1430
May 23,Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English.


2007
May 23, Jordin Sparks (17) of Glendale, Ariz., was crowned the newest and youngest "American Idol."

2007
May 23, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said she welcomed a greater global role by Japan as she discussed a stalled free trade agreement in Tokyo.

2009
May 23, Horst Koehler won a 2nd term as German president in a parliamentary vote that gave conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel a symbolic victory months ahead of a national election.

2010
May 23, Britain's Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson said she was "very sorry" for her lapse of judgment after she was recorded apparently offering to sell access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew in return for 500,000 pounds ($724,000).

2012
May 23, In Saudi Arabia a Saudiwoman defied orders by the notorious religious police to leave a mall because she is wearing nail polish and recorded the interaction on her camera. Her video went viral, attracting more than a million hits in just five days.

2014
May 23, In Vietnam a woman (67) died after setting herself on fire in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in protest against China's deployment of an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi.