80 Fun Facts About 2023 Events

Which country adopted the euro and joined the Schengen Area on January 1, 2023?

It was the first eurozone enlargement since Lithuania joined in 2015, and the first Schengen enlargement since Liechtenstein in 2011.

Which country became NATO's 31st member on April 4, 2023, doubling its border with Russia?

Its neighbour to the west had applied at the same time but had to wait until March 2024 for Hungary's ratification.

Which US lender failed on March 10, 2023, the largest such failure since 2008?

It was the 16th-largest bank in the country, and its collapse rippled through tech start-ups around the world that held deposits there.

Which San Francisco-based lender was auctioned by the FDIC to JPMorgan Chase for $10.7 billion in May 2023?

The sale made it the second-largest bank failure in US history, behind only Washington Mutual in 2008.

Which bank bought Credit Suisse for 3 billion francs in a Swiss-brokered deal in March 2023?

The takeover ended 167 years of Credit Suisse history and created a single dominant Swiss banking giant.

Which country overtook the long-time leader in April 2023 to become the world's most populous?

The world as a whole started 2023 with an estimated 7.943 billion people and was expected to pass 8.1 billion by the start of 2024.

Which company launched GPT-4, a large language model that could respond to images, on March 14, 2023?

The model could process up to 25,000 words at once, a big jump on the version powering the original ChatGPT.

What did Google DeepMind name the language model it released on December 6, 2023?

Bard itself was renamed after the model a couple of months later.

Which SpaceX rocket, the most powerful ever built, first flew on 20 April 2023 and exploded after four minutes?

The test flight lifted off from Texas; the vehicle tumbled and was destroyed before its stages could separate.

Which space agency's Chandrayaan-3 was the first spacecraft to land near the Moon's south pole, in 2023?

The mission carried a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan.

What record did Freddy, the storm that formed in the Indian Ocean in February 2023, go on to set?

It crossed the entire Indian Ocean and caused more than 1,400 deaths across southeastern Africa.

Which country, along with Turkey, was devastated by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake of February 6, 2023?

A 7.7 aftershock struck the same day; more than 121,000 people were injured across the two countries.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake on 8 September 2023 killed at least 2,960 people in which country's Marrakesh-Safi region?

The quake damaged historic buildings in Marrakesh's old city.

Two dams collapsed above Derna after Storm Daniel in 2023, destroying a quarter of the city, in which country?

The Mediterranean storm killed at least 5,000 people, with tens of thousands more reported missing.

Wildfires that killed at least 101 people in August 2023 struck which Hawaiian island?

About 17,000 acres burned, with the historic town of Lahaina largely destroyed.

Near which resort city did Hurricane Otis make landfall on 25 October 2023?

Its 165 mph winds beat the landfall record set by Hurricane Patricia in 2015.

The Sycamore Gap Tree, illegally felled in September 2023, stood beside which ancient structure?

A 16-year-old was among the first arrested; the tree had featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Which mercenary chief led a June 2023 mutiny against Russia's military, then died in a plane crash two months later?

His convoy got within a few hundred kilometres of Moscow before turning back after a single day.

Which leader brokered the deal that ended the one-day mercenary mutiny in Russia in June 2023?

Belarus's president had also, a month earlier, agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons on his territory.

Which sitting head of state did the ICC issue an arrest warrant for on 17 March 2023?

It was the first ICC warrant ever issued against the leader of a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

In February 2023 Russia suspended its participation in which nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US?

It was the last remaining arms-control agreement between the two nuclear powers.

President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in a July 2023 coup in which country?

General Abdourahamane Tchiani took over, and France announced two months later that it would pull its troops out.

An August 30, 2023 coup ended the Bongo family's 56-year rule in which Central African country?

It came minutes after Ali Bongo Ondimba was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election.

Bola Tinubu was elected president of which West African country in February 2023?

Obi's Labour Party surge made it the most competitive three-way race in the country's modern history.

Javier Milei won the presidential runoff of which country on November 19, 2023?

The chainsaw-wielding libertarian took office on December 10 with Victoria Villarruel as his vice president.

