Holidays Calendar for August 14, 2023
Independence Day is one of the secular public holidays celebrated in Pakistan. It is observed on August 14 to commemorate the independence of Pakistan from the United Kingdom (as the Dominion of Pakistan).
August 14 is celebrated as Anniversary Day in Tristan da Cunha. This public holiday commemorates the day the United Kingdom made the archipelago a British colony in 1816.
August 14 is Oued Ed-Dahab Day in Morocco. This public holiday is also known as Oued Ed-Dahab Allegiance Day. It commemorates the day Morocco recovered the southern province of Oued Ed-Dahab from Mauritania.
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.
World Lizard Day is celebrated annually on August 14. It is unclear who exactly invented this unofficial holiday and why they chose this date, but does it really matter? What matters is that all lizard enthusiasts have an excuse to celebrate their favorite reptiles.
August 14 is Engineer’s Day in the Dominican Republic. Every year the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA) is responsible for organization of special festive events for all engineers.
Energy Industry Employee’s Day (Dzień Energetyka), sometimes translated as Power Engineer’s Day, is celebrated in Poland on August 14 every year. It was created to celebrate the contribution of all people working in the country’s energy industry.
In the middle of South Africa, there is a small town named Orania that was founded by Afrikaners (descendants of Dutch, German and French settlers). Oranians do not recognize South African national holidays and celebrate their own holidays instead. One of these holidays is Language Day (Taaldag), observed annually on August 14.
Victory over Japan Day, also known as V-J Day, is the anniversary of the day on which Japan surrendered in the Second World War. It is observed on August 14 or August 15, depending on the time zone.
On August 14, Indonesian scouts celebrate Pramuka Day. It commemorates the founding of the national Scouting organization of Indonesia, Gerakan Pramuka, in 1961.
Islamic Resistance Day is an Iranian observance celebrated annually on August 14 (the 23th of Mordad in the Iranian calendar). It commemorates the end of the 2006 Lebanon War between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah paramilitary forces.
Falklands Day is a no longer official observance in the Falkland Islands celebrated on August 14. It commemorates the first sighting of the archipelago by John Davis in 1592.
Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is an official memorial day in India that is celebrated nationwide every August 14. It was established to commemorate the struggles and suffering of those who were affected by the partition of India in 1947.
National Navajo Code Talkers Day is observed annually on August 14. It was first proclaimed in 1982 to honor the contributions of Native Americans who served in the US military during the Second World War, using their native language to support the war effort.
August 14 is National Creamsicle Day in the United States. Creamsicle is a brand of frozen dessert owned by Unilever. It is part of the Popsicle product line along with Yosicle, Fudgsicle, and other frozen desserts.
The festival of Obon (or simply Bon) is one of the Japanese Buddhist custom. This festival is celebrated for three days: from August 13 to 15. Originally the festival was observed on the 15th day of the7th lunar month, but after transition to the Gregorian calendar the date of celebration is fixed.
Festivals on August 14, 2023
- Oslo Jazzfestival in Oslo, Norway
- Edinburgh International Book Festival in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Sarajevo Film Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing, Germany
- Edinburgh Art Festival in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Pluk de Nacht Film Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands
- International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada
- Boston’s Trinidad Style Carnival in Boston, USA
- Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary
- Kadayawan Festival in Davao City, Philippines
- Folklorama in Winnipeg, Canada
- Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire in Snohomish, USA
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Just Festival in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Edinburgh International Festival in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
This Day in History
- 2023 Former U.S. President Donald Trump was charged in Georgia in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state, his fourth indictment of 2023.
- 2022 A large explosion took place in the Surmalu shopping center in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. The explosion caused widespread destruction and fire, killed 16 people and injured 63.
- 2021 A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Tiburon Peninsula in the Caribbean nation of Haiti, killing over 2,000 people and causing a humanitarian crisis.
- 2013 The security forces of Egypt killed hundreds of demonstrators supporting former president Mohamed Morsi. The government of Egypt declared a state of emergency in the country.
- 2010 The first ever Youth Olympic Games opened in Singapore. The Games are organized by the International Olympic Committee and held every four years in staggered summer and winter events.
