On This Day for August 23 - William Wallace executed, Baron Georges Cuvier is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. August 23 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Baron Georges Cuvier READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1305 William Wallace executed READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2000: The first season of the U.S. version of the reality TV game show Survivor ended, with Richard Hatch being pronounced the winner; the hugely popular series was credited with launching the reality TV fad of the early 21st century. [Take our quiz about American reality TV.] 1978: American basketball player Kobe Bryant, one of the NBA 's leading players in the early 21st century, was born in Philadelphia. [How much do you know about basketball?] 1849: English poet, critic, and editor William Ernest Henley, who introduced the early work of many of the great English writers of the 1890s in his journals, was born in Gloucester. [Name that author in our quiz.] 1939: Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact dividing eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. [ Sort fact from fiction in our World War II quiz.] 1927: Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed for murder in Massachusetts, despite a mishandled trial and the widespread belief that they were innocent. [Read about 10 "trials of the century," including the Sacco-Vanzetti case.] 1926: "The Great Lover," motion-picture actor Rudolph Valentino , died suddenly at age 31, prompting widespread public grief from his fans. [Take our quiz about actors and acting.] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1978 Kobe Bryant American basketball player 1754 Louis XVI king of France 1988 Jeremy Lin American basketball player 1912 Gene Kelly American actor, dancer, and director 1951 Queen Noor queen of Jordan 1769 Georges Cuvier French zoologist SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help