AS TODAY, April 23
1821…. Battle of Alamanna. The Greek revolutionary forces under Diovouniotis, Panourgias and Diakos face the superior Ottoman hordes of Omer Bryonis and Kiose Mehmet at the bridge of Alamana (Thermopylon area) and are defeated.
1896…. In New York, Americans watch a motion picture in a dark room for the first time.
1920…. The Turkish National Council under Mustafa Kemal overthrows the government of the Sultan, Mehmet VI and promulgates a provisional constitution.
1933…. The Gestapo, the Nazi secret police, is founded in Germany.
1941…. World War II: Greece signs an armistice with Germany. General Tsolakoglou signs the surrender of the Greek army to the Nazi troops who had invaded Greece on April 6. King George I and the government of Emmanuel Tsouderos move to Crete.
1967…. The Soyuz 1 spacecraft launches into orbit with cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov aboard. He will be killed on his return to Earth when the ship crashes.
1973…. The newspapers “Vradini” and “Thessaloniki” publish statements by Constantinos Karamanlis against the dictatorship and the authorities decide to confiscate their papers.
1985…. The Coca Cola company announces that it will change its classic recipe for the preparation of the popular soft drink, which ultimately will not happen after strong reactions from consumers.
1990…. Namibia becomes the 160th member of the U.N. and 50th member of the British Commonwealth.
1999…. NATO aircraft bomb the Serbian Radio and Television (RTS) building, killing 16 workers there.
2010…. Greece appeals to the support mechanism of the EU, the IMF and the ECB. Greece’s appeal to the mechanism is announced from Kastelorizo by the Prime Minister, George Papandreou.
On this day in 1564, according to the Julian calendar (May 3 with the Gregorian calendar), perhaps the most important playwright of all time, the Englishman William Shakespeare, was born. On the same day, 52 years later, in 1616, the master dramatist died. In 1916, the distinguished painter, Yiannis Moralis, was born, and in 1936, the American lyricist and singer, Roy Orbison, pioneer of rock and roll.
On the same day in 303, Saint George, patron of the Greek infantry and of England, was hanged by the Romans, in 1616 the Spanish writer, Miguel de Cervantes, creator of “Don Quixote” and in 1827 the hero of the Greek revolution, George Karaiskakis, died. He succumbed to the fatal wound he received the day before, on his feast day. Seconds before he expired, he expressed the belief that he was shot by a “friendly” hand. Finally, in 1998, Konstantinos Karamanlis, founder of the New Democracy party, who served as Prime Minister and President of the Hellenic Republic, died.
