BIRTHDAY ATLAS

Birthday facts

Born on December 23.

Everyone born on December 23 is a Capricorn — ruled by Saturn, will outwork you, quietly. The stone is turquoise, the flower narcissus, and the day is shared with Donna Tartt and Eddie Vedder.

Capricorn, the Sea-Goat — an engraving
Sun sign
Capricorn ♑︎
the Sea-Goat · ruled by Saturn · will outwork you, quietly
Turquoise, the birthstone for December — an engraving
Birthstone
Turquoise
December
Narcissus, the birth flower for December — an engraving
Birth flower
Narcissus
& holly

Your book

Born on December 23? Add the year.

Then it is a pop-up book: the sky the day you arrived, the No. 1 that week, the president, what a stamp cost, your life in weeks, and who was exactly your age when they did the thing they are known for — and at the end, a birthday poster of the day, engraved, to take home. One field. The date lives after the # in the link, which no server sees — nothing about you leaves your browser.

Making it for someone else? Send it as a pop-up birthday card.

The old books say

Capricorn, December 22 to January 19.

The Sea-Goat, ruled by Saturn, the taskmaster, and the books make it the sign of the long game — the climb, the plan, the thing built to last. An earth sign, credited with discipline, dry humour and an old head on young shoulders that grows into itself around forty. Its people are said to arrive late to their own success and stay. The tradition respects Capricorn the way one respects a well-kept ledger.

Astrology, reported rather than endorsed — the astronomy is the part of the book that is real.

Good company

Also born on December 23.

The names most looked up among everyone who shares the day — leaning on the ones who last.

1963
Donna Tartt
American author
1964
Eddie Vedder
American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1933
Akihito
Emperor of Japan
1805
Joseph Smith
American religious leader and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement
1950
Vicente del Bosque
Spanish footballer and manager
2002
Finn Wolfhard
Canadian actor and musician
1971
Corey Haim
Canadian actor
1902
Norman Maclean
American author

On this day

What December 23 has seen.

It is Night of the Radishes in Oaxaca City, Mexico.

583Yohl Ikʼnal (signature pictured) acceded to the throne of the Maya city-state of Palenque.
1815Jane Austen's novel Emma was first published, the last novel released during her lifetime.
1958Tokyo Tower, then the world's tallest freestanding tower, opened.
1990About 88 percent of eligible voters in Slovenia voted to secede from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
1997The Pioneer Helmet, one of only six Anglo-Saxon helmets to be discovered, was first placed on public display.

The calendar

When December 23 falls.

A Wednesday in 2026, a Thursday in 2027, a Saturday in 2028, a Sunday in 2029, and a Monday in 2030.