109 Fun Facts About 2023 Events

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

Croatia became the 20th euro-area member and the 27th Schengen state on 1 January 2023, the first eurozone enlargement since Lithuania in 2015.

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

Finland, whose 1,340 km frontier with Russia roughly doubled the alliance's land border with Russia, became NATO's 31st member on 4 April 2023, less than a year after applying.

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

Silicon Valley Bank, then the 16th-largest US bank, was closed by California regulators on 10 March 2023 after a deposit run triggered by losses on its bond holdings.

Which San Francisco lender did the FDIC seize and sell to JPMorgan Chase in May 2023?

First Republic Bank was seized on 1 May 2023 and sold to JPMorgan Chase, the second-largest bank failure in US history behind Washington Mutual in 2008.

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

UBS agreed on 19 March 2023 to buy Credit Suisse for about 3 billion Swiss francs in an all-share deal brokered by the Swiss government, ending the 167-year history of a rival founded in 1856.

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

India became the world's most populous country in United Nations estimates in April 2023, with about 1.43 billion people, after decades of faster growth than the previous leader.

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

OpenAI released GPT-4 on 14 March 2023; the model accepted images as well as text and could handle over 25,000 words of text, far more than its predecessor GPT-3.5.

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

Gemini, announced on 6 December 2023 in Ultra, Pro and Nano sizes, was Google DeepMind's first natively multimodal model; the Bard chatbot was renamed Gemini in February 2024.

Which SpaceX rocket first flew on 20 April 2023 and exploded about four minutes after liftoff?

Starship, SpaceX's two-stage super heavy-lift rocket, lifted off from Starbase in Texas on 20 April 2023; its stages failed to separate and the vehicle was destroyed about four minutes into flight.

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

ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 set its Vikram lander down near the Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023 and deployed the Pragyan rover, the first soft landing in that polar region.

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

'Longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever' was confirmed by the WMO in 2024: Freddy lasted 36 days, crossed the entire Indian Ocean and killed more than 1,400 people in southeastern Africa.

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

Syria's north-west, around Aleppo and Idlib, was hit alongside southern Turkey on 6 February 2023; the combined death toll passed 50,000, and a second major quake struck hours later.

Which North African country's 8 September 2023 earthquake killed at least 2,960 people?

Morocco's deadliest earthquake since 1960 struck the High Atlas south-west of Marrakesh on 8 September 2023; the official toll was 2,960 dead and the old city of Marrakesh was damaged.

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

Libya's port city of Derna lost whole neighbourhoods on 10–11 September 2023 when the Derna and Abu Mansour dams failed; the confirmed death toll exceeded 4,000 with thousands more missing.

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

Maui's historic town of Lahaina was almost entirely destroyed on 8 August 2023 by wind-driven wildfires; the death toll of more than 100 made it the deadliest US wildfire in over a century.

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

Acapulco took a direct hit from Otis, which came ashore as a Category 5 with 165 mph winds, the strongest landfall on record for Mexico's Pacific coast, surpassing Patricia in 2015.

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

Hadrian's Wall runs along the ridge where the Sycamore Gap Tree grew in Northumberland; the tree, filmed in 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, was cut down overnight on 27–28 September 2023.

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

Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner column came within about 200 km of Moscow on 24 June 2023 before halting; he died when his jet crashed in Tver region on 23 August 2023.

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

Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus's president, negotiated the 24 June 2023 deal under which the Wagner leader halted his march and agreed to move to Belarus; that May his country had agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

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

Vladimir Putin was charged by the ICC on 17 March 2023 with the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children, the first warrant against a sitting leader of a permanent UN Security Council member.

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

New START, signed in 2010 and extended to February 2026, was suspended by Russia on 21 February 2023; it was the last remaining nuclear arms-control treaty between the two countries.

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

Niger's presidential guard detained Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July 2023; General Abdourahamane Tchiani declared himself leader and France announced in September that its 1,500 troops would leave.

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

Gabon's military, led by General Brice Oligui Nguema, seized power on 30 August 2023 minutes after Ali Bongo Ondimba was declared re-elected; his father Omar had taken office in 1967.

