Holidays Calendar for October 20, 2019

Celebration of Revolution Day in Guatemala on October 20 is connected with the events of 1944, when Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán led military coup.

Heroes' Day is a national holiday in Kenya, that annually falls on October 20. Before 2010 this holiday had been known as Kenyatta Day and it honored late President of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta.

Sukkot is a seven-day Jewish holiday. Its celebration starts on the 15th day of Tishrei. Along with Pesach and Shavuot, it belongs to Shalosh Regalim (the Three Pilgrimage Festivals), on which the Israelites were required to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple.

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Arba'een is a Shia Muslim religious observance which is celebrated forty days after the Day of Ashura, falling on the 20th or 21st day of the Islamic month of Safar. It commemorates the martyrdom of Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali. Arba'een is a public holiday in Iran.

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The air traffic controllers around the world annually celebrate their own professional day on October 20. This is International Day of Air Traffic Controller, that was created to celebrate foundation anniversary of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) in 1961.

International Chefs Day falls every year on October 20. This international observance is considered to be a professional day of all chefs around the world. The holiday was established under initiative of World Association of Chef's Societies in 2004.

World Osteoporosis Day is annually observed on October 20. Observation of this day raises public awareness of osteoporosis and its dangers.

International Sloth Day was created to draw attention to an unusual animal that lives in Central and South America and needs protection since one of the six extant sloth species is endangered and another is vulnerable. It is observed annually on October 20.

World CRISPR Day was created to celebrate an amazing genome engineering technology that won a Nobel Prize in 2020. It is observed annually on October 20.

The leaders of the Russian Federation find it very important to revive and develop military traditions. Number of military professional days, including Signal Officers Day on October 20, have been established in order to achieve this goal.

Russians and Ukrainians, who are occupied in food industry, have their own professional day to organize celebration of work they do and receive congratulations. Their holiday annually falls on the third Sunday in October and it's called Food Industry Workers' Day.

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Road Sector Workers' Day is one of the professional days. It exists in the Russian Federation since 1996, and it's celebrated on the third Sunday in October.

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Forestry Workers Day is a professional holiday in the Republic of Kazakhstan, celebrated annually on the third Sunday of October. It was officially established by the government of Kazakhstan in 2017 to highlight the contribution of forestry workers to the country’s economy and environmental safety.

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Arbor Day is observed in the Czech Republic every year on October 20. This observance is celebrated since 2000.

Karva Chauth is a traditional Hindu festival celebrated by married women in North India. It takes place four days after the full moon (purnima) in the month of Kartika. Karva Chauth is an official holiday in the state of Himachal Pradesh, but only for female employees.

Mehregan is a fall and harvest festival celebrated in Tajikistan on the third Sunday of October. It originated from an ancient Zoroastrian and Persian festival of the same name, which is still celebrated in Iran 195 days after Nowruz.

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Belgrade Liberation Day is an annual observance celebrated in Serbia on October 20. Although it is not a public holiday or a non-working day, the anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade during World War II is marked with military parades and other events.

National Brandied Fruit Day is celebrated on October 20. Brandied fruit are made with sweet fruit (either fresh or dried) soaked and marinated in brandy and sugar. They are usually used as a topping on cakes, pies, or ice cream.

October 20 is a perfect day to treat yourself to some delicious soul food because it is National Chicken and Waffles Day. This unofficial but beloved food holiday celebrates one of the most iconic American food combinations.

Women of Vietnam have two holidays to celebrate – Mother's Day, coinciding with International Women's Day and Vietnamese Women's Day. The latter, that falls on October 20 every year, has a significant importance for the Vietnamese women.

Whereas most countries celebrate Mother's Day in May or June, Argentina is an exception. Mother's Day in Argentina is celebrated on the third Sunday in October.

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Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Ukraine is observed annually on October 20. It was inaugurated by President Leonid Kuchma in 2005 in order to promote breast cancer awareness and to facilitate the development of breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and research in Ukraine.

A lot of countries celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June, which is arguably the best known date of the holiday. However, some countries have chosen other dates to honor paternal bonds and fatherhood. For example, Father’s Day in Russia is observed on the third Sunday of October.

