Holidays Calendar for August 9, 2021
The whole week in August is full of holidays in Anguilla. Constitution Day is one of them. This holiday has no fixed date. However, the day of its celebration is appointed annually to mark the closure of the Carnival.
The Republic of Singapore celebrates its National Day on August 9 each year. This public holiday commemorates the independence of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.
August 9 is National Women's Day in South Africa. This public holiday was established to commemorate the national march of women that took place on August 9, 1956, during the apartheid era.
Indigenous People's Day is one of the public holidays in the Republic of Suriname. It is celebrated on August 9, coinciding with the United Nations International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.
One of the public holidays in Samoa and Tokelau is Father's Day, that is observed annually on Monday after the second Sunday in August. Although this is a public holiday, unfortunately, it's not given much attention to.
The second Monday in August is Heroes' Day in Zimbabwe. This day commemorates sons and daughters of Zimbabwe, who died, protecting their country in the liberation war against British rule.
The second Monday in August is Carnival Monday in Grenada. This public holiday is a part of widely known Spicemas, Granada's Carnival, that includes various concerts and other activities.
International Coworking Day is observed annually on August 9. It was created to celebrate the coworking movement and encourage people who don’t have to work from office to give coworking spaces a try.
Smokey Bear is the official mascot and advertising icon of the United States Forest Service that was created to educate the general public about the dangers of human-caused wildfires. Smokey’s debut poster was released on August 9, 1944. This day is considered Smokey Bear’s birthday.
Book Lovers Day is an unofficial holiday dedicated to reading that is celebrated on August 9 each year. It originated as National Book Lovers Day in the United States and has since spread across the world.
Battle of Gangut Day (August 9) is one of the Days of Military Honor in the Russian Armed Forces. It commemorates the naval battle that took place in 1714 during the Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden.
Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony is an annual vigil that takes place in the city of Nagasaki, Japan. It is dedicated to the victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki that occurred in August 1945.
August 9 is National Peacekeepers' Day in Canada. Although the holiday falls on August 9, the commemoration service can be observed on the closest Sunday.
Ablan Day (Kaarawan ni Ablan) is a special non-working holiday in the Philippine province of Ilocos Norte. It is celebrated on August 9 every year to commemorate the birthday of Roque Ablan, Sr., a WWII hero and prominent politician.
National Rice Pudding Day is celebrated on August 9 throughout the United States. Rice pudding is a popular dish found in nearly every area in the world which can be served as either dessert or dinner.
National Hug Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated in Japan on August 9. On this day, people give hugs to their family, friends and even strangers (of course, after asking permission first, since personal boundaries are important).
National Veep Day is observed in the United States annually on August 9. It was created to raise awareness of the presidential line of succession in the US and commemorate the day when Gerald Ford succeeded Richard Nixon as the president of the United States.
Roll Cake Day (Rulltårtans Dag), also known as Swiss Roll Day, is celebrated in Sweden on August 9. It has been observed annually since 2012 in honor of a delicious sponge cake that is popular in many parts of the world.
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is an official United Nations observance held on August 9 each year. It was first proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1994 and has been celebrated every year ever since.
Festivals on August 9, 2021
- Singapore National Day Parade in Singapore, Singapore
- Medieval Week on Gotland in Visby, Sweden
- Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire in Bonney Lake, USA
- Edinburgh International Festival in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in Lorient, France
- Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in Manila, Philippines
- Electric Castle in Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Bogotá International Book Fair in Bogotá, Colombia
- Yaga Gathering in Valkininkai, Lithuania
- Melbourne International Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia
- Minnesota Fringe Festival in Minneapolis, USA
- Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada
- Locarno Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland
- Bristol International Balloon Fiesta in Bristol, United Kingdom
This Day in History
- 2024 Died: Susan Wojcicki, American business executive who was the chief executive officer of YouTube from 2014 to 2023. She was also involved with the creation of Google.
- 2014 Michael Brown, a 18-year-old black man from Ferguson, Missouri, was shot and killed by a police officer, sparking protests and unrest.
- 2012 Died: Al Freeman, Jr., American actor, director and educator primarily remembered for his role as police captain Ed Hall on One Life to Live.