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

Nigeria elected Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress on 25 February 2023 with about 37% of the vote, ahead of Atiku Abubakar and Labour's Peter Obi.

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

Argentina's Javier Milei beat Economy Minister Sergio Massa with about 56% in the 19 November 2023 runoff and took office on 10 December with Victoria Villarruel as vice president.

Daniel Noboa won a snap presidential election in which South American country in October 2023?

Ecuador held the snap vote after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved congress in May 2023; Noboa, 35, heir to a banana fortune, beat Luisa González in the October runoff.

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

Guatemala's Bernardo Arévalo, son of former president Juan José Arévalo, won the 20 August 2023 runoff against Sandra Torres by a wide margin; prosecutors then spent months trying to suspend his Semilla party.

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

Chris Hipkins, then education and police minister, was sworn in on 25 January 2023 after Ardern's 19 January announcement that 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 Netherlands went to the polls on 22 November 2023 after Mark Rutte's coalition collapsed over migration that July; Wilders' PVV took 37 of 150 seats, its best ever result.

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?

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the CHP leader backed by a six-party opposition alliance, lost the 28 May 2023 runoff 52.18% to 47.82%, the narrowest margin of Erdoğan's presidential contests.

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

China hosted the talks in Beijing that produced the 10 March 2023 agreement to reopen embassies, a landmark for its Middle East diplomacy after seven years of severed ties between Tehran and Riyadh.

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

Mike Johnson, a Louisiana congressman, won 220–209 on 25 October 2023 after Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan and Tom Emmer had each been nominated and fallen short in the 22 days without a Speaker.

Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud in November 2023 over which collapsed crypto exchange?

FTX, which Bankman-Fried founded in 2019, collapsed in November 2022; a New York jury convicted him on 2 November 2023 on all seven counts, and he was sentenced to 25 years in March 2024.

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

Activision Blizzard, maker of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, became part of Microsoft on 13 October 2023 after regulators cleared a restructured deal, the largest acquisition in gaming history.

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

Pioneer Natural Resources, a leading Permian Basin shale producer, agreed on 11 October 2023 to Exxon's all-stock offer, the oil major's largest deal since its 1999 merger with Mobil; Chevron announced a deal for Hess days later.

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

The United Kingdom hosted the summit at Bletchley Park, home of its wartime codebreakers, on 1–2 November 2023; the Bletchley Declaration was signed by 28 countries and the EU.

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

'Now and Then' was built from a late-1970s Lennon demo, with Harrison's 1995 guitar parts and new contributions from McCartney and Starr; it was the band's first UK number one since 1969.

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

Sweden's Loreen won in Liverpool on 13 May 2023 with 'Tattoo', becoming 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?

England, the reigning European champions, lost the 20 August 2023 final in Sydney to an Olga Carmona goal; it 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?

South Africa beat New Zealand 12–11 in Paris on 28 October 2023; the Springboks won all three knockout matches by a single point to claim a record fourth title.

Which country won the 2023 World Baseball Classic final in Miami on 21 March?

Japan beat the United States 3–2 in Miami on 21 March 2023 for its third title; 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?

Australia beat the hosts by six wickets in Ahmedabad on 19 November 2023, with Travis Head scoring 137, for a record sixth men's title.

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

Michael Phelps set 4:03.84 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; Marchand swam 4:02.50 in Fukuoka on 23 July 2023, erasing the last of Phelps's individual world records.

Which city hosted the 49th G7 summit on 19–21 May 2023?

Hiroshima, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's home constituency, hosted the leaders on 19–21 May 2023; Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew in on the second day and the leaders visited the Peace Memorial.

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

Margrethe II of Denmark, Europe's longest-serving monarch at the time, stepped down on 14 January 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession, in favour of her son Frederik X.

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

May 5 was the day Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the emergency over, more than three years after it began on 30 January 2020; the mpox emergency was lifted six days later.

Which country shut its last three nuclear power plants in April 2023?

