik Smits, Dutch basketball player

1969 - Keith Tyson, English artist

1969 - Jeremy Schaap, American sportswriter

1970 - Jay Mohr, American actor and comedian

1970 - River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993)

1971 - Demetrio Albertini, Italian footballer

1973 - Derrick J. Johnson, American writer

1974 - Ray Park, British actor

1974 - Shifty, American musician (Crazy Town)

1975 - Eliza Carthy, English singer and fiddler

1978 - Kobe Bryant, American basketball player

1978 - Julian Casablancas, American musician

1982 - Natalie Coughlin, American swimmer

1982 - YTCracker, American musician

1984 - Glen Johnson, English footballer

1986 - Neil Cicierega, American cartoonist and musician

1988 - Niki Leinso, Croatian singer and songwriter