Holidays Calendar for April 19, 2020

On April 19, Uruguay celebrates the anniversary of the Landing of the 33 Patriots, which marks the beginning of the country's struggle for independence. It was the 33 patriots, also known as the 33 Orientals, that sparked this struggle.

On April 19, Venezuela celebrates Beginning of the Independence Movement Day, also known as 19th April Day (Diez y nyeve de abril). On this date in 1810, the struggle for the country's independence began.

King's Birthday is one of the public holidays in the Kingdom of Eswatini, fomerly known as Swaziland. The current King of Eswatini Mswati III was born on April 19, 1968.

Easter is one of the most important feasts of the year for all Christians since it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus, which is a foundation of the Christian faith. Western and Eastern Christians celebrate Easter on different dates, depending on the calendar they use.

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The majority of Orthodox churches use the Julian calendar or the Revised Julian calendar for calculating movable feasts. They include Oriental Orthodox churches such as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Therefore, Easter in Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea coincides with Easter in many Eastern European countries.

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Brazilian Army Day (Dia do Exército Brasileiro) is celebrated on April 19. It commemorates the First Battle of Guararapes that was fought between the Dutch and the Portuguese on April 19, 1648.

Russian Printing Industry Day is a Russian professional holiday celebrated on April 19. It was officially established in April 2013 on the initiative of Russian printing industry professionals and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications.

Tajik Science Day is one of the official holidays celebrated in Tajikistan. It is observed annually on the third Sunday of April to highlight the achievements of Tajik scientists and emphasize the importance of science, technology and innovation for the country’s development.

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April 19 is Dutch-American Friendship Day in the USA. This day commemorates the anniversary of beginning diplomatic relations between the USA and the Netherlands.

Indian Day (Dia do Índio) is an official holiday in Brazil that recognizes and honors the indigenous peoples of Brazil. It was officially declared by President Getúlio Vargas in 1943. The holiday is observed annually on April 19.

Primrose Day is an unofficial observance held in Great Britain on April 19. It commemorates the anniversary of death of Benjamin Disraeli who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The Day of Adoption of Crimea, Taman and Kuban into the Russian Empire is an official observance in Russia celebrated on April 19. It was officially established by the Russian parliament in 2018.

On April 19, Cubans celebrate the anniversary of the Bay of the Pigs Invasion. It commemorates a failed landing operation by the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front backed by the United States government, which solidified Fidel Castro’s role as the new leader of the country.

National Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day is observed on April 19 to honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all people who were affected by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Although it is not recognized by presidential proclamation, remembrance services are held every year at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

Poland observes the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on April 19 every year. It commemorates the largest single revolt by Jews during the Second World War and one of the most significant events in Jewish history.

April 19 is National Amaretto Day. Sweet with a hint of bitterness, this Italian liqueur is popular all over the world. It can be drunk neat, used in cocktails, and added to coffee, desserts, pastries, sauces, and even savory dishes.

Bicycle Day is an informal celebration that marks the anniversary of the day when Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann intentionally ingested 250 micrograms of LSD. The first LSD trip occurred on April 19, 1943.

A lot of people think that National Rice Ball Day, which is observed annually on April 19, is dedicated exclusively to Japanese rice balls named onigiri. In reality, it celebrates a multitude of dishes from across the world that have two things in common: they are made from rice and shaped like a ball.

Garlic has been used in cooking and folk medicine for millennia, so if any vegetable deserves its own national day, it is definitely garlic. National Garlic Day is celebrated annually on April 19.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Action Day is an annual awareness campaign held on April 19. It aims to raise awareness of a birth defect of the diaphragm, which is a life-threatening pathology and a major cause of infant mortality.


