On May 19, the Day of Family Medicine is celebrated in Ukraine, which is connected with the World Day of the Family Doctor, and the world celebrates the birthday of the Rubik’s Cube. On this day, at different times, states changed, ideas were born, and interesting events took place.
World Family Doctor Day and Family Medicine Day in Ukraine
This professional holiday was introduced by the World Organization of Family Physicians (WONCA) in 2010 to draw attention to the importance of primary care. In Ukraine, this holiday has acquired an additional meaning: since 2017, the Day of Family Medicine is simultaneously celebrated as a national professional holiday. Both dates symbolically coincide, which once again emphasizes the common global and local goal of recognizing the role of the family doctor as a key specialist in the health care system.
Family medicine is a relatively young, but strategically important field. In the world, it began to develop as a separate discipline in the middle of the 20th century, and in Ukraine – only from the 90s. It received a significant boost with the start of the medical reform in 2018. It was then that the system of “district therapists” began to transform into a full-fledged institute of family medicine. Patients got the opportunity to freely choose their doctor, and specialists – independence, new work tools and a changed format of interaction with the patient.
A family doctor today is not just a doctor “for all occasions”, but a specialist who accompanies the patient throughout his life, knows his history, family circumstances, and living environment well. His task is not only to treat, but also to prevent diseases, to coordinate further medical care, referring to specialized specialists only when it is really necessary.
A feature of family medicine is its interdisciplinary nature. The doctor must have the skills of a therapist, pediatrician, gynecologist, psychologist, and even a social worker. In rural areas, he is often the only health worker trusted by everyone from babies to the elderly.
Interesting facts
The term “family doctor” was first recorded in English-language sources as early as the 18th century. However, the profession received a clear definition and the status of a medical specialty only in the 1960s in the USA and Great Britain. A historical milestone in the development of this direction was the creation of WONCA in 1972 — a global federation of national associations of family physicians, which now covers more than 130 countries.
In Ukraine, more than 30 million declarations have been concluded with family doctors. Despite the war, the primary care system continues to function, adapting to challenges: trips to de-occupied areas, assistance to internally displaced persons, remote consultations, training of doctors themselves in field conditions.
The name of the international federation of family doctors WONCA is an abbreviation of the English World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians. However, it is often pronounced as the word “out” as if it were a name or a brand.
In many countries of the world, the family doctor covers 70% to 90% of all patient referrals, and only 10–30% are referred further to narrow specialists. In this sense, it is more effective than any other medical profession.
According to the WHO, costs per patient for an initial visit to a family doctor are several times lower than for a visit to a specialized specialist or hospitalization. This reduces the burden on the budget and hospitals.
In the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada and some other countries, it is impossible to see a cardiologist or a dermatologist without first consulting a family doctor. This model is called “gatekeeping” (gatekeeping).
Rubik’s Cube’s birthday
Every year on May 19, one of the most famous inventions of the 20th century, the Rubik’s Cube, celebrates its “birthday”. It was on this day, in 1974, that the Hungarian sculptor, architect and teacher Erne Rubik completed work on the first prototype of a mechanical puzzle that would later become a world phenomenon.
At first, Rubik called his invention the “Magic Cube” (Bűvös Kocka), and did not plan to create a toy at all. The purpose of the design was to demonstrate to students the principles of three-dimensional geometry and movement in space. But very quickly it became clear that it is also an extremely fascinating puzzle that is almost impossible to solve intuitively. The first license for mass production was issued in Hungary in 1977, and already in 1980, the Rubik’s Cube entered the world market – and a real mental revolution began.
Interesting facts
Rubik was the first to try to solve his own puzzle – and spent more than a month on it. The current world record for a human is less than 3.5 seconds, and robots do it in less than a second.
The Rubik’s cube is officially recognized as the best-selling puzzle in history – more than 450 million cubes have been sold for all time, and in some countries the puzzle has even been included in the school curriculum as an exerciser for spatial thinking and motor development.
The number of possible combinations in the puzzle is more than 43 quintillion.
The first world championship in speed assembling the cube was held in 1982 in Budapest.
In 2018, the Sub1 Reloaded robot collected the cube in 0.38 seconds.
Historical events on this day
1051 — the coronation of Anna Yaroslavna, daughter of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv, took place in the cathedral of the French city of Reims. She became Queen of France by marrying Henry I. This marriage had not only dynastic, but also political significance, as it testified to the high international status of Kyivan Rus. Anna left a noticeable mark in the history of France, founded monasteries and took an active part in the administration of the state after the death of her husband. She is one of the few women in medieval Europe who signed documents on her own, sometimes even without the involvement of the king.
