Holidays Calendar for May 16, 2025
SPLA Day is a public holiday in South Sudan celebrated annually on May 16. It commemorates the formation of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
General Prayer Day (Store bededag) is a public holiday in Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands celebrated on the fourth Friday after Easter. The date always falls between April 17 and May 21 inclusive.
Lag Ba'Omer is a Jewish holiday observed on the 33d day of the Counting of the Omer, important counting of the days between the festivals of Passover and Shavuot, in other words between the anniversaries of the day the Jewish people left Egypt and the day God gave them Torah.
International Ezerjó Day is observed annually on May 16 to raise the profile of a lesser known Hungarian white wine grape variety that is prized locally but is very hard to find outside of Hungary.
International Virtual Assistants Day is observed on the third Friday of May every year. It was created to celebrate freelance professionals who help to keep businesses running from a remote location.
Biographer's Day is an informal celebration that honors authors who write accounts of other people's lives. It is observed on May 16. But why was this date set aside for celebration?
Teachers' Day in Malaysia is held annually on May 16. Although it is not an official school holiday, celebrations are typically held in schools throughout the country. If May 16 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is observed on the preceding Friday.
Border Guard Day (Święto Straży Granicznej) in Poland is an official professional holiday celebrated on May 16 every year. It was established in 1995 by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (the lower house of the Polish parliament).
Every third Friday of May is National Defense Transportation Day in the USA. This observance recognizes the contribution of men and women to the nation's well-being and defense.
National Endangered Species Day, also known as Endangered Species Day, is observed annually on the third Friday of May. It was created to raise awareness of thousands of species that are threatened by extinction and consolidate conservation efforts.
Mass Graves Day is an annual remembrance day in Iraq held on May 16. It commemorates the victims of Saddam Hussein's regime.
The Indian state of Sikkim celebrates its Statehood Day on May 16. On this day in 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union.
Some historic counties in the United Kingdom have a special observance set aside to celebrate their history and cultural heritage. Most often, county days either coincide with the observance of their patron saint’s day or commemorate an important historic event. For example, Middlesex Day, observed on May 16, marks the anniversary of the Battle of Albuera.
May 16 is National Coquilles St. Jacques Day. If you adore French cuisine and want to make something delicious, begin with scallops.
Barbecuing is a favorite summer pastime in many countries, including the United States. If you’re a fan of barbecue, fire up your grill on May 16 to celebrate National Barbecue Day.
National Mimosa Day is observed annually on May 16. It celebrates a signature brunch cocktail that is easy to make and immensely popular in many countries of the world.
Pizza is the ultimate party food because it’s delicious, convenient to serve and eat, and comes in so many different varieties that it’s easy to find a pizza for everyone (there’s even gluten-free pizza, so literally for everyone). If you agree with this statement, you absolutely should celebrate National Pizza Party Day on the third Friday of May.
On December 8, 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring May 16 the International Day of Living Together in Peace.
The International Day of Light is an annual UN observance that was officially established in 2017. It was created by UNESCO in order to promote international cooperation in the key fields of modern science that are one way or another connected with light and light technology.
Pink Shirt Day is an international anti-bullying campaign that originated in Canada and has since spread to other parts of the world. The first Pink Shirt Day in New Zealand, for example, was held in 2009. It is usually celebrated on the third Friday of May.
This Day in History
- 2014 Two improvised explosive devices were detonated in the Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya. At least 12 people were killed in these attacks.
- 2013 Died: Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist who was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Gerd Binning and Ernst Ruska.
- 2012 Died: Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer who is often referred to as the "Godfather of Go-go".
- 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy officially took office as President of France. He was the sixth president of the Fifth Republic and the 23th president in the history of France.
- 2003 Died: Mark McCormack, American lawyer, sports agent, and author primarily remembered as the founder of International Management Group.
- 1999 Born: Jayden Revri, English actor best known for his roles as Noah in The Lodge, Devin in Fate: The Winx Saga, and Charles Rowland in Dead Boy Detectives.
- 1997 Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), fled the country after being overthrown by Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
- 1993 Born: Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete. He is the second most successful male biathlete of all time in the World Cup with 85 individual World Cup victories, including at the Winter Olympics.
- 1990 Died: Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, tap dancer, actor, and musician. In 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
- 1990 Died: Jim Henson, American puppeteer, film director and producer, screenwriter, actor, and cartoonist. He is best known as the creator of The Muppet Show.
- 1990 Born: Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor best known for his roles in Love, Actually, Game of Thrones, the Maze Runner film series, Wolf Hall, The Queen's Gambit, and The Artful Dodger.
- 1986 Born: Megan Fox, American actress whose breakout role was as Mikaela Banes in Transformers, which she reprised in its sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
- 1984 Died: Irwin Shaw, American dramatist, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer whose best known works include The Young Lions and Rich Man, Poor Man.
- 1977 Born: Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress whose credits include Two and a Half Men, Castle Rock, Mrs. America, Candy, Yellowjackets, The Last of Us, and more.
- 1975 Japanese mountain climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In 1992, she also became the first woman to complete the Seven Summits.
- 1973 Born: Tori Spelling, American actress and author who is best known for her role as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210 created by her father.
- 1969 Born: David Boreanaz, American actor and producer known for his roles as Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel and as Seeley Booth on Bones.
- 1966 Born: Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and record producer. She is the youngest child of the famous Jackson family.
- 1961 Park Chung-hee and his allies carried out a military coup d'état in South Korea, overthrowing the Second Republic. The legacy of this coup is controversial.
- 1955 Born: Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast who won four gold and two silver Olympic medals. She was the first woman to perform a backflip on bars.
- 1953 American journalist William N. Oatis was released after spending 22 months in a Czechoslovakian prison. He had been charged with espionage.
- 1953 Died: Django Reinhardt, French guitarist and composer of Romani ethnicity. He is considered to be the first important European jazz guitarist.
- 1953 Born: Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor and film producer best known as the fifth actor to play the role of James Bond. He appeared in four James Bond films.
- 1944 Born: Danny Trejo, American actor known for his roles in From Dusk Till Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the Spy Kids franchise, and other films and TV series.
- 1943 The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ended when SS-Brigadeführer Jürgen Stroop personally pushed a detonator button to demolish the Great Synagogue of Warsaw.
- 1929 The first Academy Awards presentation was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. 15 statuettes were awarded during a fifteen-minute ceremony.
- 1923 Born: Merton Miller, American economist who was awarded the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, sharing it with two other economists.
- 1920 Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans. Her feast day is May 30; it is widely celebrated by many Catholics, especially in France.
- 1905 Born: Henry Fonda, American stage and film actor, the patriarch of a family of famous actors. His prolific acting career spanned over five decades.
- 1830 Died: Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist who is best known for his investigation of Fourier series. He is credited with the discovery of the greenhouse effect.
- 1818 Died: Matthew Lewis, English novelist and playwright. His best known work is the Gothic novel The Monk: A Romance, first published in 1796.
- 1770 14-year-old Marie Antoinette of Austria married 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France, who would later become King Louis XVI.
- 1718 Born: Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher. She is remembered for her study of the curve known as the Witch of Agnesi.
- 1703 Died: Charles Perrault, French author who laid the foundation for a new literary genre, the fairy tale. He is known for his interpretations of folk tales.