July 31 is celebrated with several holidays and historical events around the world and in Kazakhstan. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.

Global Holidays

**Hawaii Flag Day** is observed in the USA. In 1816, King Kamehameha the Great proposed a new design for the Hawaiian national flag. Eight stripes of white, red, and blue represent the eight main islands of the state. In 1990, Governor John Waihee III established July 31 as Hawaii Flag Day. Before Kamehameha the Great ascended the throne, each of the eight islands had its own ruler; later, the islands were unified and formed an independent state.

**African Women's Day** is celebrated across Africa. This holiday was established in 1962 at the All-African Women's Conference in Dar es Salaam.

**Malaysia Army Day** honors all soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars.

**Harry Potter's Birthday** is celebrated annually by millions of fans worldwide on the last day of July. According to the official chronology of the magical world created by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter was born on July 31, 1980. The Harry Potter book series is one of the most popular bestsellers of modern times, captivating children and adults around the world.

Historical Events

**World:** - In 1924, the Polish government banned the use of the Ukrainian language in state institutions of Eastern Galicia. - In 1965, tobacco advertising was banned on television in the United Kingdom. - In 1996, a federal court in New York struck down a law restricting free speech on the internet. - In 2008, NASA announced the discovery of water on Mars.

**Kazakhstan:** - In 1929, renowned astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh discovered an unknown planet No. 2402 and named it after the great scientist Kanysh Satpayev. The minor planet approaches Earth every 5 years. - In 2007, a ceramic granite tile plant was launched in Taldykorgan by Granita Plus LLP. The equipment from the Italian company Sacmi, worth 6 million euros, provided an annual production capacity of 2 million square meters of ceramic granite tiles. - In 2015, three Kazakh school students developed a mobile application that won the national entrepreneurship championship among schoolchildren, Sage Kazakhstan-2015. - In 2021, for the first time in the history of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a female senior lieutenant, Ardana Botai, made an independent flight as a crew commander on a Su-30SM combat aircraft.

Famous Birthdays

**World:** - In 1937, Soviet and Russian singer and actress Edita Piekha was born. - In 1945, Soviet and Russian TV host, writer, producer, and People's Artist of the Russian Federation Leonid Yakubovich was born. - In 1965, English writer J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, was born. - In 1969, Italian footballer and coach Antonio Conte was born.

**Kazakhstan:** - In 1906, writer Ivan Shukhov, laureate of the Abai State Prize of the Kazakh SSR, was born. He translated works of Kazakh writers Sabit Mukanov, Mukhtar Auezov, Gabit Musrepov, Gabiden Mustafin, and Alzhappar Abishev into Russian. Ivan Shukhov's works have also been translated into several languages. - In 1967, Vyacheslav Dodonov, chief researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan, was born.