Instructed to walk toward the German front lines, at a steady pace and in good order (though with 30 kg of equipment to carry, they could not run if they had wanted), the British troops were easy pickings for the German machine gunners who had simply sat out the week-long artillery barrage in their deep bunkers. By the end of July 1, 1916, the 19,240 killed in action marked the heaviest day’s loss that the British Army had ever suffered, according to Britannica.com. (There are some medieval candidates for that dubious honor, notably the Battle of Towton, on March 29, 1461, during the Wars of the Roses. Accounts soon after claimed 28,000 casualties on the day, but the numbers from so far back in time are impossible to gauge accurately.)

You will find plenty of other historical niceties falling on this day. In CE 69, for example, Roman general Vespasian was proclaimed Emperor by his troops in Egypt during the year of the four Cesars. For lovers of celebrity, July 1, 1961, was the birthdate of Diana, Princess of Wales. Even I found, somewhat to my surprise, that I had completed 58 orbits of the Sun on July 1 this year.

However, July 1 is a much more significant date in Hungarian history, and for women everywhere. Born in Buda on July 1, 1818, Ignác Semmelweis would become known as “the Savior of Mothers” for his contribution to obstetrics. In case you don’t know, it was he who realized that washing your hands before dealing with a mother in labor was potentially lifesaving, especially if you went to the maternity ward straight from dissecting a corpse. Today, it seems ludicrous that no one else had stumbled upon this before him. The attitude of the medical authorities toward his pioneering work is equally baffling, as are the sad series of events that ended with his death on Aug. 13, 1865. The biopic of his life story was Hungary’s entry to the Oscars this year, and is currently available to stream on Netflix in Hungary. Here, the anniversary of his birth has been adopted as Semmelweis Day, dedicated to honoring the hard work, unrelenting sacrifice and outstanding achievements of healthcare workers across the country. The day is given as a holiday to many in the profession. It is a fitting tribute to a remarkable man, and to the greatest treasure Hungary’s at times crumbling healthcare service possesses: its people. We offer up our own small tribute in this issue, with a Special Report dedicated to healthcare. We interview leading players in the private sector, speak with representatives of cutting-edge pharmaceutical, medical technology, and clinical research firms, examine examples of and opportunities for medical startups, and, inevitably, investigate where and how artificial intelligence is being applied. We hope you find it interesting; there’s certainly plenty to digest.

Robin Marshall

Editor-in-chief

This editorial was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of July 11, 2025.