Today is Thursday, February 23, the 54th day of 2017. There are 311 days left in the year.
1455 — Johannes Gutenberg prints 1st book, the Bible (estimated date)
1574 — France begins fifth Holy War against Huguenots
1660 — Charles XI becomes king of Sweden
1668 — Fire in Wiener Hofburg in Vienna, emperor Leopold I rescued
1672 — Joan Blaeus publishers destroyed by fire in Amsterdam
1689 — Dutch prince William III proclaimed king of England
1778 — Baron von Steuben joins the Continental Army at Valley Forge
1792 — Humane Society of Massachusetts incorporated (erected life-saving stations for distressed mariners)
1792 — Joseph Haydn’s 94th Symphony in G, premieres
1804 — Conspirators against Napoleon, for restoration of Louis XVIII
1813 — First U.S. raw cotton-to-cloth mill founded in Waltham MA