Daniel Noboa became the youngest-ever president of which South American country in October 2023?

He was 35, the heir to a banana fortune, and won a snap election called after the sitting president dissolved congress.

Bernardo Arévalo of the Semilla movement was elected president of which country in August 2023?

He took 58% in the runoff, a shock result that prosecutors then spent months trying to overturn.

Who succeeded Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister of New Zealand on January 25, 2023?

Ardern had announced her resignation only six days earlier, saying she no longer had 'enough in the tank'.

In which country did Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom win the most seats in a November 2023 election?

The vote followed the collapse of Mark Rutte's coalition that summer.

Donald Tusk replaced Mateusz Morawiecki as prime minister of which country in December 2023?

Law and Justice had won the most seats in October but lost its majority to a broad opposition coalition.

Whom did Erdoğan defeat in the May 2023 runoff to win a third term as Turkey's president?

The margin was 52.18% to 47.82%, the closest presidential race of his two decades in power.

Which country mediated Iran and Saudi Arabia's March 2023 restoration of relations?

It was a landmark for Beijing's diplomacy in the Middle East, a region where Washington had long been the main broker.

Who was elected Speaker of the US House on October 25, 2023, after Kevin McCarthy's removal?

Three other Republicans were nominated and fell short during three weeks in which the House had no Speaker at all.

Which cryptocurrency exchange did Sam Bankman-Fried found?

He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Which company did Microsoft finish acquiring for $68.7 billion in October 2023?

It was the largest video game acquisition in history, bringing Call of Duty and World of Warcraft under Xbox.

Which company did ExxonMobil agree to buy for $65 billion in October 2023?

Chevron followed less than two weeks later with a $50 billion deal for Hess.

In which country was the first AI Safety Summit, where 28 countries signed a 'world first agreement', held in 2023?

It took place at Bletchley Park, home of Britain's wartime codebreakers.

What was the Beatles' final song, released 2 November 2023 with restored John Lennon vocals, called?

George Harrison's guitar parts, recorded in the 1990s, were also on the track.

Loreen won Eurovision 2023 with 'Tattoo' representing which country?

It made her the first woman to win Eurovision twice, after 'Euphoria' in 2012.

Spain won the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup by beating which team 1–0 in the final?

The tournament ran from July 20 to August 20 and was the first Women's World Cup with 32 teams.

Which team won the 2023 Rugby World Cup, beating New Zealand in the final for a record fourth title?

The Springboks won all three of their knockout matches by a single point.

Which country hosted and won the 2023 World Baseball Classic in March?

The final ended with Shohei Ohtani striking out his Angels teammate Mike Trout.

Which team won the 2023 Cricket World Cup, beating the host nation in the final on November 19?

It was their sixth title, extending a record no other team comes close to.

Whose long-standing 400 m individual medley world record did Léon Marchand break in 2023?

The 2008 record was the last of Phelps's individual world records still standing.

Which city, the first ever target of an atomic bomb, hosted the 49th G7 summit in May 2023?

Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew in on the summit's second day.

Which queen announced on December 31, 2023 that she would abdicate after 52 years on the throne?

She stepped down on January 14, 2024, the anniversary of her own accession, in favour of her son Frederik.

On what date in 2023 did the WHO end its COVID-19 global health emergency declaration?

The WHO stressed it still regarded the disease as a pandemic; six days later it also ended the mpox emergency.

Which country shut its last nuclear power plants in mid-April 2023, ending 50 years of nuclear power?

The phase-out had been delayed by a few months because of the energy crunch that followed the invasion of Ukraine.

In 2023 the European Parliament approved a ban on new petrol and diesel cars from which year?

The vote was pitched as a climate measure to push carmakers toward electric vehicles.

Who won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize?

The Iranian activist was in Tehran's Evin Prison when the prize was announced.

Bawendi, Brus and Ekimov won the 2023 Chemistry Nobel for discovering and synthesising what?

The tiny semiconductor crystals now light up QLED televisions and tag molecules in medical imaging.

Karikó and Weissman's 2023 Nobel discoveries enabled which kind of vaccine?

Their work on nucleoside base modifications had been rejected by journals and funders for years before COVID-19.