1649 — England was officially declared a republic after the execution of King Charles I. Parliament abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords, and replaced the monarchy with a regime known as the Commonwealth of Nations. The country was headed by Oliver Cromwell. It was one of the first experiments in early modern Europe to abolish absolute monarchy, although the republic later collapsed and the monarchy was restored.
1861 — the first Sunday school in Ukraine was opened in Sumy. It was created at the expense of local educators and operated as a free educational institution for adults and children who did not have the opportunity to study on weekdays. The main task of Sunday schools was to spread literacy, knowledge of arithmetic, history, ethics and religion. This was the beginning of an important movement of public education, which also covered other regions of Ukraine in the second half of the 19th century.
1997 — Hewlett-Packard released its first portable computer with support for the Windows CE operating system. The device was named HP 320LX. It had a monochrome display, a keyboard and allowed the use of e-mail, calendar and office applications. It was a transitional stage between personal computers and mobile devices — one of the first steps to modern smartphones and tablets.
1998 — unknown persons stole three masterpieces from the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome: two paintings by Vincent van Gogh and one by Paul Cézanne. It became one of the loudest thefts of the late 20th century in the art world. Criminals took advantage of the nighttime vulnerability of the museum and took out paintings valued at tens of millions of dollars. Their search lasted for years. The incident sparked a serious debate about security in European museums.
2005 — at the conference of education ministers of European countries in Bergen (Norway), Ukraine was officially admitted to the Bologna process. This marked the beginning of the integration of the Ukrainian higher education system into the European space. Since then, Ukrainian universities have introduced a two-level education system (bachelor-master), a credit system (ECTS), new diploma standards and increased academic mobility. The decision was aimed at improving the quality of education and the recognition of Ukrainian diplomas in Europe.
The birthday of the ideologist of the revival of the ancient Roman Republic.
On May 19, 1347, an event took place in Rome that surprised contemporaries and changed the political landscape of the capital of Italy for several months: Cola di Rienzo was born on the Capitoline Hill – a citizen obsessed with the idea of reviving the ancient Roman Republic.
Previously unknown in political circles, a young man of simple origin – the son of an innkeeper and a laundress – became the central figure of the day. By education, he was a notary, had a great gift of oratory and called himself “a man among men.” His procession that day made a strong impression: accompanied by the papal legate, with four flags – as if in a religious procession, in a white toga and in a white hat of German cloth, decorated with images of crowns and swords, he solemnly appeared at the Capitol.
There, Kola gathered a people’s assembly and ordered to read the “decrees of reforms” – a list of measures directed against the Roman aristocracy. The local nobility, accustomed to their privileges, at first did not care too much about this performance: the eccentric young man, in their opinion, was nothing more than a dreamy jester, suitable for entertainment rather than a threat.
However, very quickly Kola turned into a serious political player. The people, fascinated by his speeches, supported him. He accepted the title of “tribune and liberator of the holy Roman republic”, and the popular assembly gathered after that, under enthusiastic shouts, ratified the reforms he proposed.
Rome changed for a short time. A city militia was created, which suppressed the resistance of the aristocracy. Taxes were reduced, customs duties were abolished, a new coin with the inscription: “Rome is the capital of the world” was introduced. For the first time since ancient times, citizenship was extended to all inhabitants of the Italian peninsula. For the illiterate townspeople, Kola organized a kind of political “advertising”: he hung pictures with allegories of the decline of Rome or nailed mysterious inscriptions to church doors, such as: “Soon Rome will return to its good old state – world domination.”
He even called elections, a symbolic act of renewal, and reserved special titles for himself: “Knight Nicholas, Candidate of the Holy Spirit, Friend of the Universe, Tribune of Augustus.”
Despite the shortness of his reign, Cola di Rienzo left a deep mark in history as one of the brightest examples of political romanticism, revolutionary pathos and fearless pursuit of utopia in the conditions of medieval Europe.
“Black Day” in North America
On May 19, 1780, the day that went down in history as the “Black Day” in North America came: around 10 a.m. local time, the sun disappeared from the sky, and pitch darkness came.
This phenomenon covered a large area, from Maine to New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The darkness was particularly dense in the northern and central regions of these states. People who lived in the colonies of the British Empire at that time described the event with amazement as “a black cloth that covered the sky.” Despite the fact that it was full, neither the moon nor the stars were visible. One of those who remembered this day was General George Washington, who happened to be in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. In his diary, he noted: “It was not until after midnight that the moon became visible – blood red at first, then the stars began to appear.”