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This Day in History

  • 2022 Liz Truss announced her resignation as the leader of the Conservative party and as UK prime minister after 45 days in office. She was succeeded by Rishi Sunak a few days later.
  • 2014 Died: Oscar de la Renta, Dominican American fashion designer. He rose to prominence as one of the couturiers who dressed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. He worked with Lanvin and Balmain and founded Oscar de la Renta fashion house.
  • 2013 Died: Lawrence Klein, American economist, known for his work in creating computer models to forecast economic trends. In 1980 he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
  • 2012 Died: E. Donnall Thomas, American physician. In 1990 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology for development of cell and organ transplantation. He developed bone marrow transplantation as a treatment of leukemia.
  • 2011 Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was captured in his hometown of Sirte by the National Transitional Councils rebel forces. He was killed shortly after.
  • 1994 Died: Burt Lancaster, American actor, often regarded as one of the best actors of his generation. He received four Academy Awards nominations and won only one for work in Elmer Gantry. He also won a Golden Globe for his performance in The Birdman of Alcatraz.
  • 1991 25 were killed and 3,469 homes and apartments destroyed by the firestorm occurring on the hillsides of northern Oakland, California. The firestorm caused estimated $1.5 billion in damage.
  • 1984 Died: Paul Dirac, English physicist, remembered for his fundamental contributions to the early development of quantum mechanics as well as quantum electrodynamics. In 1933 he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory.
  • 1984 Died: Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech biochemist and pharmacologist. In 1947 he was awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of how glycogen is broken down and resynthesized in the body for use as a store and source of energy.
  • 1979 Born: John Krasinski, American actor and filmmaker. His best known directorial works include A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II, starring his wife Emily Blunt.
  • 1973 The Sydney Opera House opened to public. Nowadays the opera house is one of the most recognizable buildings of Sydney. Its building cost $102 million.
  • 1971 Born: Dannii Minogue, Australian singer, television personality, and actress who initially gained recognition for her television roles. She is the younger sister of Kylie Minogue.
  • 1971 Born: Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., best known by stage name Snoop Dogg, American singer and actor. He was discovered by Dr. Dre in 1992, since then ye sold over 35 million albums worldwide.
  • 1968 Former First Lady of the USA, Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. The wedding took place on Onassis's private island in the Ionian Sea, Greece.
  • 1967 Died: Shigeru Yoshida, Japanese politician, Prime Minister of Japan from 1948 to 1954. He headed the post-war Japan and in fact was the last prime minister of the Empire of Japan before it was abolished.
  • 1964 Born: Kamala Harris, American politician and attorney, the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president in U.S. history.
  • 1964 Died: Herbert Hoover, American politician, the 31st President of the United States of America. He served in office from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933.
  • 1958 Born: Viggo Mortensen, American actor, musician, painter, remembered for roles in films The Indian Runner, Crimson Tide, The Portrait of a Lady, A Walk on the Moon. He grew to prominence in the early 2000s with the role as Aragorn in the trilogy The Lord of the Rings.
  • 1955 Born: Thomas Newman, American composer, known for his numerous film scores, including Scent of a Woman, The Shawshank Redemption, Little Women, American Beauty, The Green Mile, Finding Nemo, WALL-E etc.
  • 1952 Governor Evelyn Baring declared a state of emergency in Kenya and began arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising. Among them was Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya.
  • 1946 Born: Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian playwright and novelist. In 2004 she was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • 1943 The cargo vessel Sinfra was attacked by Allied aircraft at Souda Bay, Crete. The vessel sunk, 2,098 Italian prisoners of war drowned with it.
  • 1942 Born: Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, German biologist. Her largest achievement of life is research on the genetic control of embryonic development, that brought her Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995.
  • 1935 Died: Arthur Henderson, British politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. He dedicated the last years of his life to trying to halt the upcoming war and worked with the League of Peace. In 1934 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions towards setting the peace in Europe.
  • 1923 Born: Enric Bernat, Spanish entrepreneur, founder of the Chupa Chups lollipop company.
  • 1910 The hull of the RMS Olympic, sister-ship to the ill-fated RMS Titanic, was launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The ship enjoyed a long career, serving 24 years.
  • 1904 Chile and Bolivia signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship. The treaty established the current border between the two countries.
  • 1891 Born: James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for discovery of the neutron in 1932. Chadwick headed the British team that worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.
  • 1873 The first code of American football rules was drafted by Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Rutgers universities.
  • 1854 Born: Arthur Rimbaud, French poet, whose works influenced various musicians, poets and writers. Rimbaud started writing at a very young age and stopped completely before he turned 21.
  • 1842 Died: Grace Darling, English heroine, the daughter of lighthouse keeper. She is famous for participation in the rescue of survivors from the shipwrecked Forfarshire in 1838.
  • 1819 Born: Siyyid Alí Muḥammad Shírází, Iranian religious leader, known by his title of Báb. He was the founder of Bábism, and one of the three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith.
  • 1818 The United States and the United Kingdom singed the Convention, that, among others things, settled the border between Canada and the United States on the 49th parallel for most of its length.
  • 1632 Born: Christopher Wren, English architect, one of the most highly acclaimed in the history. He is known for building 52 churches in the City of London, including St. Paul's Cathedral.