23 August It Happened Today

1305  William Wallace, Scottish patriot and subject of the film Braveheart, is hung drawn and quartered in London.

1680  Death of Captain Blood, who 9 years earlier had tried to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

1754  Birth of French King Louis XVI.

1912  Birth of American actor Gene Kelly.

1926  Death of silent film idol Rudolph Valentino.

1939  Germany and USSR sign a non-aggression pact.