This Day in History

  • 2023 Died: Moonbin, South Korean singer, actor and dancer under the label Fantagio. He was a member of the South Korean boy group Astro and its sub-unit Moonbin & Sanha.
  • 2020 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police shot and killed Gabriel Wortman, a 51-year-old man who had committed multiple shootings and set fires at 16 locations in Nova Scotia, killing 22 people.
  • 2013 Died: François Jacob, French biologist who was awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing it with André Lwoff and Jacques Monod.
  • 2011 Fidel Castro resigned from the Communist Party of Cuba central committee. Raúl Castro, his younger brother, was selected as his successor.
  • 2005 Died: Ruth Hussey, American actress who is primarily remembered for her role as Elizabeth Imbrie in the 1940 film The Philadelphia Story.
  • 1995 Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh detonated a bomb at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma city, killing 168 people.
  • 1989 Born: Simu Liu, Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Shang-Chi in Marvel Cinematic Universe. Liu's other notable credits include Kim's Convenience and Barbie.
  • 1989 Died: Daphne du Maurier, English author and playwright who is best known for her novels Rebecca, The Scapegoat, and Jamaica Inn.
  • 1987 The Simpsons premiered as a short cartoon on The Tracey Ullman Show. The show made its debut as an animated series in December 1989.
  • 1987 Born: Maria Sharapova, Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. She competed on the WTA Tour from 2001 to 2020 and was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA for 21 weeks.
  • 1984 The patriotic song "Advance Australia Fair" was adopted as the official national anthem of Australia, replacing "God Save the Queen".
  • 1982 Born: Ali Wong, American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong.
  • 1981 Born: Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the Star Wars media franchise.
  • 1979 Born: Kate Hudson, American actress who is known for her roles in the films Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Fool's Gold, and many others.
  • 1978 Born: James Franco, American actor, producer, writer, director, and teacher. He came to prominence due to his role in the series Freaks and Geeks.
  • 1968 Born: Ashley Judd, American actress and political activist who starred in the films Ruby in Paradise, Norma Jean & Marilyn, Where the Heart Is, and many others.
  • 1967 Died: Konrad Adenauer, German statesman who served as the first post-war Chancellor of Germany (West Germany) from 1949 to 1963.
  • 1960 South Korean students held a nationwide pro-democracy protest that eventually led to the overthrow of President Syngman Rhee and his autocratic government.
  • 1956 Hollywood actress Grace Kelly married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. They met during the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The couple had three children.
  • 1946 Born: Tim Curry, English stage, film, television and voice actor, singer, and composer who rose to prominence due to his role as Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
  • 1944 Born: James Heckman, American economist who was awarded the 2000 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, sharing it with Daniel McFadden.
  • 1943 The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. The resistance was crushed on May 16, and the ghetto was liquidated.
  • 1942 Born: Alan Price, English musician, singer-songwriter, and musical arranger best known as the original keyboardist for the British band The Animals.
  • 1933 Born: Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer), American stage, film, and television actress who was a major Hollywood sex symbol of the 1950s.
  • 1922 Born: Erich Hartmann, German fighter pilot during the Second World War. He is considered to be the most successful fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare.
  • 1912 Born: Glenn Theodore Seaborg, American chemist who was awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Edwin Mattison McMillan.
  • 1906 Died: Pierre Curie, French physicist who was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, and Henri Becquerel.
  • 1903 The first Kishinev pogrom began in Kishinev (Chișinău), the then capital of the province of Bessarabia in the Russian Empire. In two days, almost 50 Jews were killed.
  • 1882 Died: Charles Darwin, English naturalist and geologist who is mainly remembered for his contributions to evolutionary theory published in 1859.
  • 1881 Died: Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, British politician, statesman, writer, and aristocrat who served as Prime Minister of the UK twice.
  • 1824 Died: George Gordon Byron, commonly known as Lord Byron, a widely read and influential English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement.
  • 1775 The American Revolutionary War, also referred to as the American War of Independence, began. The first military engagements of the war were the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
  • 1768 Died: Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal), Italian landscape painter and printmaker. Many of Canaletto's works were sold to Englishmen.
  • 1689 Died: Christina, Queen of Sweden, Queen regnant of Sweden from 1633 to 1654. She caused a scandal by abdicating the throne and converting to Catholicism.
  • 1539 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Protestants signed the Treaty of Frankfurt. It stated that the emperor would not take any violent actions against Protestants.