Holidays Calendar for September 18, 2017

The Chilean people celebrate Independence Day, one of the national holidays, on September 18. Celebration of this holiday opens a series of festive events, that are awaited by children and adults, because many schools and companies have a week-long holiday.

Japan is known to be the country of long-living people. Elderly people are respected there and even have their own public holiday, that is known as Respect for the Aged Day. This holiday is annually observed on the third Monday in September.

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World Water Monitoring Day is observed on September 18 every year. This observance was established in 2003 by America's Clean Water Foundation to raise public awareness of the issues of pollution of water bodies.

International Read an eBook Day, also known as simply Read an eBook Day, is celebrated on September 18 every year. It was initiated by OverDrive, Inc., an American company that specializes in the digital distribution of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video titles.

World Bamboo Day is observed annually on September 18 to raise global awareness about bamboo and the importance of its sustainable cultivation and use. It was founded in 2009 by the World Bamboo Organization at the initiative of its then-president Kamesh Salam.

Astronomy Day is annually celebrated in Armenia on September 18. This observance was established by the government of Armenia to commemorate birthday of Victor Ambartsumian, an outstanding Armenian scientist, founder of theoretical astrophysics and national hero in Armenia.

Croatian Navy Day (Dan Hrvatske ratne mornarice) is celebrated annually on September 18. The holiday commemorates the first recorded Croatian naval victory that occurred in 887 as well as the naval battles of the Croatian War of Independence.

The birthday of the United States Air Force is observed annually on September 18. It commemorates the establishment of the U.S. Air Force as a separate branch of the country’s armed forces.

National Music Day is one of the national working holidays in Azerbaijan. It's annually celebrated on September 18, on birthday anniversary of Uzeyir Hajibeyov, the father of Azerbaijani music.

Persian Literature and Poetry Day is an annual cultural observance celebrated in the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 27th of Shahrivar (September 18 in the Gregorian calendar). Such a date was chosen to honor the memory of Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar, one of the most notable Iranian poets.

Island Languages Day is an annual observance held on the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. It is dedicated to the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands that have been labeled endangered by UNESCO.

Deceased Motorcyclists Remembrance Day, also known as Deceased Bikers Remembrance Day, is observed by the Ukrainian motorcycling community every September 18. It was created to honor the memory of all motorcyclists who died in accidents.

Don't forget to go out to your favorite local burger joint for lunch or dinner on September 18 as it is the National Cheeseburger Day. Cheeseburger is a variation of hamburger topped with cheese.

International Equal Pay Day is a United Nation observance celebrated annually on September 18. It was declared by a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 18, 2019 and celebrated for the first time in 2020.

National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day is a U.S. awareness day observed on September 18 every year. Like most HIV/AIDS-related awareness days, it is supported by HIV.gov, an internet portal for all federal domestic HIV and AIDS resources and information.

 

