Holidays Calendar for October 16, 2023
National Heroes' Day is observed in Jamaica on the third Monday in October. This day commemorates all national heroes and key figures from the history of Jamaica.
The Day the Maldives Embraced Islam is a public holiday in the Maldives. It is celebrated each year on the first day of the Islamic month of Rabi' al-thani.
Heroes and Forefathers Day is a public holiday in the British Virgin Islands, celebrated annually on the third Monday of October. It was established in 2021 to replace Saint Ursula’s Day.
People around the world celebrate World Anaesthesia Day on October 16 every year. Although many would think that this is a holiday for medical professionals only, it is actually relevant to everyone, because every patient benefits from painless surgical treatment.
World Bread Day is an international observance celebrated on October 16 every year. It was initiated by the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC). The observance is dedicated to a staple food that has been of important around the world since the dawn of agriculture.
World Restart a Heart Day is an international awareness campaign held in numerous countries on October 16. Its main goal is to highlight the importance of bystander CPR and to encourage people to learn CPR. The observance was initiated by the European Resuscitation Council with the support of the European Parliament.
World Spine Day is celebrated every October 16. It was created to raise awareness of the importance of spinal health, as well as to encourage people to seek professional help for back pain and other spine-related health issues.
Armenian Press Day is an official professional day of all employees of printed matters in Armenia. This holiday annually falls on October 16, that is a publishing anniversary of the first Armenian magazine Azdarar in 1794.
Air Force Day is one of the professional days in Bulgaria, it's annually celebrated on October 16 since 1963. This holiday has a long history, that can be traced to the beginning of the 20th century.
Boss's Day is an annual secular holiday that focuses on strengthening the bond between employers and their employees. It is celebrated on October 16 in the United States, Canada and some other countries.
Teachers' Day is annually celebrated in Chile on October 16. This holiday has a long history and the date of celebration is often confused due to several changes.
Allergists and immunologists in Russia and some other former Soviet republics celebrate their professional holiday on October 16. Although Allergist Day hasn’t been officially recognized yet, it is sometimes referred to as World Allergist Day.
Tajik Cinema Day is celebrated annually on October 16. On this day in 1929, the footage of the arrival of the first train in Dushanbe (then Stalinabad) was screened for the first time; it is considered the birthday of Tajik cinema.
Dictionary Day, celebrated annually on October 16, is the perfect day to open a dictionary and learn a couple of new words. Although the holiday isn’t nationally recognized, it is sometimes referred to as National Dictionary Day.
Day of Pope John Paul II is a national holiday in Poland, that was created to celebrate the beginning of papacy of Pope John Paul II, a Polish priest, bishop and Cardinal.
Death Anniversary of Liaquat Ali Khan is one of the national holidays in Pakistan. It's annually falls on October 16.
Anniversaries and Memorial Days →
South Korea
Bu-Ma Democratic Protests Commemoration Day in South Korea
Bu-Ma Democratic Protests Commemoration Day is observed in South Korea every year on October 16. It commemorates the 1979 Busan-Masan Uprising, abbreviated as Bu-Ma Uprising, that was suppressed by Park Chung Hee’s dictatorial regime.
Oroquieta City Day (Araw ng Lungsod ng Oroquieta) is a special non-working holiday in the Philippine city of Oroquieta, Misamis Occidental. It is celebrated annually on October 16.
October 16 is National Liqueur Day. Liqueurs are alcoholic beverages made from a distilled spirit bottled with added sugar and flavored with herbs, spices, fruit, nuts, cream, or even flowers. Liqueurs should not be confused with flavored liquors, which contain to added sugar or other sweetener.
World Food Day is observed in over 150 counties around the world every year on October 16. This observance was created in November 1979 and the first events were organized in 1980.
Festivals on October 16, 2023
- VGIK International Student Festival in Moscow, Russia
- International Computer Music Conference in Shenzhen, China
- Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy
- British Urban Film Festival in London, United Kingdom
- EuroChocolate in Perugia, Italy
- Freimarkt in Bremen in Bremen, Germany
- Caribbean Food and Wine Festival in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
- Chicago International Film Festival in Chicago, USA
- Film Fest Gent in Ghent, Belgium
- Screamfest Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles, USA
- International Alba White Truffle Fair in Alba, Italy
- Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission, USA
- Festival Kreol in Seychelles in Victoria, Seychelles
- CinEast Film Festival in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- Melbourne Fringe Festival in Melbourne, Australia
This Day in History
- 2024 Died: Liam Payne, English singer who rose to fame as a member of the pop boy band One Direction. He fell from a third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 2023 Died: Martti Ahtisaari, Finnish politician, the tenth president of Finland from 1994 to 2000. He won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve international conflicts.
