The International
Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is celebrated annually on June 23 to
honour the remarkable achievements of women engineers and inspire more girls
and women to pursue careers in engineering. This day shines a spotlight on the
invaluable contributions women make to the engineering field and emphasises the
importance of gender diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics).
Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who passed away on 23 June 1953, was an Indian
politician, barrister and academician, who served as India's first Minister for
Industry and Supply (currently known as Minister for Commerce and
Industries) in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet. After falling out
with Nehru, protesting against the Liaquat-Nehru Pact, Mukherjee resigned
from Nehru's cabinet. With the help of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh, he founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the Bharatiya
Janata Party, in 1951.
He was also the president of Akhil
Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha from 1943 to 1946. He was arrested by the Jammu
and Kashmir Police in 1953 when he tried to cross the border of the state. He
was provisionally diagnosed of a heart attack and shifted to a hospital
but died a day later. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party is the successor to
the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Mookerjee is also regarded as the founder of
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by its members.
Dr Mookerjee was inspired by the ideologies
of Swami Pranavananda, founder of Bharat Sevashram Sangha and
considered him as his guru.
Alan Turing, born on 23
June 1912, was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst,
philosopher and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential
in the development of theoretical computer science, providing a formalisation
of the concepts of algorithm and computation with the Turing machine, which
can be considered a model of a general-purpose computer. He is widely
considered to be the father of theoretical computer science
Jonas Salk, who
passed away on 23 June 1995 in La Jolla, California, was an American
physician and medical researcher who developed the first safe and effective
vaccine for polio.
Salk
received an M.D. in 1939 from New York University College of Medicine, where he
worked with Thomas Francis Jr., who was conducting killed-virus immunology
studies. Salk joined Francis in 1942 at the University of Michigan School
of Public Health and became part of a group that was working to develop
an immunization against influenza.
In 1947 Salk became associate professor of bacteriology
and head of the Virus Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine. At Pittsburgh he began research on polio, an acute
viral infectious disease of the nervous system that usually begins with general
symptoms such as fever and headache and is sometimes followed by a more
serious and permanent paralysis of muscles in one or more limbs, the throat, or
the chest. In the mid-20th century hundreds of thousands of children were
struck by the disease every year. Working with scientists from other
universities in a program to classify the various strains of poliovirus, Salk corroborated
other studies in identifying three separate strains. He then demonstrated that
killed virus of each of the three, although incapable of producing the disease,
could induce antibody formation in monkeys.
In 1952 he
conducted field tests of his killed-virus vaccine, first on children who
had recovered from polio and then on subjects who had not had the disease; both
tests were successful in that the children’s antibody levels rose significantly
and no subjects contracted polio from the vaccine. His findings were published
the following year. In 1954 Francis conducted a mass field trial, and the
vaccine, injected by needle, was found to safely reduce the incidence of polio.
On 12 April 1955, the vaccine was released for use in the United States. In
the following years the incidence of polio in the United States fell from 18
cases per 100,000 people to less than 2 per 100,000. In the 1960s a second type
of polio vaccine, known as oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) or Sabin vaccine
- named for its inventor, American physician and microbiologist Albert Sabin — was
developed. OPV contains live attenuated (weakened) virus and is given
orally.
Salk served
successively as professor of bacteriology, preventive medicine, and
experimental medicine at Pittsburgh, and in 1963 he became fellow and
director of the Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, later
called the Salk Institute. Among his many honours was the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, awarded in 1977.
UN Public Service Day is observed every year on the 23rd of June. It is a significant day dedicated to recognizing the value of public services and the individuals who contribute to them. Public services play a crucial role in improving our communities and promoting their growth.
The purpose of UN Public Service Day is to celebrate and acknowledge the importance of public service in our communities. It aims to highlight the significant role that public servants play in the development process and recognize their contributions. Additionally, the day serves to encourage young individuals to consider careers in the public sector.
History of UN Public Service Day
On December 20, 2002, the UN General Assembly officially designated June 23 as Public Service Day through the adoption of resolution 57/277.
- To
enhance the recognition of this important day and highlight the value of public
service, the United Nations introduced the UN Public Service Awards (UNPSA)
program in 2003.
- The program was subsequently reviewed in 2016 to align with the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- The United Nations Public Service Forum is a significant global event
that focuses on building capacity in public governance.