Germany closed Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 in mid-April 2023, a shutdown delayed from the end of 2022 by the energy crunch after Russia's 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?

Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian women's rights campaigner, was in Tehran's Evin Prison when the prize was announced on 6 October 2023; her children accepted it on her behalf in Oslo.

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

Quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals whose colour depends on their size; Ekimov made them in glass in the early 1980s, Brus in solution, and Bawendi perfected their synthesis in 1993.

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

mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna relied on the pair's 2005 finding that swapping uridine for pseudouridine stops the immune system attacking synthetic mRNA.

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

Jon Fosse, author of the Septology novels and plays such as Someone Is Going to Come, writes in Nynorsk; the 2023 citation praised work that 'gives voice to the unsayable'.

What was the best-selling video game of 2023?

Hogwarts Legacy, released in February 2023, sold more than 22 million copies that year, topping Circana's annual US chart ahead of Tears of the Kingdom and Modern Warfare III.

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

Indonesia's Jakarta–Bandung line, branded Whoosh, opened on 2 October 2023 as Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway; its trains run at up to 350 km/h over about 142 km.

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

Zambia's Kalambo Falls site yielded two interlocking logs joined by a cut notch, dated to about 476,000 years ago and reported in Nature in September 2023, long before Homo sapiens existed.

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

NYU Langone Health's team led by Eduardo Rodriguez performed the 21-hour operation in May 2023, transplanting the eye with a partial face onto Aaron James, an Arkansas lineman injured by a high-voltage line.

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

The Czech Republic elected Petr Pavel in the 27–28 January 2023 runoff over Andrej Babiš; Pavel had chaired NATO's Military Committee from 2015 to 2018.

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

Pokhara's new international airport had opened on 1 January 2023; the ATR 72 went down two weeks later on final approach, killing all 72 aboard in Nepal's deadliest crash since 1992.

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

The East African Community admitted Somalia at its Arusha summit on 24 November 2023, alongside Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DR Congo.

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

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, founded in 2001 and led by Beijing and Moscow, formally admitted Iran at a virtual summit on 4 July 2023; Belarus followed in 2024 as the tenth member.

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

East Palestine, near the Pennsylvania line, saw 38 cars derail; on 6 February crews vented and burned vinyl chloride from five tank 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?

Kherson region's Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro river was breached in the early hours of 6 June 2023, flooding the city of Kherson downstream and draining the reservoir used by the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

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

Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian authorities surrendered on 20 September 2023 after a 24-hour assault; more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled to Armenia within days and the republic formally dissolved on 1 January 2024.

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

15 years had passed since Thaksin fled a corruption conviction in 2008; he landed in Bangkok on 22 August 2023, the day parliament chose Pheu Thai's Srettha Thavisin as prime minister.

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

Singapore elected Tharman Shanmugaratnam on 1 September 2023 with 70.4% of the vote; the former deputy prime minister became the city-state's ninth president, a largely ceremonial post.

Which Israeli system intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile near Eilat on 31 October 2023?

Arrow 2, the long-range tier of Israel's layered defences, downed a Houthi ballistic missile on the Red Sea approaches to Eilat on 31 October 2023; Arrow 3 made its first operational intercept on 9 November.

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

Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo-Visma sealed his second straight Tour on 23 July 2023, finishing 7 minutes 29 seconds ahead of Pogačar after dominating the Combloux time trial and the Col de la Loze stage.

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

Benedict XVI, who had resigned in 2013, died on 31 December 2022 aged 95; Pope Francis presided over his funeral on 5 January 2023, the first time in modern history a pope had buried his predecessor.

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

Jair Bolsonaro's supporters, rejecting his October 2022 defeat, invaded Congress, the Supreme Court and the Planalto palace a week after Lula da Silva's 1 January inauguration; Bolsonaro himself was in Florida.

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

The African Union, representing 55 states, was admitted by consensus on 9 September 2023 at Prime Minister Modi's invitation, becoming 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?

OceanGate, founded by Stockton Rush in 2009, lost contact with Titan during its descent on 18 June 2023; the US Navy had detected an acoustic signature consistent with an implosion the same day, and debris was found on 22 June.

