Holidays Calendar for May 14, 2020
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.
The 21st day of the Islamic month of Ramadan is the day of death of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of prophet Muhammad. This day is highly honored in Iran and it's observed as Martyrdom of Imam Ali.
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.
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.
Apraxia Awareness Day is observed annually on May 14, during Apraxia Awareness Month. It was created to raise awareness of childhood apraxia of speech, a rare but severe motor speech disorder that affects an individual’s ability to speak.
International Chihuahua Appreciation Day is celebrated annually on May 14. This amazing holiday was created to celebrate one of the smallest (and cutest!) dog breeds that was named after the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
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.
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.
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.
Canadian Viral Hepatitis Elimination Day (CanHepDay) is observed annually on the second Thursday of May (Hepatitis Awareness Month). It was launched in 2022 to rise awareness of the dangers of viral hepatitis and the way it disproportionately affects marginalized communities.
Festivals on May 14, 2020
- International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in Oberhausen, Germany
- Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, Canada
- Prague Spring International Music Festival in Prague, Czech Republic
- Festival Accès Asie in Montreal, Canada
- World Amigurumi Exhibition in New York, USA
This Day in History
- 2021 The Chinese rover Zhurong successfully landed on Mars, making China the second country to operate a fully functional spacecraft on Martian surface, after the United States.
- 2019 Died: Tim Conway, American actor, comedian, writer, and director. He is perhaps best known as a regular cast member on the TV comedy The Carol Burnett Show.
- 2019 Died: Tardar Sauce, nicknamed Grumpy Cat, American internet celebrity cat known for her permanently "grumpy" facial appearance, which was caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism.
- 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.
- 1993 Born: Miranda Cosgrove, American actress and singer. She is best known for playing Megan Parker on Drake & Josh and Carly Shay on iCarly and its revival run.
- 1992 Born: Nava Mau, Mexican filmmaker, actress, writer and producer, known for appearing in the Netflix dark drama series Baby Reindeer and the HBO Max comedy Generation.
- 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 accident in the US history.
- 1987 Died: Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer. She 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.
- 1983 Born: Amber Tamblyn, American actress and author who first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera General Hospital as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11.
- 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 the 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 its 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 Valois, also known as Queen Margot, Queen consort of France and of Navarre. She was the last of the House of Valois.