Holidays Calendar for June 23, 2018

Victory Day is a public holiday in Estonia celebrated on June 23. It commemorates Estonian victory in the 1919 Battle of Cēsis, also known as the Battle of Võnnu. It was a decisive battle in the Estonian War of Independence.

In some monarchies, sovereign's birthday is an official public holiday. For example, Grand Duke's Official Birthday is the national day of Luxembourg. It is celebrated on June 23 each year regardless of the actual birth date of the current Grand Duke.

Summer solstice falls annually between 20-26 June, but the Swedes and the Finns have a tradition to celebrate Midsummer Day on the first Saturday after June 19.

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World Whistleblowers Day is an international observance held on June 23 every year. Its main goal is to raise public awareness about the important role of whistleblowers in combating corruption and maintaining national security.

Olympic Day is an annual celebration that commemorates the formal establishment of the International Olympic Committee on June 23, 1894. It was officially created in 1948 as a sort of birthday of the Olympic Movement.

International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) is observed annually on June 23. It was created to celebrate the amazing work of women engineers around the globe and to encourage women to enter STEM fields.

World Female Ranger Day is celebrated annually on June 23, kicking off World Female Ranger Week. It was created to celebrate female rangers around the globe and recognize the incredible work they do and the challenges they face.

Police Day is an official professional holiday in the Republic of Kazakhstan celebrated on June 23 each year. It was established by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2007 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the country’s law enforcement agencies.

UN Public Service Day is observed on June 23 every year. Inspired by this official United Nations observance, the governments of several countries have decided to celebrate their national Public Employee’s Day on the same date.

Fitness and Sports Day, sometimes also referred to as Physical Culture Day, is an Armenian holiday celebrated on June 23 every year. Such a date was chosen to coincide with Olympic Day that commemorates the establishment of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894.

Okinawa Memorial Day is a public holiday in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. It is observed on June 23 to commemorate those who died during the Battle of Okinawa — the only ground engagement of the Pacific theater of World War II to have been fought on Japanese soil.

June 23 is National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism in Canada. This day commemorates the anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland.

On June 23, the Swiss canton of Jura celebrates its Independence Day. Jura is the newest canton of Switzerland; it was de facto created in 1975 and officially joined the Swiss Confederation in 1979.

Day of the Finnish Flag has been observed annually since 1934. It is held on the Saturday between June 20 and June 26, on the same day when the Finns and the Swedes officially celebrate Midsummer Day.

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June 23 is National Pecan Sandy Day. Sandy cookies are as old as the history of baking itself, and pecan sandy is relatively a new invention.

Detroit is probably best-known as the center of the United States automobile industry and the birthplace of Motown and techno, but foodies primarily associate it with the square-cut pan pizza style known as Detroit-style pizza. It even has its own holiday, National Detroit-Style Pizza Day, celebrated annually on June 23.

The evening of June 23 is known as St John's Eve in some countries. It is the eve of celebration before the feast of Saint John the Baptist. The holiday is also strongly connected with Midsummer, the celebration of the summer solstice.

United Nations Public Service Day is an official UN observance held on June 23 each year. It was designated in the resolution 57/277 of the UN General Assembly issued on March 7, 2003 and has been celebrated annually ever since.

International Widows' Day is an official United Nations observance held on June 23 each year. It was established by the UN General Assembly in December 2010, and the first celebration occurred in 2011.

Father's Day is a holiday that honors fathers and celebrates fatherhood. In most countries, it is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. However, in some states it is observed on other days. For example, Poland and Nicaragua celebrate Father's Day on June 23.


This Day in History

  • 2013 American highwire artist Nik Wallenda became the first person to successfully walk across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope. He also walked across Niagara Falls a year earlier.
  • 2013 Died: Richard Matheson, American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter. His best known work is the horror novel I Am Legend.
  • 2011 Died: Peter Falk, American actor best known for his role as Lt. Columbo in the TV series Columbo. He also appeared in numerous films.
  • 2008 Died: Arthur Chung, Guyanese politician and statesman who served as the first President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1970 to 1980.
  • 2006 Died: Aaron Spelling, American film and television producer who created Charlie's Angels, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed, Sunset Beach etc.
  • 1998 Died: Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish actress best known for playing the character of Jane Porter in the Tarzan films starring Johnny Weissmuller.
  • 1995 Died: Anatoli Tarasov, renowned Soviet and later Russian ice hockey player and coach who is considered to be "the father of Russian hockey".
  • 1985 A terrorist bomb aboard Air India Flight 182 destroyed the Boeing 747-237B, killing all 328 people on board. The aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
  • 1972 Born: Selma Blair, American film, television and theater actress known for her roles in films Cruel Intentions, Hellboy, Legally Blonde and others.
  • 1972 Born: Zinedine Zidane, French footballer and football coach. He played for the French national team, Juventus and Real Madrid until 2006.
  • 1970 Died: Roscoe Turner, American aviator who set several records and was a three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy air race (in 1934, 1938, 1939).
  • 1970 Born: Yann Tiersen, French musician (multiinstrumentalist) and songwriter. His is best known for writing the soundtrack for the film Amélie.
  • 1964 Born: Joss Whedon, American screenwriter, director, producer and composer. He created many TV series and directed The Avengers and its sequel.
  • 1961 The Antarctic Treaty officially came into force. The treaty regulates international relations with respect to Antarctica. It was originally signed by 12 states.
  • 1960 The FDA declared Enovid (mestranol/norethynodrel) to be the world's first officially approved combined oral contraceptive pill. The drug was discontinued in 1988.
  • 1959 British atomic spy Klaus Fuchs was released after spending 9 years and 4 months in prison for supplying information from Manhattan Project to the USSR.
  • 1959 Died: Boris Vian, French writer, dramatist, poet, journalist, translator, engineer, inventor, musician, singer, and actor. He is best known for his novels.
  • 1946 A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Although destructive, it caused only two casualties.
  • 1940 Born: Stuart Sutcliffe, Scottish artist and musician best known as the original bassist for the Beatles. He died of aneurysm at the age of 21.
  • 1927 Born: Bob Fosse, American dancer, choreographer, theater and film director, screenwriter and actor. In 2007, he was inducted into the National Museum of Dance.
  • 1912 Born: Alan Turing, British mathematician, logician, cryptanalist, pioneering computers scientist. He is best known for the invention of the Turing machine and the Turing test.
  • 1894 Born: Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India from January 20 to December 11, 1936.
  • 1894 Born: Alfred Kinsey, American biologist and sexologist best known for writing the Kinsey Reports and developing the famous Kinsey scale.
  • 1881 Died: Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist who is primarily remembered for his contributions to the development of cell theory.
  • 1868 Christopher Latham Sholes, Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soule received a patent for a typewriter. This typewriter was only one among many similar inventions.
  • 1848 The June Days Uprising began in Paris. French workers protested against the closure of National Workshops that provide work for the unemployed.
  • 1836 Died: James Mill, Scottish economist, historian, philosopher and political theorist who is regarded as one of the founders of classical economics.
  • 1780 The Battle of Springfield was fought during the American Revolutionary War. It resulted in a Continental victory. It was one of the last major battles of the war.
  • 1763 Born: Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was the Empress consort of the French from 1804 to 1810.
  • 1757 British troops defeated Indian army and its French allies in the Battle of Plassey. This victory established the rule of the British East India Company in Bengal.