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

6 May was chosen for the coronation, eight months after Charles acceded on 8 September 2022 on the death of Elizabeth II; it was the first coronation at Westminster Abbey since 1953.

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

South Carolina's coast off Myrtle Beach was where an F-22 downed the balloon on 4 February 2023 after it had crossed the continent from Alaska; the debris went 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?

ChatGPT had taken about two months to reach 100 million users after its November 2022 launch; Threads, built as 'Project 92' and launched on 5 July 2023, passed that mark in five days.

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

148 days, from 2 May to 27 September 2023, tied the 1960 walkout as the union's second longest, behind only the 153-day strike of 1988.

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

21 July 2023 saw Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer open together; Barbie took about $162 million in its domestic opening weekend and Oppenheimer about $82 million.

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

Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium hosted the 10 June 2023 final, where Rodri's goal gave City a 1–0 win and a first Champions League title, a week after the FA Cup final victory over Manchester United.

Which Christopher Nolan film opened the same day as Barbie in July 2023 and went on to win Best Picture?

Oppenheimer and Barbie together accounted for 79% of tickets sold that weekend, 18.5 million moviegoers, and fans turned the clash into the Barbenheimer double bill.

Which former US president became the first ever criminally indicted, by a Manhattan grand jury in March 2023?

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records; Richard Nixon, the nearest precedent, was pardoned before any charge could be brought.

Which OceanGate submersible imploded in June 2023 on a dive to a famous 1912 shipwreck, killing all five people aboard?

Titan lost contact with its mother ship 1 hour 33 minutes into the dive, and a four-day search ended when a remotely operated vehicle found its debris near Titanic's bow.

Which disease's global health emergency, declared in January 2020, did the WHO finally end on 5 May 2023?

COVID-19 lost its emergency status after more than three years, and the WHO ended its mpox emergency six days later, while insisting the pandemic itself was not over.

Whose Eras Tour, opened in Glendale, Arizona in March 2023, became the first concert tour to gross $1 billion?

Taylor Swift's tour ran 149 shows in 51 cities across five continents and closed in December 2024 having grossed more than $2 billion.

Which team won the 2023 Women's World Cup final in Sydney, beating England 1–0 with a goal from Olga Carmona?

Spain's first women's world title was overshadowed within minutes when federation president Luis Rubiales kissed forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips at the medal ceremony.

Which Friends star, famous as Chandler Bing, was found dead in his Los Angeles hot tub in October 2023 aged 54?

Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine, and five people were later charged with helping him obtain the lethal doses.

Which social network did Elon Musk announce he was rebranding as X in July 2023, retiring its bird logo?

Twitter's rename came nine months after Musk bought it for $44 billion, and the bird did not fully vanish from the service until May 2024.

Which Argentine World Cup winner joined Inter Miami in July 2023 and lifted the Leagues Cup, the club's first trophy?

Lionel Messi scored nine goals in his first six games, his No. 10 shirt became the league's best seller, and he collected a record eighth Ballon d'Or that October.

Which group's surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 and took some 250 hostages?

Hamas fighters broke through the Gaza fence at dawn, and the next day Israel formally declared war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Which country, along with Syria, suffered a 7.8-magnitude quake in February 2023 that killed over 50,000 people?

Turkey alone counted 53,537 dead, and a 7.7 aftershock nine hours later made the pair the deadliest natural disaster in the country's modern history.

Which Republican became the first US House Speaker ever removed by a floor vote, in October 2023?

Kevin McCarthy had needed 15 ballots to win the gavel in January; a motion from Matt Gaetz ended his nine-month tenure, the third-shortest in history.

Which chainsaw-brandishing libertarian economist won Argentina's presidential run-off vote in November 2023?

Javier Milei beat Sergio Massa with the highest vote share since Argentina's return to democracy, after a campaign in which the chainsaw stood for cutting the state.

Which historic Maui town was largely destroyed in August 2023 by the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century?

