On this day in history - July 23

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.