1. On July 23, 1607, Captain John Smith and his fellow English colonists arrived at the site of what would become the first permanent English settlement in the Americas- Jamestown.

2. On July 23, 1861, the First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas, took place. It was the first major land battle of the American Civil War and resulted in a Confederate victory.

3. On July 23, 2005, the USS Monitor Center opened in Newport News, Virginia. The center is dedicated to the history of the USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy and famously involved in the Battle of Hampton Roads during the Civil War.

4. On July 23, 1924, the Virginia General Assembly ratified the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting women the right to vote.

5. On July 23, 2009, NASA's Langley Research Center, located in Hampton, Virginia, celebrated its 90th anniversary. The center has been involved in numerous aerospace research and development programs, including the Apollo missions, the Space Shuttle program, and the Mars Exploration Rover mission.