Holidays Calendar for May 24, 2018

Saint Cyril and Methodius Day is observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church twice a year: on May 11 and 24. The most popular day for celebration is May 24.

The islands of Bermuda celebrate Bermuda Day on May 24. If the day of the holiday falls on weekend, it's moved to the weekday nearest to May 24.

The residents of Ecuador annually observe Battle of Pichincha Day on May 24. The battle took place on the slopes of the Pichincha volcano next to the city of Quito on May 24, 1822.

Independence Day is one of the most important public holidays in Eritrea. One of the world’s youngest independent nations, Eritrea celebrates its independence from Ethiopia on May 24. On this day in 1991, the forces of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front triumphantly entered the country’s capital of Asmara.

Belize annually observes Commonwealth Day on May 24. This holiday is also known as Sovereign's Day.

World Schizophrenia Day is observed annually on May 24. It was created to educate people about this mental disorder and combat common misconceptions and stigma associated with schizophrenia.

International Women’s Day for Peace and Disarmament is observed annually on May 24. It was established in the early 1980s to protest the buildup of arms and nuclear weapons and unite women from all over the world in the struggle against militarism.

National Aviation Maintenance Technician Day, also known as simply Aviation Maintenance Technician Day, is a annual observance created to recognize aviation professionals whose contribution is often overlooked.

European Day of Parks is celebrated on May 24 every year. This ecological observance was created by EUROPARC Federation in 1999.

Lubiri Memorial Day is observed on May 24 in Buganda, a traditional kingdom located in present-day Uganda. On this day in 1966, the royal compound of the king of Buganda was destroyed during the Battle of Mengo Hill.

National Escargot Day is celebrated annually on May 24. If you've never had this dish, today you've got a great reason to try.

Pansexual Visibility Day, also known as Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day, is celebrated on May 24. It was created to increase the visibility of people who can experience sexual, romantic or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their biological sex or gender identity.


This Day in History

  • 2010 Died: Paul Gray, American musician best known as one of the founding members and the bassist of the heavy metal band Slipknot.
  • 2008 Died: Rob Knox, English actor who played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He was stabbed to death at age 18.
  • 2008 Died: Dick Martin, American comedian and director best known for co-hosting the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
  • 2006 Two Russian Internet entrepreneurs, Alexandre Koriakine and Evgeniy Saveliev, launched Wikimapia, an open-content collaborative mapping project.
  • 2001 During a wedding at the Versailles wedding hall in Jerusalem, a large portion of the third floor of the building collapsed, killing 23 people.
  • 1999 Former President of Serbia and Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević and four others were indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.
  • 1995 Died: Harold Wilson, British politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976.
  • 1991 Israel carried out a covert military operation known as Operation Solomon, evacuating more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 36 hours.
  • 1982 Iranian troops recaptured the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War, pushing Iraqi forces back to border.
  • 1974 Died: Duke Ellington, American pianist, composer, and bandleader of jazz orchestras. In 1999, he was posthumously awarded a special Pulitzer Prize.
  • 1973 Born: Dermot O'Leary, British television and radio presenter DJ and comedian best known for being the presenter of The X Factor on ITV.
  • 1960 Born: Guy Fletcher, English multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and record producer best known as the keyboardist in the rock band Dire Straits.
  • 1956 The first Eurovision song contest was held in the town of Lugano, Switzerland. It is organized by the European Broadcasting Union.
  • 1953 Born: Alfred Molina, English actor known for his roles in such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Boogie Nights, The Da Vinci Code, The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
  • 1949 Died: Alexey Shchusev, Soviet architect who is primarily remembered for having created Lenin's Mausoleum situated in Red Square in Moscow.
  • 1945 Died: Robert Ritter von Greim, German pilot and Field Marshal, the last commander of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) during World War II.
  • 1943 Born: Gary Burghoff, American stage, television and film actor best known for his role as Radar O'Reilly on the acclaimed TV series M*A*S*H.
  • 1941 The last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy HMS Hood was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck during the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
  • 1941 Born: Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman), American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and author whose career spans more than 50 years.
  • 1940 Born: Joseph Brodsky, Russian and American poet, essayist, translator, and professor who was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • 1938 Born: Tommy Chong, Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and author best known for his participation in the comedy duo Cheech & Chong.
  • 1905 Born: Mikhail Sholokhov, Soviet novelist who was awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. His best known work is And Quiet Flows the Don.
  • 1901 Born: Victoria, Queen of of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign is referred to as the Victorian era.
  • 1856 John Brown and a band of abolitionist settlers killed five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas (the Pottawatomie massacre).
  • 1844 Samuel Morse sent the first telegram ever from the Supreme Court chamber in Washington, D.C., to the B&O's Mount Clare Station in Baltimore.
  • 1743 Born: Jean-Paul Marat, French physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career as a radical journalist during the French Revolution.
  • 1734 Died: Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician, chemist, and philosopher best known for his works on the hypothetical element phlogiston.
  • 1689 The English Parliament passed the Act of Toleration, allowing freedom of worship to Protestants. It purposely did not apply to Catholics, nontrinitarians and atheists.
  • 1632 Died: Robert Hues, English geographer and mathematician whose best known work is Tractatus de globis et eorum usu published in 1594.
  • 1543 Died: Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer who is most famous for having formulated the heliocentric model of the Universe.