- Each year, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(UN DESA) organizes the forum in collaboration with a host country.
- The forum serves as a platform for conducting capacity development workshops, hosting the UN Public Service Awards ceremony, and facilitating a Ministerial Roundtable.
Through these initiatives, the United Nations aims to foster the growth
and development of public service by promoting best practices, recognizing
excellence, and facilitating knowledge-sharing among countries and
organizations.
National Typewriter Day (USA) is June 23 and we are using the
day to celebrate the written word!
On this day in 1868, inventor Christopher Latham Sholes was granted a patent
for his typewriting machine. Now, typewriter enthusiasts everywhere use this
day as a chance to celebrate the impact the typewriter has had on the way we
write and the way we communicate with our world.
Victory Day (Võidupüha) marks the decisive battle during the Estonian War of
Independence in which the country’s military forces and their allies defeated
the German forces who sought to re-assert control over the region. The day has
been celebrated on 23 June every year from 1934 until 1939 and then again after
the restoration of Estonian independence, from 1992. Although it marks the
important historical battle, the annual military parade also commemorates and
recognises the contributions of all Estonians in their fight to regain and
retain their independence.
The Victory Day is celebrated all over the country, but the
main parade usually rotates between towns.
The
background
At the end of the First World War, Estonia was
engaged in a war for its own independence with two former major powers. At the
time of the armistice that ended the Great War on 11 November 1918, the
Estonian Provisional Government was forced to defend its declaration of
independence against attacks by Soviet Russian troops and a Baltic-German
Landeswehr army under General Rüdiger von der Goltz. By the end of December
1918, the Soviet-Russian forces, in an effort to re-establish the borders of
the Russian Empire, had succeeded in occupying half of Estonia.
However, the tide began to turn in late
December 1918 when Finnish volunteers, as well as British naval assistance,
began to arrive in Estonia to support the country’s defence. By the time the
volunteers and the equipment reached the front, the Soviet advance had been
halted and in less than a month Estonia was virtually cleared of all Soviet
forces.
However, intermittent fighting continued
on the eastern and southern fronts throughout 1919. In northern Latvia, a mixed
Estonian-Latvian force under the Estonian command of General Johan Laidoner
defeated the Red Army troops operating in northern Latvia. However, half of
Latvia was still occupied by the troops of von der Goltz.
In early June 1919, von der Goltz
advanced and attempted to isolate the right wing of the Estonian Army. Despite
his well-equipped and experienced troops, his army was defeated. The final
battle at Cēsis (Võnnu in Estonian) on 23 June saw the collapse of the von der
Goltz army. Following this victory, Estonian and Latvian forces co-operated to
ensure the fall of the puppet regime that had been established in Riga.
Latvia’s freedom was regained and Estonia’s borders were secured.
The defeat of the two invading forces in
1919 and the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty in 1920 between Estonia and
Soviet Russia marked the successful achievement of Estonia’s independence after
centuries of struggle, and thus 23 June became a day to celebrate this victory.
It is important to note that a
multi-national force helped Estonia to win its independence. Along with 85,500
Estonians, 3,700 Finns, more than 5,000 Russians of the North West White Army
(under the command of the Estonian Defence Forces General Staff), 9,800
Latvians, 3,000 British, 400 Swedes and 250 Danes and up to 700 Baltic Germans
(who were Estonian citizens, but had a separate Baltic Battalion) fought for
the country.
Luxembourg National Day is celebrated every year on June 23 to mark the official
birthday of the ruler of Luxembourg. Did you know that Luxembourg was a part of
the ancient Roman Empire and produced several Holy Roman Emperors? National Day
of Luxembourg is usually a festive day in the city of Luxembourg. The
celebration starts with a change of the guard at the Grand-Ducal palace on June
22, then a torchlight procession, open-air concerts, and fireworks. National
Day of Luxembourg kickstarts with an official ceremony, a gun salute, a
military parade, and the traditional Te Deum at the cathedral Notre Dame.
Although nowadays, June 23 is set as the Luxembourg National
Day, the date has actually changed many times, The country has celebrated the
sovereign’s birthday since the 18th century and this tradition was
maintained after Luxembourg became a sovereign state in 1815. The date on which
Luxembourg celebrates its National Day has therefore changed with ever reign:
From 1816 onwards, the people of Luxembourg celebrated the
anniversary of the birth of King Grand Duke William I on April 24.
