Holidays Calendar for May 14, 2016
National Unification Day, also known as Unification and Integration Day, is a Liberian public holiday celebrated annually on May 14. It is meant to ease tensions between the indigenous majority and the Americo-Liberian elite.
Kamuzu Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Malawi celebrated on May 14. It honors Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the country's first president who led Malawi to independence and ruled it for more than 30 years.
The King's birthday is one of the national holidays in Cambodia. The reigning King of Cambodia Norodom Shiamoni was born on May 14, 1953. The festivities last for three days, from May 13 to May 15.
The independence of Paraguay from Spain was declared on May 1811 after a bloodless revolution led by José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. Paraguay Independence Day is a public holiday celebrated for two days on May 14–15.
Buddha's birthday is a holiday observed by Mahayana Buddhists. It celebrates the birthday of Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. In many east Asian countries (except Japan) it is celebrated on the 8th day of the 4th month in the Chinese calendar.
On May 14 (May 1 in the Julian calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Feast of Saint Tamar. This feast day honors Queen Tamar the Great who ruled Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Her reign is considered the culmination of the Georgian Golden Age.
World Fair Trade Day is an annual observance held on the second Saturday in May. It is held by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), a global association of more than 300 hundred organizations that promote fair trade.
International Dylan Thomas Day, also known as Dylan Day (Dydd Dylan), is observed annually on May 14. It celebrates the life and legacy of the renowned Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas, who is widely regarded as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century.
Astronomy Day is a bi-annual event, that is observed by astronomy enthusiasts, groups and professionals. The event originally started in the USA, but it spread to the other countries.
World Belly Dance Day, also spelled World Bellydance Day, is observed annually on the second Saturday of May. It was created to raise awareness of the ancient art of belly dance and dispel common misconceptions surrounding it.
Engineer's Day is celebrated in Chile every year on May 14. This professional holiday was established only in 2008.
Thai Buffalo Conservation Day is observed annually on May 14. It was established by the Thai government in March 2017 in order to raise awareness of the decline of the water buffalo population and the importance of protecting water buffaloes.
Russian counterpart of Arbor Day is called National Forest Planting Day. It is celebrated on the second Saturday in May. The campaign was launched in 2011 by the Federal Forestry Agency and has been held annually ever since.
World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is an annual awareness campaign held on the second weekend in May. It is supported by the United Nations Environment Program as well as a number of international organizations.
Many countries around the world celebrate only one Arbor Day during the year. Mongolia is one of the few countries, that celebrates National Tree Planting Day twice a year. The tree planting events are organized on the second Saturday in May and October respectively.
National Mills Day in the Netherlands is celebrated on the second Saturday in May. On this day, may wind- and watermills open their doors to general public.
Tobacco Fatwa Day is an Iranian commemoration held on May 14 (the 24th of Ordibehesht in the Solar Hijri calendar). It was established to commemorate an important event in the movement that culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911.
Righteous Among the Nations Remembrance Day, also known as the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who Saved Jews During World War II, is an official observance in Ukraine. It was established by the Ukrainian parliament in February 2021 and observed for the first time on May 14, 2021.
May14 is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. It's time to celebrate biscuits, that go well with gravy.
National Cycling Day (Landelijke Fietsdag) is an informal observance in the Netherlands celebrated annually on the second Saturday in May.
Anti-Stalking Day is observed in Ukraine annually on May 14. It was launched by Amnesty International Ukraine to raise awareness of the problem of stalking and encourage victims of stalking to share their stories.