- 2000 Died: John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist who was co-awarded the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
- 1999 Born: Deniss Vasiļjevs, Latvian figure skater. As of 2024, he is the 2022 European bronze medalist, a four-time ISU Challenger Series medalist, and a six-time Latvian national champion.
- 1996 Died: Frank Whittle, English Royal Air Force engineer air officer. He is remembered for developing the concept of the turbojet engine.
- 1990 Born: Bill Skarsgård, Swedish actor. He is best known for portraying Pennywise in the horror films It and It Chapter Two, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name.
- 1986 Freddie Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place at Knebworth Park in North Hertfordshire, England. He died 5 years later.
- 1985 Born: Anna Kendrick, American actress and singer known for her roles as Natalie Keener in Up in the Air and Beca Mitchell in the Pitch Perfect films.
- 1983 Born: Dan Levy, Canadian actor and filmmaker. He received international prominence for starring as David Rose in the sitcom Schitt's Creek, which he co-created with his father, Eugene Levy.
- 1976 Born: Audrey Tautou, French actress and model who achieved international recognition for her role as Amélie Poulain in the 2001 film Amélie.
- 1975 Died: Dmitri Shostakovich, prominent Soviet composer and pianist. His works include numerous orchestral, chamber and piano pieces.
- 1974 As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the first President of the United States to resign from the office.
- 1971 British Army launched Operation Demetrius in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It involved arrest and internment of 342 people.
- 1969 Died: Sharon Tate, American actress and model, Roman Polanski's wife. She was murdered in her own house, two weeks from giving birth.
- 1968 Born: Eric Bana, Australian actor. His film credits include Black Hawk Dawn, Hulk, Troy, Munich, Star Trek, Lone Survivor, Deliver Us from Evil, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and more.
- 1968 Born: Gillian Anderson, American actress of stage and screen best known for her role as FBI Agent Dana Scully on the sci-fi series The X-Files.
- 1963 Born: Whitney Houston, renowned American singer actress, model and producer. Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all time.
- 1962 Died: Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. He was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1959 Born: Michael Kors, American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, and was the first women's ready-to-wear designer for the French house Celine.
- 1957 Born: Melanie Griffith, American film, television and theater actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Holly Body in the 1984 film Body Double.
- 1948 Died: Hugo Ferdinand Boss, the founder of the clothing company Hugo Boss. He was notorious for his support of Nazism during WWII.
- 1944 The US Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council released the first poster featuring the advertising mascot known as Smokey Bear.
- 1942 The British arrested Mahantma Gandhi and the entire Congress Working Committee in Bombay. Ghandi was imprisoned for two years.
- 1942 Walt Disney's fifth full-length animated film Bambi was released in London during WWII. It lost money at the box office for its first release.
- 1930 Betty Boop, an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, made her debut appearance in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes.
- 1919 Died: Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian opera composer. He is best known for his opera Pagliacci, which is his only opera that is still widely staged.
- 1919 Died: Ernst Haeckel, German naturalist, biologist, physician and philosopher who discovered and described thousands of new species.
- 1914 Born: Tove Jansson, renowned Swedish-speaking Finish novelist, painter and illustrator best known as the author of the Moomin books for children.
- 1911 Born: William Alfred "Willie" Fowler, American nuclear physicist and astrophysicist who was co-awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics.
- 1899 Born: P. L. Travers (born Helen Lyndon Goff), Australian-born English novelist, journalist and actress best known for her books about Mary Poppins.
- 1896 Born: Jean Piaget, Swiss philosopher and developmental psychologist primarily remembered as the creator of genetic epistemology.
- 1830 Louis Philippe I was crowned King of the French. He reigned for 18 years and was forced to abdicate during the 1848 February Revolution.
- 1776 Born: Amedeo Avogadro, Italian scientist primarily remembered for his contributions to molecular theory, including Avogadro's law.
- 1516 Died: Hieronymus Bosch (born Jheronimus van Aken), Dutch painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school.
- 1173 The foundations of the campanile (freestanding bell tower) of the Cathedral of Pisa were laid. Today it is known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.