- 2012 Storm Ophelia struck the United Kingdom and Ireland, killing at leas three people, all of whom were in Ireland. It was the worst storm to affect Ireland in 50 years.
- 2012 A team of European observers announced the discovery of Alpha Centauri Bb, a possible extrasolar planet orbiting the K-type main-sequence star Alpha Centauri B.
- 2007 Died: Barbara West, English survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. She was the last living survivor that traveled second-class on the ship.
- 2002 The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was officially inaugurated in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. This library was built to commemorate the lost in antiquity Library of Alexandria.
- 1997 Born: Naomi Osaka, Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles.
- 1997 Born: Charles Leclerc, Monégasque racing driver racing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari (as of 2023). He made his Formula One debut in 2018 for Sauber, a team affiliated with Ferrari.
- 1996 At least 83 football fans were killed and more than 180 were injured in a crowd disaster minutes before a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification match between Guatemala and Costa Rica in Guatemala City.
- 1991 Died: Ole Beich, Danish musician, best known as the bassist for the original lineups of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses. He played only one show with Guns N' Roses before quitting the group.
- 1983 Born: Loreen (born Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui), Swedish singer and songwriter who won the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 2012 with "Euphoria" and in 2023 with "Tattoo".
- 1978 Polish mountain climber Wanda Rutkiewicz became the first Pole, the third woman, and the first European woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 1975 The last case of the naturally occurring Variola major smallpox was reported in the village of Kuralia, Bangladesh. Three-year-old Rahima Banu made a full recovery.
- 1968 United States athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a gesture interpreted as a Black Power salute during the medal ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Mexico.
- 1964 China detonated its first nuclear weapon, known as 596 or Chic-1, at the Lop Nur test site. With this test China became the 5th nuclear power.
- 1962 Born: Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian operatic baritone. He came to international prominence in 1989 when he won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
- 1962 Born: Michael Peter Balzary, better known by his stage name Flea, American musician, the bassist and one of the founding members of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- 1959 Died: George Marshall, American army officer and statesman. While serving as Secretary of State, he advocated for a U.S. economic and political commitment to post-war European recovery, including the Marshall Plan.
- 1958 Born: Tim Robbins, American actor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his roles in Bull Durham, Jacob's Ladder, The Player, The Shawshank Redemption, and Mystic River.
- 1951 Died: Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistani politician, one of the leading founding fathers of modern Pakistan and its first Prime Minister. He was assassinated.
- 1948 Born: Hema Malini, Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is probably best known for her dual role in the Hindi-language comedy drama film Seeta Aur Geeta.
- 1946 Nine condemned defendants from the first Nuremberg trial, including Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Joachim von Ribbentrop, were hanged at Nuremberg Prison.
- 1927 Born: Günter Grass, German author, visual artist, and sculptor, best known for his novel The Tin Drum. In 1999 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1925 Born: Angela Lansbury, British and American actress and singer. Her prolific career spanned eighty years and included various roles in film, television, and on stage.
- 1923 Walt Disney and his brother Roy Disney founded Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, now known as the Walt Disney Company.
- 1888 Born: Eugene O'Neill, American playwright, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His tragedy Long Day's Journey into Night is often included on lists of the finest American plays in the 20th century.
- 1886 Born: David Ben-Gurion, Israeli politician, known as the primary founder and the first Prime Minister of Israel. He was the first to sign the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
- 1869 The Cardiff Giant, a 10-foot tall purported "petrified man", was uncovered by workers digging a well in Cardiff, New York. It was one of the most famous archeological hoaxes in US history.
- 1863 Born: Austen Chamberlain, He negotiated the Locarno Treaties, aimed at preventing war between France and Germany, for which he was awarded the 1925 Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1854 Born: Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
- 1841 Born: Itō Hirobumi, Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan. He chaired the bureau which drafted the Constitution for the newly formed Empire of Japan.
- 1834 The Palace of Westminster (the home of the British parliament) was largely destroyed by fire. It was the largest conflagration in London between the Great Fire of 1666 and the Blitz of WWII.
- 1793 Died: Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France prior to the French Revolution and the French First Republic as the wife of Louis XVI. She was executed by beheading by guillotine.
- 1758 Born: Noah Webster, American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education".
- 1555 Died: Hugh Latimer, English bishop and saint, a prominent figure in the English Reformation. He was burned at the stake for his "heresy", becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism.