Holidays Calendar for October 24, 2026
People of Zambia celebrate Independence Day on October 24. This is the anniversary of declaration of independence of Zambia from Great Britain in 1964.
World Polio Day is observed on October 24. This observance was established by nongovernmental organization Rotary International in order to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, the developer of a vaccine against polio.
The International Day of Diplomats is celebrated annually on October 24, coinciding with United Nations Day. It was established in 2017 to highlight the role of diplomats in maintaining world peace.
Special Forces Day is an official professional day in the Russian Federation. This day is observed annually on October 24 by the personnel of the Russian Special Forces.
Diplomats of Kyrgyzstan have their own professional day to observe. This is Diplomatic Workers' Day, that annually falls on October 24.
Standardization and Metrology Employees Day is one of the numerous professional days in Kyrgyzstan. It is annually celebrated by the workers of this field on October 24.
Indonesian medical professionals celebrate their professional holiday twice a year: Indonesian Doctor Day, commonly known as National Awakening Day, is observed on May 20, and National Doctors Day falls on October 24.
The profession of a programmer is one of the most demanded, promising and rewarding these days, so it is not surprising that programmers have their own professional holiday, and even more than one. For example, Chinese programmers celebrate Programmer’s Day on October 24.
Trade Unions Day, also known as Trade Union Employees Day, is observed in Tajikistan annually on October 24. It was officially added to Tajikistan’s list of holidays in 2021.
Australian fauna is vastly different from that of the rest of the world. For example, about 70% of all marsupials are native to the Australian continent. National Kangaroo Awareness Day celebrates one of the most recognizable Australian marsupials.
Java Sparrow Day (Buncho no Hi) is observed in Japan on October 24 every year. It was created to celebrate cute birds that are native to Indonesia but are popular pets in Japan where they have been bred for many generations.
Rocket Engineer Remembrance Day is an unofficial memorial day observed in Baikonur, a Kazakhstan city rented and administered by Russia, serving the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It honors the victims of the Nedelin catastrophe that occurred on October 24, 1960.
Azad Kashmir Day in Pakistan is celebrated on October 24 every year. It is the foundation anniversary of Azad Jammi and Kashmir, a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing territory.
On October 24, have a bologna sandwich for lunch to celebrate National Bologna Day. This food-related holiday is dedicated to bologna sausage which is quite popular in the United States and Canada.
Many countries have designated various days as celebration of certain types of foods and dishes. Some food days have become, or were originally, global celebrations. For example, World Tripe Day is celebrated on October 24.
United Nations Day is observed every year on October 24. This observance was created to commemorate the anniversary of adoption of the Charter of the United Nations on October 24, 1948.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed October 24 to be World Development Information Day. This international observance was established on December 19, 1972.
There are many food holidays in the United States celebrating some certain food, dish or beverage. There is also Food Day, that is nothing like to the food holidays. This observance was initiated in 1975 by the Center for Science in the Public Interests to draw public attention to the problems of food in the USA. It's annually observed on October 24.
Brain Cancer Awareness Day is observed in Canada on October 24 every year. It was launched in 2018 to highlight the challenges in brain cancer treatment and promote the importance of increased research into brain tumors.
This Day in History
- 2022 Died: Leslie Jordan, American actor, comedian, writer and singer. He is known for his television roles on Hearts Afire, Will & Grace, American Horror Story, The Cool Kids, and Call Me Cat.
- 2007 China launched its unmanned lunar-orbiting spacecraft Chang'e 1, which was part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.
- 2003 British Airways retired its Concorde fleet. Concorde is a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet airliner that was in service from 1976 to 2003.
- 1989 Born: PewDiePie (Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg), Swedish YouTuber known for his comedic videos. From December 29, 2014 to February 14, 2017, his YouTube channel was the most-viewed on the platform.
- 1987 Born: Charlie White, American former competitive ice dancer. With partner Meryl Davis, he is the 2014 Olympic Champion and the 2010 Olympic silver medalist.
