Today in History, August 23rd
On August 23, 1939, Hitler and Stalin's governments signed a nonaggression pact. Plus Eunice Foote's climate research and Sacco and Vanzetti.
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August 23 is best known for 1939, when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact that cleared the way for World War II. The date also saw Eunice Foote’s early climate research presented in 1856 and the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1927.
The big story: Hitler and Stalin sign a pact (1939)
On paper, they were sworn enemies: Hitler’s Germany built on hatred of communism, Stalin’s Soviet Union on hatred of fascism. Yet on August 23, 1939, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop flew to Moscow and signed a nonaggression pact with his Soviet counterpart, Vyacheslav Molotov. Each side promised not to attack the other. The real business was in a secret protocol. It split eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres, putting Estonia, Latvia and Bessarabia on the Soviet side and drawing a line through Poland along its rivers. With Moscow on board, Hitler moved fast. Nine days later, on September 1, Germany invaded Poland. On September 17, Soviet troops crossed into Poland from the east. The partnership of convenience lasted less than two years. On June 22, 1941, Germany broke the pact and invaded the Soviet Union.
More events on August 23
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1784 | Four western counties of North Carolina declared themselves the independent State of Franklin. It ran its own affairs for about four years but was never admitted by Congress, and its land later became part of Tennessee. |
| 1823 | Fur trapper Hugh Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear, and his companions left him for dead in the wilderness. |
| 1856 | Amateur scientist Eunice Foote’s paper showing that carbon dioxide traps the sun’s heat was read at a science meeting in Albany, New York, three years before John Tyndall’s better-known work. |
| 1914 | The British Expeditionary Force fought the German 1st Army along a canal at Mons, Belgium, in the opening weeks of World War I. |
| 1926 | Silent film idol Rudolph Valentino died at 31, setting off waves of public mourning. |
| 1927 | Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Massachusetts for murder. Their trial was widely seen as unfair, and the case remains debated. |
| 1947 | Maynard of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, beat Lock Haven 16-7 to win the first Little League World Series. |
| 2000 | Richard Hatch won $1 million in the season finale of the first U.S. Survivor. |
| 2021 | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 and older. |
Born on August 23
- 1849: William Ernest Henley, English poet who wrote “Invictus,” born in Gloucester.
- 1912: Gene Kelly, dancer, actor and star of Singin’ in the Rain, born in Pittsburgh.
- 1978: Kobe Bryant, five-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, born in Philadelphia.
Sources
- Germany, Soviet Union sign nonaggression pact, History.com
- German-Soviet Pact, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- This Day in History: August 23, History.com
- On This Day: August 23, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- North Carolina counties declare themselves breakaway state of Franklin, History.com
- Eunice Foote’s research on global warming is presented publicly, History.com
- William Ernest Henley, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Gene Kelly, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Kobe Bryant, Encyclopaedia Britannica