This Day in History

  • 2009 The final episode of The Guiding Light soap opera was broadcast. The Guiding Light was running for 72 years in the USA, becoming the longest-running drama in television in American history.
  • 2001 First letters containing the anthrax spores were delivered to several mass media offices and Democratic U.S. Senators. 5 people were killed and 17 others infected. These letters are known as anthrax attacks in the USA and they were connected to the September 11 attacks.
  • 1997 The United Nations received a 1-billion US dollars donation from Ted Turner, an American media magnate, the founder of CNN. His charity was aimed at broadening support for the UN.
  • 1987 Born: Américo Tomás, Portuguese admiral and politician, the third and the last president of the Estado Novo regime from 1958 till 1974. He was overthrown by the Carnation Revolution and exiled to Brazil in 1974.
  • 1980 Died: Katherine Anne Porter, American journalist, essayist, writer and activist. She is best known for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter, that brought her the Pulitzer Prize in 1965.
  • 1977 The photograph of the Earth and the Moon together were taken for the first time by Voyager 1, a space probe launched by NASA earlier on September 5 that year.
  • 1974 Born: Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by stage name Xzibit, American rapper, actor and television host. He is best known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, that brought him mainstream success. He also achieved success in the West Coast hip-hop scene.
  • 1974 Honduras was stricken by a hurricane Fifi. The region experienced winds up to 132 mph (212 km/h), at least 5,000 were killed.
  • 1973 Born: James Marsden, American actor, singer, former Versace model. He is best known for portraying Scott Summers/Cyclopes in the X-Men film series and for role in Superman Returns.
  • 1970 Died: Jimi Hendrix, American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His musical career spanned for only four years, but his is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music.The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.
  • 1967 Died: John Cockcroft, British physicist, known for his work of splitting the atomic nucleus, that was instrumental in development of nuclear power. This work brought him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951.
  • 1964 Died: Seán O'Casey, Irish dramatist and memoirist, the first Irish notable playwright to write about the Dublin working classes. He is best known for works Lament for Thomas Ashe, The Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the Paycock, The Silver Tassie, Red Roses for Me.
  • 1961 Died: Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat, economist, author, the 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (posthumously). He was named by John F. Kennedy to be "the greatest statesman of our century".
  • 1950 Born: Sampath Kumar, better known by screen name Vishnuvardhan, Indian film actor. He acted in over 220 films and was called the Phoenix of Indian Cinema.
  • 1947 The National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency were established in the United States under the National Security Act.
  • 1931 Died: Geli Raubal, Austrian half-niece of Adolph Hitler. Se was the second child and eldest daughter of Hitler's half-sister Angela Raubal. Geli was close to her uncle till her suicide.
  • 1907 Born: Edwin McMillan, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate for discovering and producing the transuranium element.
  • 1906 At least 10,000 people died due to a typhoon with tsunami, that hit Hong Kong.
  • 1905 Born: Greta Garbo, Swedish actress, international star and Hollywood's silent and classic era icon. She is ranked fifth in the list of greatest female stars of all time by the American Film Institute.
  • 1896 Died: Hippolyte Fizeau, French physicist, best known for measuring the speed of light in a Fizeau experiment.
  • 1888 Born: Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author. He was born as Archibald Belaney but he adopted the name of Grey Owl after taking on a first nations identity. He rose to prominence as a notable author, lecturer and one of the most effective apostles of the wilderness.
  • 1838 Born: Anton Mauve, Dutch painter, the leading member of the Hague School. He played a significant role in Realism movement and influenced on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh.
  • 1837 Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young founded Tiffany and Co. (the original name was Tiffany, Young & Ellis) in New York City. The store initially sold a wide variety of stationery items. In 1853 the company was renamed, when Tiffany took control over it, and the emphasis on jewelry was established.
  • 1830 Died: William Hazlitt, English writer, remembered for his essays and literary criticism. He was the greatest critic of his age, social commentator and philosopher. Now he is considered one of the great critics and essayist of the English language.
  • 1819 Born: Léon Foucault, French physicist, known for his demonstration of the Foucault pendulum, demonstrating the effect of Earth's rotation. He also made early measurement of the speed of light, discovered eddy currents and credited with naming the gyroscope.
  • 1809 The Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) opened in London for the second time after fire in 1808. The current building is the third theater on the site following the destructions in 1808 and 1856.
  • 1793 George Washington laid the first cornerstone of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Construction was completed in 1800.
  • 1783 Died: Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physician, remembered for important discoveries in diverse fields. He is considered to be the pre-eminent mathematician of the 18th century and one of the greatest mathematicians to have ever lived.
  • 1765 Born: Pope Gregory XVI (Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari), the last non-bishop to become a pope. He is known for his conservative and traditional point of view, that opposed democratic and modernist reforms in Europe, and efforts to strengthen the religious and political authority of the papacy.
  • 1709 Born: Samuel Johnson, English lexicographer and author, known for contributions to English literature. His major work was A Dictionary of the English Language, that became the first English dictionary. His work is valuable even today.