- 1986 Born: Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham), Canadian rapper and singer who has been credited with popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop.
- 1986 Jordanian terrorist Nezar Hindawi was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for attempting to place a bomb on an El Al flight in Heathrow airport, London.
- 1985 Died: Richie Evans, American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985.
- 1985 Born: Wayne Rooney, English professional football manager and former player who, as of 2024, is the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle.
- 1980 Born: Zac Posen, American fashion designer. Posen received his big break in 2000 at the age of 20, when he made a dress for Naomi Campbell.
- 1974 Died: David Oistrakh, Soviet violinist. He was well known outside the USSR and collaborated with orchestras and musicians from many countries.
- 1973 The first ceasefire was declared during the Yom Kippur War, also known as October War or Ramadan War. The war officially ended the following day.
- 1970 Born: Raúl Esparza, American actor and singer. One of Broadway's most prominent leading men, he is best known for his performance as Bobby in the 2006 Broadway revival of Company.
- 1969 Born: Emma Donoghue, Irish-Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and literary historian whose 2010 novel Room was an international bestseller and Booker Prize finalist.
- 1960 The so-called Nedelin catastrophe occurred at Baikonur test range, Kazakhstan, USSR. A prototype of a missile exploded, killing at least 78 people.
- 1958 Died: G. E. Moore, English philosopher. He was one of the bounders of the analytic tradition in philosophy, along with Russel and Wittgenstein.
- 1948 Died: Franz Lehár, Austro-Hungarian composer best known for his operettas. His most successful work is Die lustige Witwe ("The Merry Widow").
- 1947 Born: Kevin Kline, American actor. In a career spanning over five decades, he has become a prominent leading man across both stage and screen.
- 1945 The United Nation was established to promote international cooperation. It replaced the ineffective League of Nations, which was dissolved in 1946.
- 1944 Died: Louis Renault, French industrialist, pioneer of the automobile industry. He is primarily remembered as one of the founders of Renault S.A.
- 1939 Born: F. Murray Abraham, American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
- 1932 Born: Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist who was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Physics for his study of liquid crystals and polymers.
- 1932 Born: Robert Mundell, Canadian economist who was awarded the 1999 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his notable achievements.
- 1929 The most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States occurred. On "Black Tuesday", the market lost 11 percent of its value.
- 1925 Born: Ieng Sary, Cambodian politician, co-founder and senior member of the Khmer Rouge. Ieng Sary was known as "Brother Number Three".
- 1915 Died: Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and traveler known for his explorations of Central America, and for the pioneering use of photography.
- 1903 Born: Melvin Purvis, American law enforcement officer and FBI agent. He is noted for tracking Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger.
- 1882 Born: Emmerich (Imre) Kálmán, Hungarian composer known for his operettas, which include Die Csárdásfürstin and Das Veilchen vom Montmartre.
- 1862 Born: Daniel Swarovski (born Daniel Swartz), Austrian glass cutter and jeweler known for inventing an electric cutting machine for glass cutting.
- 1857 The football club Sheffield F.C. was founded in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It is the oldest club now playing association football.
- 1851 English astronomer William Lassell discovered two moons of Uranus and named them Ariel and Umbriel after Alexander Pope's characters.
- 1655 Died: Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher, priest, mathematician, astronomer, and scientist. The lunar crater Gassendi is named after him.
- 1648 The final treaty of the Peace of Westphalia was signed in Münster. It formally ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1632 Born: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch scientist, who is commonly known as "the Father of Microbiology". He is noted for improving the microscope.
- 1601 Died: Tycho Brahe (born Tyge Ottesen Brahe), Danish astronomer, astrologist, and alchemist. He is known for his accurate astronomical observations.
- 1537 Died: Jane Seymour, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. Jane Seymour was the king's only consort to be buried beside him.
- 996 Died: Hugh Capet, the firs King of the France of the House of Capet from 987 until his death. He succeeded the last Carolingian king, Louis V.