1. On October 23, 1862, the Battle of Pocotaligo took place in Beaufort County during the American Civil War. Union forces attempted to capture a Confederate railway stop, but were unable to do so and had to retreat.

2. South Carolina State University was founded on October 23, 1896 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It was originally called the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina and was the only state-supported higher education institution for African Americans in the state.

3. On October 23, 1906, the Sultana disaster occurred on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. The steamboat, which was carrying mostly Union soldiers who had been released from Confederate prison camps, exploded and sank, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1,800 people. Many of the soldiers on board were from South Carolina.

4. The first public radio station in South Carolina, WFAE-FM, went on the air on October 23, 1978. It is based in Rock Hill and covers the Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan area.

5. On October 23, 1995, Hurricane Opal made landfall in Florida and caused damage throughout the Southeast, including in South Carolina. The storm resulted in 59 deaths and more than $4.7 billion in damages.