Under William II, National Day was celebrated on December 6.
Under William III, the birthday was celebrated on June 17,
and from 1860 onwards it changed to February 19.
After Grand Duke Adolphe’s ascension to the Throne in 1890,
the National Day was on July 24.
Under Guillaume IV, it took place on April 22.
Under Mare-Adelaide, the festivities took place on June 14
from 1913 onwards.
When Grand Duchess Charlotte acceded the throne in 1919, 23
January became the National Day. In 1947, the day of the celebration of the
Grand Duchess’ birthday was declared a public holiday.
The official day of celebrating the sovereign’s birthday was
eventually changed to 23 June in 1961 by Grand Ducal order, which was
maintained under the successive reigns of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duke Henri.
The term ‘National Day’ actually does not appear in any legal texts. It is
referred to as ‘the day of the official celebration of the anniversary of the
Grand Duke’s birth’. Luxembourgers commonly call it either ‘Groussherzogsgebuertsdag’(the
birthday of the Grand Duke) or ‘Nationalfeierdag’ (National Day).
Observed annually on 23 June, International Widows Day (IWD) is a significant occasion dedicated to raising awareness about the plight of widows worldwide and advocating for their rights and well-being. his day was first recognized and established by the United Nations in 2011, acknowledging the hardships faced by widows globally and the need to address their unique social, economic, and legal issues.
International Widows Day is a powerful reminder of the challenges faced by widows worldwide and the need to address their rights and well-being. By raising awareness, advocating for policy changes, and providing support, we can create a more inclusive and equitable society where widows are valued, respected, and have equal opportunities to reach their full potential. Let us work together to ensure that widows are empowered and their voices are heard, contributing to a better world for all.
History of International Widows Day
The International Day of Widows was officially declared by the United Nations (UN) on 21 December 2010 by passing a resolution called "In Support of Widows and Their Children". The history of International Widows Day has its roots from the Loomba Foundation located in the United Kingdom. The foundation is a charitable trust founded by Lord Raj Loomba which works on an international level for empowerment of widows.
Significance of International Widows Day
The significance of celebrating the International Widows Day is to
highlight the issues like denial of inheritance rights, social exclusion,
gender discrimination, forceful remarriage, economic problems, etc faced by
widows and find a permanent solution for them by passing laws and regulations.
Observed annually on 23 June, International Olympic Day holds a special place in the hearts of sports enthusiasts worldwide. This momentous occasion commemorates the founding of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894 and serves as a reminder of the unifying power of sports.
International Olympic Day provides a platform to inspire young athletes and celebrate their achievements. It serves as a reminder that sports can empower individuals, instil discipline, and promote teamwork. By showcasing the success stories of Olympic athletes, this day encourages young people to pursue their sporting dreams and strive for excellence.
Beyond its focus on physical activity, International Olympic Day also highlights the broader impact of sports on society. Sports have the power to unite people, promote peace, and foster understanding among diverse cultures. By participating in International Olympic Day activities, individuals contribute to a legacy of sporting excellence and international cooperation.
History of International Olympic Day
The history of International Olympic Day dates back to 23 June 1894, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded at the Sorbonne in Paris. The day was established by IOC in 1948 to encourage individuals from all walks of life to embrace the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, and respect.
The first International Olympic Day was celebrated in Paris at the Sorbonne, where the modern Olympic Games were born. Since then, this day has evolved into a global celebration that transcends political, cultural, and social boundaries. It encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to engage in physical activities, fostering a sense of global camaraderie and mutual understanding.
Significance of International Olympic Day
International Olympic Day holds immense
significance as it serves as a platform to celebrate the values of
sportsmanship, unity, and fair play. It promotes the idea that through sports,
individuals can overcome barriers, foster understanding, and work towards a
common goal. By participating in International Olympic Day activities,
individuals contribute to a global movement that encourages physical activity,
healthy living, and the pursuit of excellence. This day also serves as a
reminder of the power of sports to inspire and bring people together,
transcending cultural, social, and political differences.
At its core, International
Olympic Day emphasizes the importance of physical fitness and healthy living.
Through various activities such as fun runs, sports events, and educational
workshops, this day encourages individuals to lead active and fulfilling lives.
By participating in these activities, people not only contribute to their own
well-being but also inspire others to embrace a healthier lifestyle.
