June 23

In literary history

• 1900During the Boxer Rebellion siege of Beijing, fire destroyed the Hanlin Academy, housing one of China's oldest libraries. Both sides blamed the other; centuries of manuscripts, including volumes of the 22,000-chapter Yongle encyclopedia, were lost.

Writers born on June 23

• Anna Akhmatova (1889)

The Daily Canon for June 23

Requiem by Anna Akhmatova (1963).