Festivals on May 14, 2016
- Tweed Run in London, United Kingdom
- La Ceiba Carnival in La Ceiba, Honduras
- Kyiv Comic Con in Kyiv, Ukraine
- BookCon in Chicago, USA
- Norfolk & Norwich Festival in Norwich, United Kingdom
- Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Canada
- Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Germany
- Ottawa Comiccon in Ottawa, Canada
- Motor City Comic Con in Novi, USA
- Karneval der Kulturen in Berlin, Germany
- Moers Festival in Moers, Germany
- FedCon in Bonn, Germany
- Nebula Awards (SFWA Nebula Conference) in Chicago, USA
- Cheung Chau Bun Festival in Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Turin International Book Fair in Turin, Italy
This Day in History
- 2015 Died: B.B. King (stage name of Riley B. King), American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist, regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
- 2014 Died: Stephen Sutton, English blogger and activist known for his blog Stephen's Story and his fundraising efforts for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
- 2012 Agni Air Flight CHT (Dornier Do 228) crashed near Jomsom Airport in Nepal, killing 15 of 21 people on board, including both pilots.
- 2009 The Herschel Space Observatory was launched by the European Space Agency. It was the largest infrared telescope ever launched.
- 1998 Died: Frank Sinatra, American singer, actor, director, and producer. Having sold more than 150 million records worldwide, he is one of the best-selling artists of all time.
- 1988 In Kentucky, a drunk driver in a pickup collided head-on with a church bus, killing 27 people. It was the deadliest drunk driving in the US history.
- 1987 Died: Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer. He is one of six women who are known to have danced on screen with both Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.
- 1984 Born: Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur best known for having co-founded the social networking website Facebook.
- 1980 Died: Hugh Griffith, Welsh stage, film, and television actor whose career spanned more than 40 years. He is best known for his role as Sheik Ilderim in Ben-Hur.
- 1973 Skylab, the United States' first space station, was launched by NASA at the Kennedy Space Center. It orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979.
- 1971 Born: Sofia Coppola, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actress. In 2003, she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
- 1970 Died: Billie Burke, American actress who is primarily remembered for her role as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
- 1969 Born: Cate Blanchett, Australian award winning actress who rose to prominence thanks to her role as Elizabeth I of England in 1998 film Elizabeth.
- 1961 Born: Tim Roth, English film and television actor and director. He is known for appearing in Tarantino's films and his role as Cal Lightman on Lie to Me.
- 1955 Eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union, signed the Warsaw Pact, a collective defense treaty.
- 1952 Born: Robert Zemeckis, American director, producer, and screenwriter whose best known works include the Back to the Future trilogy and Forrest Gump.
- 1948 David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of Israel. The following day, Israel was attacked by four neighboring Arab countries (Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Transjordan).
- 1944 Born: George Lucas, American film director, producer, and screenwriter best known as the creator of the epic space opera franchise Star Wars.
- 1943 Died: Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and president of the International Peace Bureau who was awarded the 1913 Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1939 Peruvian girl Lina Medina became the youngest mother in medical history, giving birth at the age of 5 years, 7 months and 17 days.
- 1931 Died: David Belasco, American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright who helped launch Mary Pickford's theatrical career.
- 1925 Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway was first published. It describes a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a high-society English woman.
- 1925 Born: Oona O'Neill, the fourth and last wife of Charlie Chaplin. She was the daughter of the renowned American dramatist Eugene O'Neill.
- 1919 Died: Henry J. Heinz, American entrepreneur of German descent who is best known for having founded the H. J. Heinz Company.
- 1897 Born: Sidney Bechet, American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer who is considered one of the first important soloists in the history of jazz.
- 1804 The Lewis and Clark Expedition departed from Camp Dubois near St. Louis on the Mississippi River, beginning the voyage to the Pacific coast.
- 1796 English physician Edward Jenner administered the first smallpox vaccination. The first person given the vaccine was his gardener's son James Phipps.
- 1771 Born: Robert Owen, Welsh social reformer primarily remembered as one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.
- 1643 Died: Louis XIII of France, King of France and King of Navarre (as Louis II). During his rule, the crown of Navarre was merged to the French crown.
- 1610 Died: Henry IV of France, King of Navarre (as Henry III) and King of France. He was the first French monarch of the House of Bourbon.
- 1553 Born: Margaret of France, also known as Queen Margot, Queen consort of France and of Navarre. She was the last of the House of Valois.