July 23 — What holiday is today and main events

On Thursday, July 23, a number of holidays are celebrated in Ukraine and worldwide. Several important events also took place on this day in the past.

On July 23, Ukraine and the world celebrate World Whale and Dolphin Day. It was established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986 when the ban on commercial whaling came into effect. The purpose of this day is to draw attention to the need to protect whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals. Whales and dolphins play an important role in maintaining the health of the oceans. They help preserve the balance of marine ecosystems, and some species contribute to the natural nutrient cycle. Despite international protection measures, many species are still threatened due to ocean pollution by plastic, climate change, entanglement in fishing nets, noise pollution from ships, and illegal hunting.

Also, July 23 is World Sjögren’s Syndrome Day. Its goal is to raise awareness about Sjögren’s syndrome (or disease) — a chronic autoimmune disorder that often remains undiagnosed due to nonspecific symptoms. The date was chosen in honor of the birthday of Swedish ophthalmologist Henrik Sjögren, who first described the disease. The day was established in 2005.

What church holiday is today

On July 23, believers commemorate the Day of Remembrance of the holy martyrs Trophimus, Theophilus, and those with them. According to church tradition, Trophimus and Theophilus, along with other faithful, openly professed Christianity, for which they were imprisoned and sentenced to death. Their unwavering faith and courage became an example of devotion to God even in the face of death.

Calendar of important events on July 23

971 — Kievan Rus and the Byzantine Empire conclude a peace treaty, ending a series of armed conflicts and marking a temporary stabilization in relations between the two powerful states;

1093 — On the Zhelan River, the Rus army led by Prince Sviatopolk Iziaslavich suffers a crushing defeat by the Polovtsian forces;

1711 — The Pruth Peace Treaty is signed: the Tsardom of Moscow agrees to return Azov to the Ottoman Empire and commits to dismantling fortifications in Taganrog;

1840 — Great Britain officially grants Canada the status of a self-governing colony;

1864 — The Odessa National University named after I. I. Mechnikov is opened;

1873 — The famous French artist Gustave Courbet emigrates to Switzerland to avoid paying a huge fine for participating in the dismantling of the Vendôme Column during the Paris Commune;

1888 — A monument to Bohdan Khmelnytsky is solemnly unveiled in Kyiv;

1901 — Robert Koch, a German microbiologist, proposes the hypothesis that rats are the main carriers of bubonic plague;

1908 — In the Ottoman Empire, the victory of the Young Turk Revolution leads to the restoration of the constitution;

1913 — Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia, which becomes a prelude to World War I;

1936 — The Institute of History of Ukraine of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR is founded in Kyiv;

1951 — NATO headquarters opens in the French city of Rocquencourt;

1966 — The first phase of the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery is officially launched;

1974 — In Greece, the military dictatorship known as the "Regime of the Colonels" is overthrown, and the country returns to democracy;

1975 — Canada announces the closure of its Atlantic ports to foreign fishing vessels, protecting national interests in marine resources;

1979 — Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran, bans music broadcasts, citing its negative influence on youth;

1980 — The spacecraft "Soyuz-37" embarks on a flight, with the crew including the first astronaut from Asia, Vietnamese Pham Tuan;

1982 — A decision is made to completely ban commercial whaling to preserve the biological balance of the oceans;

1990 — Leonid Kravchuk is elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR, marking an important stage in the transformation of Ukraine’s political system ahead of independence.

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