Dashed left edge = started before July 2023 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond July 2023
Events in July 2023 16
1926 – 2023Tony Bennett (1926-2023)Died 21 July 2023, aged 96American singer whose career ran from the 1950s to duets with Lady Gaga, and who never abandoned the standards for passing fashion.
1929 – 2023Milan KunderaCzech-French NovelistCzech-born French novelist, essayist and playwright. His novels, including The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, explored themes of identity, exile and the fragility of human existence under totalitarianism. Stripped of his Czechoslovak citizenship after the Soviet invasion, he lived in France from 1975 and became a French citizen in 1981.
1952 – 2023Paul Reubens (1952-2023)Died 30 July 2023, aged 70American actor and comedian who created Pee-wee Herman.
1966 – 2023Sinéad O'ConnorIrish Singer-SongwriterIrish singer-songwriter and activist whose powerful voice and outspoken nature made her one of the most distinctive artists of her generation. She achieved worldwide fame with her 1990 cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U and won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. She was also known for her advocacy on issues including child abuse, women's rights and religious reform.
2023Eagles announce The Long GoodbyeFarewell tourA final tour with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey.
2023Wimbledon 2023Men: Carlos Alcaraz · Women: Markéta VondroušováCarlos Alcaraz, 20, defeated Djokovic in a thrilling five-set final. Vondroušová became the first unseeded women's champion in Wimbledon history.
2023Threads launches and gains 100 million users in five daysMeta's answer to TwitterMeta launched Threads on 5 July 2023. It signed up 100 million users within five days, the fastest adoption of any application to that point.
2023Milan Kundera dies in ParisDied in Paris at the age of 94. His Czech citizenship had been restored in 2019.
2023The Black Sea grain deal collapsesRussia withdraws from the Ukrainian export corridorRussia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative on 17 July 2023, ending the corridor that had allowed Ukrainian grain exports through a wartime blockade.
2023100th BirthdayCelebrated his 100th birthday, still active in research at Caltech. Described research as 'a wonderful way of life.'
2023Barbenheimer weekendBarbie and Oppenheimer open same dayBarbie and Oppenheimer both released on July 21, 2023, creating the "Barbenheimer" cultural phenomenon. Together they grossed over $2.4 billion worldwide, reviving cinema after the post-COVID slump.
2023Barbie#1 film of 2023 — $1.44bn worldwideDirected by Greta Gerwig, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. After a series of events in Barbieland, Barbie and Ken travel to the real world.
2023Barbie is released and passes a billion dollarsGreta Gerwig becomes the first solo woman director to do soBarbie opened on 21 July 2023 and went on to gross more than $1.4 billion, making Greta Gerwig the first woman to direct a billion-dollar film solo.
2023OppenheimerOscar Best Picture 2023 — $952m worldwideDirected by Christopher Nolan, starring Cillian Murphy. The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
2023Military coup in NigerPresident Mohamed Bazoum detained by his own guardMembers of the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July 2023 and seized power in Niger, the latest in a run of coups across the Sahel.
2023Sinéad O'Connor dies in LondonFound unresponsive at her home in south London and pronounced dead at the age of 56. A coroner later confirmed she died of natural causes. Her funeral in Bray, County Wicklow, drew hundreds of mourners.