On this day

August 23, 1944

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

Portrait 1080 × 1920 PNG · created on your device

Filter by:

Headlines from August 23, 1944

Roosevelt Will Visit France, London Says

By the United Press

LONDON, Wednesday, Aug. 23 -- A conference between Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt on French soil will take place within a matter of weeks, with Mr. Roosevelt "already packing his bags for the trip," Don Iddon, New York correspondent of The Daily Mail who recently returned here, wrote today in his weekly diary column.

None0 words

Notable Births

Antonia Novello

1944Antonia Novello, Puerto Rican-American physician and admiral, 14th Surgeon General of the United States[†]

Antonia Coello Novello is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993. Novello was the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General. Novello also served as Commissioner of Health for the State of New York from 1999 to 2006. Novello has received numerous awards including more than fifty honorary degrees, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2000, and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Her memoir, Duty Calls: Lessons Learned from an Unexpected Life of Service, was published in English and in Spanish in 2024.

Notable Deaths

Abdülmecid II

1944Abdülmecid II, Ottoman caliph (born 1868)[†]

Abdülmecid II or Abdulmejid II, commonly known as Abdülmecid Efendi, was the last Ottoman caliph, the only caliph of the Republic of Turkey, and head of the Osmanoğlu family from 1926 to 1944. Unlike previous caliphs, he used the title Halîfe-i Müslimîn, instead of Emîrü'l-Mü'minîn.

Stefan Filipkiewicz

1944Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter and illustrator (born 1879)[†]

Stefan Filipkiewicz pronounced [ˈstɛfan filipˈkʲɛvit͡ʂ] was a Polish painter and designer, notable for his landscapes inspired by the Young Poland movement. He was a leading representative of the Polish Art Nouveau style of painting.

Historical Events

Marseille

1944World War II: Marseille is liberated by the Allied forces.[†]

Marseille is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river. Marseille is the second-most populous city in France, after Paris, with 877,215 inhabitants in 2022 over a municipal territory of 241 km2 (93 sq mi). Together with its suburbs and exurbs, the Marseille metropolitan area, which extends over 3,972 km2 (1,534 sq mi), had a population of 1,900,957 at the Jan. 2022 census. The cities of Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, and 90 suburban municipalities have formed since 2016 the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, an indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues, with a population of 1,922,626 at the Jan. 2022 census.

Michael I of Romania

1944World War II: King Michael of Romania dismisses the pro-Nazi government of Marshal Antonescu, who is later arrested. Romania switches sides from the Axis to the Allies.[†]

Michael I was the last king of Romania, reigning from 20 July 1927 to 8 June 1930 and again from 6 September 1940 until his forced abdication on 30 December 1947.

Freckleton Air Disaster

1944Freckleton air disaster: A United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into a school in Freckleton, England, killing 61 people.[†]

On 23 August 1944, a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Consolidated B-24H Liberator crashed during a test flight into the centre of the village of Freckleton, Lancashire, England, killing all three crewmen aboard the aircraft and 58 individuals on the ground, including 38 children aged four to six.