Which Norwegian writer won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature for his sparse, repetitive plays and prose?

He is one of the most performed living playwrights in Europe and writes in Nynorsk, Norway's minority written standard.

What was the best-selling video game of 2023?

It outsold that year's Zelda and Call of Duty despite launching in February and facing a boycott campaign.

When Rupert Murdoch announced his retirement in September 2023, which son took over his businesses?

Murdoch had led News Corp and Fox for decades and formerly Sky Group.

Whoosh, Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway, opened in October 2023 in which country?

It links Jakarta and Bandung and was built with Chinese financing and technology.

In which country was the world's oldest known wooden structure, 476,000 years old, found?

It is two interlocking logs joined by a notch, made long before Homo sapiens existed.

Surgeons at which New York hospital announced the world's first whole-eye transplant in November 2023?

The eye was transplanted along with a partial face onto an Arkansas man injured in an electrical accident.

Retired general Petr Pavel was elected president of which country in January 2023?

He had chaired NATO's Military Committee before entering politics.

Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashed on approach in January 2023, killing 72, near which city?

It was Nepal's deadliest air disaster in three decades, at a brand-new airport.

Somalia was admitted in November 2023 as the eighth member of which regional bloc?

It joined Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the DR Congo.

Iran became the ninth member of which international grouping in July 2023?

The Eurasian security bloc is led by Beijing and Moscow and already included Pakistan and its larger neighbour.

A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed on February 3, 2023 in which Ohio town?

Crews burned off vinyl chloride from several cars, releasing hydrogen chloride and phosgene into the air.

At COP28 in Dubai, countries agreed for the first time to 'transition away' from what?

The pledge covers energy systems only, leaving plastics, transport and agriculture out.

The Nova Kakhovka dam, destroyed on June 6, 2023, sat in which Russian-occupied region of Ukraine?

Its collapse drained the reservoir that supplied cooling water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Azerbaijan's one-day offensive in September 2023 ended the breakaway Republic of Artsakh in which region?

More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled within days.

Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand in August 2023 after how many years in exile?

He flew home the same day parliament made a Pheu Thai candidate prime minister.

Economist Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected president of which country in September 2023?

He had served as deputy prime minister before running for the largely ceremonial post.

Which missile-defence system did Israel use in October 2023 to intercept a Houthi missile above the atmosphere?

The interception happened over the Negev Desert.

Which cyclist won the 2023 Tour de France, his second consecutive victory?

The Dane finished more than seven minutes ahead of Pogačar in Paris.

Which pope's funeral, drawing about 50,000 people, was held in St Peter's Square in January 2023?

It was the first time in centuries a sitting pope presided over the funeral of his predecessor.

Whose supporters stormed Brazil's Congress and Supreme Court on January 8, 2023?

It came a week after Lula da Silva was inaugurated for a third term.

Which organisation became the G20's 21st permanent member at the September 2023 New Delhi summit?

It became the second regional bloc in the group after the European Union.

Which company operated the Titan submersible that imploded on a Titanic dive in June 2023?

Contact was lost 93 minutes into the dive; the US Navy had detected an acoustic signature consistent with an implosion.

On which date in 2023 were Charles III and Camilla crowned at Westminster Abbey?

Charles had acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022 on the death of Elizabeth II.

Off the coast of which US state was the Chinese high-altitude balloon shot down on 4 February 2023?

After crossing the continent from Alaska, it was downed near Myrtle Beach and the debris sent to the FBI lab at Quantico.

Meta's Threads hit 100 million users in five days in July 2023, beating a record set by which app?

Built as "Project 92" after Elon Musk bought Twitter, Threads launched on 5 July 2023 and requires an Instagram account.

How many days did the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike last?

That tied the 1960 strike as the union's second longest, behind only the 153-day walkout of 1988.

Barbie and Oppenheimer both opened on which date in 2023, creating the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon?

Rather than a rivalry, the counterprogramming turned into a debate over which order to watch the double feature.

In which city did Manchester City beat Inter Milan to complete their 2023 treble?

The 10 June win was the club's first Champions League title, days after an FA Cup final win over Manchester United.