Holidays March 23
World Meteorology Day
Every year on March 23, the initiative of WMO (World Meteorological Station) under the auspices of the United Nations celebrates a professional holiday - the day of meteorology. The international event is attended by about two hundred countries of the world, which to this day are active participants in WMO.
The experience accumulated by scientists shows that more than 80% of various natural disasters are directly related to meteorology and hydrology. Every year, natural disasters bring incredible damage to the world - about four billion dollars are lost, and this is not counting the largest disasters in the history of mankind. Russia received the official start of hydrometeorological monitoring with the Decree of Emperor Nicholas I, more than 170 years ago. Today, the main goal of Roshydromet is to minimize the threat of human loss due to natural disasters, as well as to warn the population about such phenomena in time and provide the country with a high level of hydrometeorological safety.
Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global international campaign organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The action is carried out, as a rule, annually at the end of March, in 2013 it falls on the twenty-third day. The purpose of the event is that on this day, people turn off all appliances and lights for an hour. And this is done in order to draw public attention to global climate change on the planet, to express its support in solving the formidable environmental problem.
It should be noted that the Earth’s hour is, first of all, a symbolic event, the need for respect for wildlife, the appropriate use of natural resources and the planet as a whole is shown. According to scientists, the impact of modern human activity on the ecosystem has grown so much that it causes serious concern from environmentalists. After all, if the situation does not change for the better, then in fifty to one hundred years on the Earth practically all resources will disappear. Therefore, environmental issues must be addressed together.
March 23 in the folk calendar
Vasilisa - a pointer to external water
On March 23, the people immediately remember several holy figures - the Corinthian martyrs. Special veneration is given to the martyr Vasilisa. Therefore, in Russia this day was dedicated to her.
On Vasilisa, it was customary to do household and land affairs: a thawed spring was taken away from the house so as not to flood the plot and the underground, garbage was removed in the yard, and arable equipment was being prepared. Often this day went fishing. People believed that Vasilisa presents them with a good fish catch. Do not forget to pay attention to the weather signs on March 23. For example, blue clouds floating across the sky promised quick heat and rain. It was also believed that Vasilisin day gives rise to spring thunderstorms. If the earth was covered with fog, then the autumn harvest will be noble. But strong winds and cold portended a hungry year. In this case, the people worked twice on the ground, carefully fertilizing it.
Historical Events March 23
March 23, 1876 - Pavel Yablochkov received a patent for an electric candle
The invention of the Russian electrical engineer, later called the Yablochkov candle, consisted of two rods that were combined using an insulating gasket. Each rod was clamped by a separate candlestick terminal. At the top between them was an arc discharge - it ignited, and the flame of the arc emitted bright light, gradually evaporating the insulating energy. The invention of Pavel Yablochkov made a real sensation in Europe, and learned about its existence thanks to the Paris international exhibition of devices. Soon, Yablochkov’s candles began to be used to illuminate the Champs Elysees, palaces and some other cultural buildings. A little later in France a large company was built to manufacture and sell the "Russian light". Yablochkov himself received in her place the head of the technical department.
March 23, 1891 - In football, the goal net was first applied
At the dawn of football, the gates looked very modest: two wooden sticks stuck into the ground at some distance from each other, as well as a rope stretched between them, which has become a mandatory crossbar since 1866. The reason for its introduction was a flaming scandal about a controversial goal scored. But, after two decades, the rope bar was replaced with a net. It was invented and made by the efforts of an engineer Brody in 1890, and its first use dates from a year later. Since then, the game has changed a lot of rules, but only one thing has remained unchanged - the rectangular shape of the field, a soccer ball and players seeking to win.
March 23, 2001 - An international orbital station collapsed in the Pacific
An international orbital station called Mir ceased to exist because it was out of order and fell into the Pacific Ocean near the island of Fiji. The station was launched into orbit fifteen years before the sad incident. Over the years, about one hundred people have been aboard the Mir, about thirty missions have been completed, and over sixteen thousand experiments have been carried out. In 1995, Mir set an absolute record for the length of time people stayed on it - for almost 440 days, scientists flew in zero gravity on board the station. According to experts, the station has long been in need of major repairs, but it would have been very expensive.
Born on March 23
- Fedor Rostopchin (born in 1763) - adjutant general, privy councilor, first earl of the famous noble family. Historians described the count as a man of great intelligence and witty warehouse. Rostopchin received a worthy education, served at court. In 1812, before the war, he was appointed commander in chief in Moscow. Being on this post, he proved himself to be a brilliant organizer of the militia.
- Ludwig Quidde (born in 1858) - German pacifist historian, Nobel laureate. He received a prestigious award for his efforts to prepare the public opinion of Germany and France for peaceful cooperation.
- Charles Daniels (born in 1885) - an American athlete, was the best swimmer of the early twentieth century, was awarded four Olympic gold medals. He also invented and introduced the concept of a modern rabbit.
- Daniel Beauvais (born in 1907) - Swiss and Italian pharmacologist, Nobel laureate in medicine and human physiology. He developed synthetic compounds that block the action of certain harmful substances on the body, worked in the field of diseases of the muscular and cardiovascular apparatus.
- Leonid Antonov (born in 1909) - director, shot mostly popular science films with an agricultural bias. He was an active artist, in 1946 he became director of Mosfilm. For the creation of the program "Agricultural News" was awarded the Stalin Prize.
Birthday March 23
Name day is celebrated on March 23 by representatives of the names: Vasilisa, Anastasia, Victor, Galina, Victoria, George, Ivan, Dmitry, Dionysus, Claudia, Kodrat, Kiprian, Mark, Leonid, Nika, Mikhail, Pavel, Nikifor, Rufin, Seraphim, Theodore, Theodora .
