◆ On this day

December 23

4 sourced moments from December 23 in history: "A Visit from St. Nicholas" First Appeared in a Small-Town Newspaper (1823); Vincent van Gogh cut off part of his own ear (1888); The transistor was first demonstrated at Bell Labs (1947), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on December 23

newest first ↓

1986 Technology · Transportation

Voyager flew nonstop around the world without refueling

A spindly experimental plane circled the planet on a single load of fuel, landing with mere gallons to spare.

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1947 Technology · Inventions

The transistor was first demonstrated at Bell Labs

Two physicists showed colleagues a thumb-sized germanium device that amplified sound — and quietly started the digital age.

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1888 Culture & Arts · Art

Vincent van Gogh cut off part of his own ear

On a December night in Arles, a breakdown after a quarrel with Gauguin produced art history's most infamous self-injury.

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1823 Culture & Arts · Literature

"A Visit from St. Nicholas" First Appeared in a Small-Town Newspaper

An anonymous poem in an upstate New York paper quietly invented the Santa Claus the world still pictures today.

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