Holidays Calendar for April 24, 2020
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, also referred to as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, is a public holiday in the Republic of Armenia observed on April 24. It is also commemorated by the Armenian diaspora throughout the world.
Concord Day is one of the twelve official public holidays recognized by the Government of Niger. It is celebrated annually on April 24. On this day, all government offices, educational institutions, and businesses are closed.
Democracy Day (Loktantra Diwas) is a public holiday in Nepal celebrated on April 24. It commemorates the restitution of the Nepal House of Representatives that took place on April 24, 2006.
Passover, also known as Pesach, is one of the most significant Jewish holidays. It commemorates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in ancient Egypt and the story of the Exodus. This festival commences on the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar and lasts for seven days in Israel and for eight days in the diaspora.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar observed as a month of fasting by Muslims all over the world. The first day of Ramadan is an official non-working day in Muslim countries and in some countries with a large Muslim population.
World Day for Laboratory Animals, also known as World Day for Animals in Laboratories or World Lab Animal Day, is an annual global observance held on April 24. It was established in 1979 by the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) based in the United Kingdom.
International Sculpture Day is an annual celebration established by the International Sculpture Center in 2015. It was created to raise awareness of sculpture as a form of art and help people learn more about famous sculpture masterpieces.
There are over 10,000 different wine grape varieties in the world. Some, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, are well-known even among people who drink wine only occasionally, while others are not so popular. For example, Viognier once used to be very common, but after nearly going extinct, it has gotten less attention than it deserves. International Viognier Day was created to raise awareness of this grape variety and encourage people to give Viognier wines a try.
Undiagnosed Children’s Awareness Day (UCAD), also known as Undiagnosed Children’s Day, is observed annually on the last Friday of April. It was created to raise awareness of thousands of children affected by undiagnosed or rare genetic conditions and the struggles their families face.
National Panchayati Raj Day, also known as National Local Self-Government Day, is a holiday in India celebrated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj on April 24. It was inaugurated by the 14th Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh in 2010.
The United States was one of the first countries in the world to celebrate Arbor Day, a holiday dedicated to tree planting. National Arbor Day in the USA is celebrated on the last Friday in April. Besides, each state celebrates its own state tree planting holiday.
National Hairball Awareness Day is observed annually on the last Friday of April. Primarily targeted at cat owners, it was created to raise awareness of trichobezoars and educate the general public on their prevention.
Space Day in China is celebrated annually on April 24. It was inaugurated in 2016 to emphasize the achievements of the Chinese space program. The date of the holiday was chosen to commemorate the launch of China’s first space satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, on April 24, 1970.
Kapyong Day is observed on April 24 in the Canadian and Australian armed forces. It commemorates the Battle of Kapyong, also known as the Battle of Jiaping, which was fought during the Korean War between United Nations Command and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.
Pigs in a blanket are a popular appetizer because they are easy to make, easy to eat, and, of course, delicious! Treat yourself to sausages wrapped in pastry on April 24 because it is National Pigs in a Blanket Day.
In December 2018, a new date was added to the calendar of the United Nations observances. Observed on April 24, the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace was established by a General Assembly resolution and held for the first time in April 2019.
Fashion Revolution Day is a global observance held on April 24. It was created to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion.
Festivals on April 24, 2020
- Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul, South Korea
- Docudays UA International Human Rights Film Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine
- Kyiv International Short Film Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine
- DetectiveFEST in Moscow, Russia
- Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival in Vancouver, Canada
- CPH:DOX Film Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark
- World Amigurumi Exhibition in New York, USA
This Day in History
- 2013 An eight-story commercial building collapsed near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. 1,129 people were killed and 2,515 were injured.
- 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
- 2004 Died: Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founder of the eponymous cosmetics company that produces skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products.
- 1997 Died: Eugene Stoner, American engineer, most commonly associated with the development of the AR-15 rifle, adopted by the US military as M16.
- 1992 Born: Jack Quaid, American actor best known for playing Hughie Campbell in The Boys and voicing Brad Boimler in Star Trek: Lower Decks. He is the son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid.
- 1990 A 48-year quarantine was lifted in Gruinard Island, Scotland, after it was officially declared free of the anthrax disease.
- 1982 Died: Ville Ritola, Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the "Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s.
- 1980 Born: Austin Nichols, American actor and director, best known for the role as Julian Baker in One Tree Hill. His film credits include The Day After Tomorrow, Wimbledon, The House of Usher.
- 1974 Born: Erik Kripke, American writer and television producer best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series Supernatural, The Boys, and Gen V.
- 1973 Born: Damon Lindelof, American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. He is best known as the creator and showrunner of Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen, and Mrs. Davis.
- 1972 Died: Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter, one of the most important artists in the history of the Philippines. He is well-known for his craftsmanship and mastery in the use of light.
- 1970 The Chinese launched their first satellite Dong Fang Hong I.
- 1968 Born: Aidan Gillen, Irish actor known for his roles in the original British version of Queer as Folk, The Wire, Love/Hate, Game of Thrones, and Peaky Blinders.
- 1964 Died: Gerhard Domagk, German pathologist and bacteriologist, the discoverer of Sulfonamidochrysoidine, the fist commercially available antibiotic. He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work.
- 1960 Died: Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate for the discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals.
- 1953 Born: Eric Bogosian, American actor, playwright, monologist, novelist, and historian. He is known for his plays Talk Radio and subUrbia as well as numerous one-man shows.
- 1953 Queen Elizabeth II knighted Winston Churchill, a British politician, writer, historian and artist.
- 1952 Born: Jean Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer. He was the creative director of Hermès and owns his own brand Jean Paul Gaultier.
- 1947 Born: Roger D. Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate for his studies of the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA.
- 1942 Died: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author, best known for her novels Anne of Green Gables, Par of Silver Bush, and The Story Girl.
- 1942 Born: Barbra Streisand, American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. During her career spanning over six decades, she has become an iconic figure in multiple fields of entertainment and won numerous awards.
- 1934 Born: Shirley MacLaine, American actress, singer, dancer, author, and activist. She has received numerous accolades over her eight-decade career, including an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and six Golden Globe Awards.
- 1933 Nazi Germany began its prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg. During the prosecution about 10,000 Witnesses were imprisoned, an estimated 1,200 died in custody.
- 1926 Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Berlin. Both sides pledged neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.
- 1923 The Ego and the Id (Das Ich und das Es) by Sigmund Freud was first published in Vienna. This study outlines Freud's theories of the id, ego and super-ego.
- 1905 Born: Robert Penn Warren, American poet, novelist, and literary critic. He received the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel for All the King's Men and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1958 and 1979.
- 1904 The ban within the Russian Empire on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet was lifted after almost 40 years.
- 1900 Born: Elizabeth Goudge, English author of novels, short stories and children's books. She is best known for her book The Little White Horse that won her the Carnegie Medal for Writing.
- 1880 Born: Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American engineer and businessman, best known as the developer of the zipper.
- 1877 The Russian Empire declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The Russo-Turkish War lasted for one year and resulted in the victory of the Russian-led coalition.
- 1852 Died: Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet, a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century.
- 1845 Born: Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet, Nobel Prize laureate in special appreciation of his epic Olympian Spring.
- 1743 Born: Edmund Cartwright, English clergyman and inventor, best remembered for the invention of the power loom.
- 1731 Died: Daniel Defoe, English journalist, writer, trader, and spy, best remembered for his novel Robinson Crusoe.
- 624 Died: Mellitus, the first Bishop of London in the Saxon period and the third Archbishop of Canterbury. He is venerated as a saint in several Christian churches.