- 2007 At least 796 people were killed and 1,592 wounded in the Yazidi communities bombings when our coordinated suicide bombers detonated bombs in the towns of Kahtaniya and Jazeera in Iraq.
- 2005 Helios Airways Flight 522 en route from Larnaca, Cyprus to Prague, Czech Republic via Athens, crashed in the hills near Grammatiko, Greece. All 121 people on board (115 passengers and 6 crew members) were killed.
- 1996 Born: Brianna Hildebrand, best known for her roles in the television series The Exorcist and Lucifer, and for playing Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the Deadpool films.
- 1988 Died: Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, famous as the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile brand.
- 1984 Died: J. B. Priestley, English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His novels include The Good Companions, The Thirty-First of June, and more.
- 1983 Born: Mila Kunis, American actress. She is known for her roles in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Max Payne, The Book of Eli, Oz the Great and Powerful, Black Swan, and other films.
- 1972 Died: Oscar Levant, American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor.
- 1972 An East German Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft crashed in Berlin. The crash was caused by a fire that destroyed the tail section, making the aircraft uncontrollable. All 156 people on board were killed.
- 1966 Born: Halle Berry, American actress and former model model. For her performance in Monster's Ball, she became the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.
- 1963 Born: Emmanuelle Béart, French film and television actress, who has appeared in over 60 film and television productions since 1972. She won the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1986.
- 1960 Born: Sarah Brightman, English classical crossover soprano singer, actress, and dancer. She is known for originating the role of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera.
- 1958 Died: Frédéric Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist. In 1935 he shared a Nobel Prize in Chemistry with his wife Irène Joliot-Curie for the discovery of artificial radioactivity.
- 1956 Died: Bertolt Brecht, German poet, playwright, and director. He made great contributions to the post-war dramaturgy and theatrical production, and is known as the author of numerous plays.
- 1951 Died: William Randolph Hearst, American publisher and politician. He founded the largest newspaper chain in America and profoundly influenced American journalism.
- 1947 Born: American writer, best known for her romance novels. She is the bestselling living author and one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time, with over 800 million copies sold.
- 1945 Born: Steve Martin, American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for his work in comedy films, television, and recording, he has received many accolades, including an Honorary Academy Award.
- 1945 Japan accepted the Allied terms of surrender in World War II. The Emperor of Japan recorded the Imperial Rescript on Surrender. Due to time differences, this event took place in Japan on August 15.
- 1941 Died: Paul Sabatier, French chemist and academic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the improvement of the hydrogenation of organic species in the presence of metals in 1912.
- 1941 Died: Maximilian Kolbe, Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of another man in Auschwitz. He was canonized and declared a martyr in 1982.
- 1941 Born: Connie Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist, active since 1964. She is widely considered to be one of the best female vocalists in the United States.
- 1941 Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Atlantic Charter of war that defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. It was agreed on by all the Allies of WWII.
- 1936 The last public execution in the United States took place. Rainey Bethea, charged with raping and murdering a 70-year-old woman, was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky.
- 1933 Born: Richard R. Ernst, Swiss chemist and academic. In 1991, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions towards the development of Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
- 1909 Died: William Stanley, British inventor and engineer. During his lifetime he patented 78 inventions in the UK and in the USA. His work included the development and making of precision drawing and mathematical instruments.
- 1893 France introduced motor vehicle registration, becoming the first country to do so.
- 1867 Born: John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright. He is best known for his trilogy of novels collectively called The Forsyte Saga. He was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1863 Born: Ernest Thayer, American writer and poet who wrote the poem "Casey" (or "Casey at the Bat"), which is "the single most famous baseball poem ever written" according to the Baseball Almanac.
- 1742 Born: Pope Pius VII, born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramontil. Before the papacy he was a monk of the Order of Saint Benedict and a well-known theologian and bishop.
- 1464 Died: Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini. His longest and most enduring work is the story of his life, the Commentaries, which is the only autobiography of a pope ever to have been published.
- 1040 King Duncan I of Scotland was killed in a battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeded him and became the new King of Scotland.