Here is a list of things which happened on the 23rd of August over the years:
Napoleon leaves Egypt for France en route to seize power. (1799)
The automobile tire chain is patented. (1904)
Japan declared war on Germany in World War I. (1914)
Hebron Massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots: Arab attack on the Jewish community in Hebron in the British Mandate of Palestine, continuing until the next day, resulted in the death of 65-68 Jews and the remaining Jews being forced to leave the city. (1929)
Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations. (1939)
Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany. (1985)
Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western “guests” (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War. (1990)
West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on October 3. (1990)
Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas (2005)
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama introduced his choice of running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, before a crowd outside the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. (2008)