Lahaina, the Kingdom of Hawaii's capital from 1820 to 1845, lost 102 people, the most lethal US wildfire since the Cloquet fire of 1918.

Which Nobel Peace Prize-winning former US Secretary of State died in November 2023 at the age of 100?

Henry Kissinger died at his Connecticut home as the last surviving Cabinet member of the Nixon administration, a refugee from Nazi Germany who went on to shape US policy on China and Vietnam.

Which team beat the Eagles 38–35 in February 2023 in the first Super Bowl to pit two brothers against each other?

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce faced his brother Jason, the Eagles' center, in the so-called Kelce Bowl, and Harrison Butker's late field goal settled it.

Which club completed a treble in June 2023 by beating Inter Milan 1–0 in Istanbul for its first Champions League title?

Manchester City's win, sealed by a Rodri goal, was only the second continental treble in English men's football, 24 years after Manchester United's in 1999.

Whose 2023 US Open title was a men's-record 24th Grand Slam singles crown, tying Margaret Court's all-time mark?

Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at 36 to become the oldest US Open men's champion of the Open Era, weeks after Carlos Alcaraz ended his Wimbledon streak.

Which Red Bull driver won a record 19 of 22 Formula One races in 2023 en route to a third straight title?

Max Verstappen also strung together a record ten consecutive wins and stood on the podium 21 times, clinching the championship at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Which gymnast returned from a two-year absence in 2023 and won a record sixth world all-around title in Antwerp?

Simone Biles passed Vitaly Scherbo as the most decorated gymnast in Olympic and world championship history, ten years after winning her first world title at the same Belgian venue.

Which franchise won its first World Series in November 2023, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in an all-wild-card final?

Texas Rangers had waited since their 1961 founding in Washington; the finalists' 174 combined regular-season wins were the fewest ever for a full-season World Series.

Which French swimmer broke Michael Phelps's 15-year-old 400m medley world record at the 2023 worlds in Fukuoka?

Léon Marchand clocked 4:02.50 while training under Phelps's old coach Bob Bowman in Arizona, and won four golds at the Paris Olympics a year later.

Who won the Best Actress Oscar in March 2023 for Everything Everywhere All at Once, at the age of 60?

Michelle Yeoh, at 60, was only the second woman of colour to take the award after Halle Berry, and co-star Ke Huy Quan won Best Supporting Actor the same night.

Whose 2023 Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album made her the most-awarded artist in the awards' 65-year history?

Beyoncé's 32nd Grammy passed the record of conductor Georg Solti, though Album of the Year eluded her again and went to Harry Styles.

Which Miley Cyrus single, released on ex-husband Liam Hemsworth's birthday, was the best-selling global single of 2023?

Flowers was heard as a reply to Bruno Mars's 'When I Was Your Man', which Hemsworth had reportedly dedicated to Cyrus, and it topped Spotify's global streams for the year.

Which Swedish singer won Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool with 'Tattoo', becoming the first woman to win the contest twice?

Loreen's second win, 11 years after 'Euphoria', matched Johnny Logan as the only double winner and gave Sweden a seventh victory, equalling Ireland's record.

Which actors' union struck in July 2023, the first time US performers and writers had walked out together since 1960?

SAG-AFTRA's 118-day walkout, driven by streaming residuals and fears of AI digital replicas, was the longest in the union's history and halted most film and TV production.

Which ISRO craft made the first landing near the Moon's south pole in August 2023, days after a Russian lander crashed?

Chandrayaan-3 touched down at 69°S on 23 August, four days after Russia's Luna 25 slammed into the surface, and made ISRO the fourth agency to land on the Moon.

Which NASA mission parachuted a capsule of asteroid Bennu samples into the Utah desert in September 2023?

OSIRIS-REx's drogue parachute failed to deploy on time because of a wiring mistake, but the main chute opened at about 9,000 feet and the rubble reached Johnson Space Center intact.

Which WWII codebreaking site hosted the world's first AI Safety Summit in November 2023, attended by 28 countries?

Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing's colleagues broke Enigma, gave its name to the Bletchley Declaration, which the US, China and the EU all signed.