What Happened On
Ice Cream Cone
July 23, 1904
According to some accounts, the ice cream cone is invented by Charles E. Minches of St. Louis, Missouri when he came up with the idea of filling a pastry cone with two scoops of ice cream.
Note: Others have also made claim to the invention of the ice cream cone, including Syrian/Lebanese concessionaire Arnold Fornachou, who was running an ice cream booth at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair when he ran short on paper cups. He then bought waffles from a waffle vendor and rolled them into cones to hold the ice cream.
First Person to Survive Jumping Off the Brooklyn Bridge (Do a Brodie)
July 23, 1886
Steve Brodie jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge from a height of 135 feet (41 m) - the same as a 14-story building, landing feet first in the East River. According to one account, a liquor dealer offered to back a saloon for Brodie if he made the jump. He used his fame from the jump to open his saloon and also appeared in vaudeville musicals.
The New York Times backed his account, but others doubted his claim saying he had an accomplice throw a dummy from the bridge with Brodie swimming out from the shore.
The term "do a Brodie" became a common phrase meaning to take a chance or a leap, specifically a suicidal one.
Treaty of Traverse des Sioux
July 23, 1851
Sioux Indians relinquish their land in Iowa and Minnesota to the U.S. in exchange for annuities of cash and goods with the signing of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. The U.S. wanted agricultural lands for more settlers. As part of the signing process, the Sioux were tricked in to signing a separate Trader's paper, having been told it was just a duplicate copy of the original treaty. The Trader's paper paid $400,000 of the promised treaty annuity to fur traders who had financial claims against the tribes. The hardships imposed due to the change of lifestyle and the Trader's paper would lead to the Dakota War of 1862.
Iraq War - Downing Street Memo
July 23, 2002
A British Prime Minister's meeting discusses the George W. Bush administration's intention for war in Iraq. According to the memo: "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" and "Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea, or Iran." The minutes of this meeting would later be leaked to the press.
Photo Credit: Elke Wetzig (Elya)
Photo Credit: Elke Wetzig (Elya)
Royal Wedding
July 23, 1986
Prince Andrew marries Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, the Duchess of York, at London's Westminster Abbey. They would divorce 10 years later.
First Miss America to Resign
July 23, 1984
Vanessa Williams - the first black Miss America - relinquishes her crown after Penthouse magazine announces it will publish nude photos of her with another woman.
Helicopter Crash While Filming Twilight Zone-The Movie
July 23, 1982
A helicopter crash during a stunt scene kills actor Vic Morrow and two illegally employed children. Morrow and one of the children were decapitated by the helicopter blades and the other child was crushed. Producer John Landis, associate producer George Folsey, Jr., production manager Dan Allingham, pilot Dorcey Wingo, and explosives specialist Paul Stewart were tried and acquitted on charges of manslaughter. 
Video of Crash
12th Street Riot
July 23, 1967
Race riots begin in Detroit, Michigan, lasting five days. Forty-three people were killed and 2,000 were injured.
Civil Disobedience
July 23, 1846
Author Henry David Thoreau is jailed for refusing to pay his poll tax, prompting him to write Civil Disobedience.
First U.S. Public Swimming Pool
July 23, 1827
A public pool in Boston, Massachusetts opens.
First U.S. Medical Society
July 23, 1766
First U.S. Medical Society is formed, Brunswick, New Jersey.
Birthdays
Photo Credit: Mario De Leo
Photo Credit: Mario De Leo
Vera Rubin
Born July 23, 1928 d. 2016
American astronomer. Her discovery of the "galaxy rotation problem" contributed to the theory of dark matter. The galaxy rotation problem states that galaxies are rotating so fast that if only the gravity of their stars was holding them together, they should fly apart. But since they aren't, a huge amount of unseen mass must be holding them together, thus the concept of dark matter was used to explain this phenomenon. In fact, Rubin's calculations showed that galaxies must contain at least ten times as much dark mass as can be accounted for by the visible stars.
Proved Tomatoes Weren't Poisonous
Robert Gibbon Johnson
Born July 23, 1771 d. 1850
American horticulturist. According to legend, he ate a tomato in front of the Salem, New Jersey courthouse, shocking onlookers and proving that they were not poisonous as generally believed. Reportedly, a woman screamed and fainted at the sight of him eating the "poisonous" tomato.
Monica Lewinsky
Born July 23, 1973
American White House intern. She had an illicit affair with U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Woody Harrelson (Woodrow Tracy Harrelson)
Born July 23, 1961
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: Cheers (1985-93, Woody). Movies: White Men Can't Jump (1992), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Zombieland (2009).
Janet Cooke
Born July 23, 1954
American journalist. As a reporter for the Washington Post, she won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for her story "Jimmy's World" about an 8-year-old heroin addict. It was later revealed that she made the story up.
Belinda Montgomery
Born July 23, 1950
Canadian-born actress. TV: Doogie Howser, M.D (Katherine).
