August 23
1305
Scottish leader and national hero, William Wallace, was executed in London.
1914
Japan declared war on Germany in World War I.
1926
Silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31.
1927
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery, despite worldwide protests.
1939
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty.
Birthdays
Louis XVI
1754–93, king of France (1774–92).
Arnold Toynbee
economist (1852)
Edgar Lee Masters
writer (1868)
Gene Kelly
dancer (1912)
Shelley Long
actress (1949)