The darkness lasted more than 12 hours, but everything was back to normal the next morning. No changes in the weather were observed. There was silence and anxious anticipation in the atmosphere. For the religiously minded inhabitants, it was a sign of the wrath of God or the approaching end of the world. Some were reminded of the biblical prophetic words from the book of the prophet Amos: “The sun will be darkened at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight.”
and also from the book of the prophet Joel: “The sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”
Although modern science has tried to give a natural explanation for this phenomenon, there is still no unequivocal answer. According to one of the popular versions, later published by researchers from the University of Missouri, the cause could be large-scale forest fires in Canada – smoke and ash rose into the upper atmosphere and spread to the south. Some scientists also mention the possible airborne transfer of large amounts of dust or wet black smoke from peatlands.
However, many doubt this version – such a dense and prolonged darkness did not look like just a blackout or a smoke screen. The sky completely “turned off”, and this was not perceived as a natural phenomenon, but as an anomaly. Especially considering that the morning of the next day was completely normal.
The history of “dark days” continues. On September 18, 1938, something similar happened in Siberia – in Yamal. Darkness enveloped the tundra until dawn. People could not see further than a meter, the sky was not visible, the light did not break through the dense blackness, similar to fog. This condition lasted for about six hours and also remained without a final explanation.
Similar phenomena were recorded in other parts of the world: in 1802 in the Pacific Ocean, in England in 1884, in Wisconsin in 1886, in Memphis in 1904. According to the observations of natural and climate historians, such days occur once every few decades, but what exactly causes such total darkness remains a mystery. Therefore, the “Black Day” of 1780 still stands apart from the usual natural disasters. This is not a storm, not an eclipse, not a dust cloud, but a phenomenon that belongs to both science and myth at the same time.
Foundation of the Legion of Honor
On May 19, 1802, on the initiative of the First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, the highest state award of France, the Order of the Legion of Honor, was established. Even today, this distinction remains a symbol of the highest honor, state recognition and official recognition of outstanding military or civil services to the French Republic. Membership in the Order is granted by personal decree of the President of France, who is ex officio the Grand Master of the Order.
The history of the creation of the order has not so much a romantic, but a practical origin. After the abolition of royal awards by the revolutionary Convention, the state tried to encourage citizens with monetary bonuses or nominal weapons. But this quickly turned out to be not enough. Then Napoleon proposed a new system of state incentives. His famous remark about the motivational power of the award became legendary: “These miserable rattles can be controlled by people.” Later, when one of the critics called the order a meaningless monarchical symbol, Bonaparte replied: “People will die for this piece of metal!”.
Napoleon not only created the distinction, but also conceived an entire organizational structure around it. A corporation called the Legion of Honor was formed, which had four degrees of membership: Legionnaire, Officer, Commander, and Grand Officer. The order consisted of 15 cohorts that functioned according to the principle of a pyramid — from junior legionnaires to senior ranks that rose up.
Subsequently, the structure underwent changes. Currently, the order has five degrees: knight, officer, commander, grand officer and grand cross. It also now has 16 cohorts that include both military and civilian members.
The Legion of Honor remains one of the most influential and prestigious honors in Europe. It is awarded to both French citizens and foreigners. Among the laureates are Charles de Gaulle, Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Elisa Mercier, as well as outstanding scientists, cultural figures, diplomats and military personnel from around the world. Napoleon himself, by the way, believed that his defeats would be forgotten, but the Civil Code and the order of the Legion of Honor would survive the centuries. And, it seems, he was not mistaken.
Renaming the city of Dnipropetrovsk to Dnipro
On May 19, 2016, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, despite the decision and appeal of the Dnipropetrovsk City Council to keep the city’s previous name and consider it dedicated to St. Peter, adopted a resolution renaming the city of Dnipropetrovsk to Dnipro in compliance with the law on decommunization. 247 People’s Deputies voted for the relevant decision.
Historically, the city has repeatedly changed its name. Until 1796, it was called Katerynoslav, in 1796–1802 it was called Novorossiysk, and from 1802 to 1926 it was called Katerynoslav again. On July 20, 1926, the city was named Dnipropetrovsk in honor of the Bolshevik, Soviet party and statesman Grigory Petrovsky.
The director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance at the time, Volodymyr Vyatrovych, emphasized that the new name does not need translation – it sounds like “Dnipro” in Ukrainian, and “Dnipro” in English.