David Essex
Born July 23, 1947
British singer. Music: Rock On (1973) and I'm Gonna Make You A Star (1974, #1).
Don Drysdale
Born July 23, 1936 d. 1993
American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, sportscaster. TV: Monday Night Baseball.
Anthony M. Kennedy
Born July 23, 1936
U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
Bert Convy
Born July 23, 1933 d. 1991
American Emmy-winning game show host, actor. TV: Super Password. Convy also played Perchick in the original cast of Fiddler on the Roof (1964).
Gloria DeHaven
Born July 23, 1925 d. 2016
American actress. TV: Ryan's Hope (Bess Shelby), As the World Turns (Sara Fuller), and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (Annie "Tippy-toes" Wylie).
Robert Brown
Born July 23, 1921 d. 2003
British actor. 'M' in the James Bond movies starting with Octopussy (1983) till Licence to Kill (1989).
Calvert DeForest
Born July 23, 1921 d. 2007
American actor. TV: Late Night with David Letterman (Larry "Bud" Melman).
Harry Cohn
Born July 23, 1891 d. 1958
American movie executive, founded (1924) Columbia Pictures.
Albert Warner (Abraham Warner)
Born July 23, 1884 d. 1967
American film executive. Co-founder of Warner Bros. Pictures (1923). He and his brothers Harry, Sam, and Jack founded Warner Bros. Pictures (1923).
Clement XI
Born July 23, 1649 d. 1721
Italian religious leader, 243rd Pope (1700-21).
Deaths
First U.S. Woman In Space
Sally Kristen Ride
Died July 23, 2012 b. 1951
American astronaut. First U.S. woman in space (1983). She is still the youngest American astronaut to have traveled to space, having done so at the age of 32.
She was the third woman in space overall, after USSR cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (1982).
Father of the Film Documentary
Robert Joseph Flaherty
Died July 23, 1951 b. 1884
American filmmaker, father of the film documentary. Film: Nanook of the North (1922), which was the first commercially successful feature length documentary.
Curtiss flying the June Bug to win his first Scientific American prize
Curtiss flying the June Bug to win his first Scientific American prize
Fastest Man in the World
Glenn Curtiss
Died July 23, 1930 b. 1878
American aviation and motorcycle pioneer. He won the Scientific American prize for an airplane flight of one kilometer (1908), opened the first U.S. flying school (1909), and invented the flying boat (1912). In 1906, Curtiss set an unofficial world record of 136.36 miles per hour (219.45 km/h), on a 40 horsepower (30 kW) 269 cu in (4,410 cc) V-8-powered motorcycle of his own design and construction in Ormond Beach, Florida, making him "the fastest man in the world", a title he held until 1911.
Ulysses S. Grant (Hiram Ulysses Grant)
Died July 23, 1885 b. 1822
American politician. 18th U.S. President (1869-77). He was commanding general (1864-69) for the Union Army during the Civil War. When entering West Point, his name was mistakenly written down as "Ulysses S. Grant", which he began using as his name. He insisted that the "S" didn't stand for anything.
Grant also served as president of the National Rifle Association (1883-84).
Inga Swenson
Died July 23, 2023 b. 1932
American actress. In high school, she won state and national titles in the National Forensic League's speech contest.
TV: Bonanza (1962-63, Hoss' mother Inga), Soap (1978-79, Ingrid Swenson), and Benson (1979-86, Gretchen Kraus).
Film: The Miracle Worker (1962, Helen Keller's mother).
Vic Morrow
Died July 23, 1982 b. 1929
American actor. TV: Combat! (1962-67, Sgt. Chip Saunders). He was killed in a helicopter crash while filming Twilight Zone-The Movie.
The Ace of Aces
Eddie Rickenbacker
Died July 23, 1973 b. 1890
American aviator and race car driver, called "The Ace of Aces". He was the most decorated pilot of World War I.
Cordell Hull
Died July 23, 1955 b. 1871
American statesman, Nobel Peace Prize winner (1945). He served in both houses of Congress and as secretary of state (1933-44). He is noted for his contributions to the establishment of the United Nations.
D.W. Griffith
Died July 23, 1948 b. 1875
American film producer, director, screenwriter, co-founder of United Artists (1919). Film: The Birth of a Nation (1915).
Valdemar Poulsen
Died July 23, 1942 b. 1869
Danish electrical engineer. Invented the telegraphone (1899), the forerunner to the modern tape recorder, and the arc transmitter (1903) used in early radio stations.
Isaac Merrit Singer
Died July 23, 1875 b. 1811
American inventor. He invented the continuous-stitch sewing machine (1851).
John Rutledge
Died July 23, 1800 b. 1739
American statesman. Associate justice of the Supreme Court (1789-91) and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1795). He was nominated for chief justice and served as a recess appointment. However, by the time of his formal nomination, his popularity had diminished due to his opposition to the Jay Treaty and his nomination was rejected.