What Happened On This Day – July 23
1995 Comet Hale–Bopp discovered
Also known as C/1995 O1 by the scientific community, this well known comet was discovered independently by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp.
1992 Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia
The Republic of Abkhazia, is a disputed territory of Georgia and is recognized as an independent state by only a handful of counties including Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, Tuvalu.
1982 International Whaling Commission bans commercial whale hunting
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) passed a resolution to restrict commercial whaling and ban it completely after 1986. 25 countries voted to put the restrictions and ban in place.
1972 Landsat 1 launched
The first satellite in the US's LANDSAT program, the Landsat discovered an uninhabited island off the eastern coast of Canada in 1976. The island is now called Landsat Island.
1962 First live transatlantic television signal
Telstar 1, a communications satellite relayed the world's first transatlantic television signal in the form of a show that featured Walter Cronkite.
Births On This Day – July 23
1989 Daniel Radcliffe
English actor
1980 Michelle Williams
American singer-songwriter, producer, actress
1976 Judit Polgár
Hungarian chess player
1957 Theo van Gogh
Dutch director
1892 Haile Selassie I
Ethiopian Emperor
Deaths On This Day – July 23
2013 Emile Griffith
Virgin Islander boxer
2011 Amy Winehouse
English singer-songwriter
1973 Eddie Rickenbacker
American pilot, Medal of Honor recipient
1951 Philippe Pétain
French general, politician, 119th Prime Minister of France
1885 Ulysses S. Grant
American general, politician, 18th President of the United States