Holidays Calendar for August 31, 2013

National Language Day is one of the most important public holidays in the Republic of Moldova. It is celebrated on August 31. The Moldovan name of the holiday is Limba noastră, which means “Our Language”. It is also the name of the country's national anthem.

Independence Day in Kyrgyzstan is celebrated on August 31. It is a national holiday that commemorates the independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Independence Day (Hari Merdeka) is a national day of Malaysia that commemorates the independence of the Federation of Malaya from the United Kingdom. It is celebrated annually on August 31.

Independence Day of Trinidad and Tobago, a small island country in the Caribbean, is celebrated on August 31. On that day in 1962, Trinidad and Tobago proclaimed its independence from Great Britain.

The anniversary of the withdrawal of the last American soldier is one of the public holidays established by the Taliban government of Afghanistan. It is celebrated annually on August 31.

International Overdose Awareness Day is an annual awareness day held in many countries around the world. It honors the memory of people who died from drug overdoses. The main goal of this observance is to raise public awareness abound drug overdoses as one of the leading causes of death among drug users, as well as emphasize the importance of their prevention.

World Distance Learning Day is celebrated annually on August 31. It was created to dispel the stereotype that the classroom is the only place for successful education and raise awareness of the many forms of distance learning that exist today.

International Bat Night is held annually on the last full weekend of August. It takes place in more than 30 countries, primarily those covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Population of European Bats.

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African Traditional Medicine Day is celebrated annually on August 31. It was established by the World Health Organization to honor the importance of traditional medicine for African population and advocate for its integration into healthcare systems.

Celebration of Teachers' Day in many countries around the world is organized on different dates. This holiday is celebrated in Singapore annually on August 31.

Ukrainians, employed in civil aviation, celebrate their professional holiday, Aviation Day, on the last Saturday in August. This holiday was established by presidential decree in 1993.

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On the last Saturday of August, all Russian long-haul truck drivers celebrate their professional holiday. Although Long-Haul Truck Driver Day is not an official observance in Russia, it is supported by a number of large oil companies.

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Finnish Nature Day is an annual holiday dedicated to the uniqueness of Finland’s nature. It is celebrated on the last Saturday of August. In 2017, Finnish Nature Day was declared an official flag day, alongside holidays such as Mother’s Day and Kalevala Day.

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We Love Memoirs Day is celebrated by memoir authors and readers annually on August 31. The holiday was inaugurated in 2013 and has quickly spread across the globe.

Romanian Language Day (Ziua Limbii Române) is celebrated annually on August 31 both in Romania and by the Romanian diaspora around the globe, coinciding with National Language Day in neighboring Moldova.

August 31 is Memorial Day for the Victims of Repression in Uzbekistan. This remembrance day was officially established by President Islam Karimov in 2001.

Day of Solidarity and Freedom is a national holiday in the Republic of Poland celebrated on August 31. It commemorates the August Agreement of 1980. Despite its status as a national holiday, it is normally a working day, unless it falls during the weekend.

On August 31, most Malaysians celebrate Independence Day (Hari Merdeka), a national holiday commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaysia from the British Empire. However, the citizens of Sabah celebrate another holiday named North Borneo Self-Government Day. Although it coincides with Malaysian Independence Day, it has a different historical background.

August 31 is the National Trail Mix Day. This food holiday is devoted to a type of snack mix consisting of dried fruit and nuts, sometimes with added chocolate.

Blog Day (sometimes stylized as 3l0g Day) is an unofficial holiday celebrated by bloggers across the world on August 31. It was first marked in 2005.

International Bacon Day is a special holiday for all people who love bacon and dishes with it. Celebrated on the Saturday before Labor Day every year, this is one of the most popular unofficial holidays in the United States.

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The International Day for People of African Descent is one of the United Nations international observances. It is observed annually on August 31 to highlight the contributions of the African diaspora across the world and to fight discrimination against people of African descent.

Baloch-Pakhtun Unity Day is an annual observance held on August 31 in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and some other countries. It is dedicated to two Iranic peoples who live mainly in Pakistan (the Balochistan province) and Afghanistan.

 

This Day in History

  • 2006 The Norwegian police recovered the famous painting The Scream by Edvard Munch after it had been stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo on August 22, 2004.
  • 2005 Died: Joseph Rotblat, Polish physicist, Polish-born American physicist, the only one physicist to leave the Manhattan Project on the grounds of conscience. In 1995 he was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for the efforts toward nuclear disarmament.
  • 2005 1,199 people were killed in a stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad. Around 1 million pilgrims gathered to march towards the Al Kadhimiya Mosque, where the shrine of the Imam Musa al-Kazim is situated. The stampede itself was caused by the rumors of an imminent suicide bomb attack.
  • 2002 Died: George Porter, British chemist. In 1967 he was awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research in developing of the technique of flash photolysis. This technique helped to obtain information on short-lived molecular species and provided the first evidence of existence of free radicals.
  • 1997 Died: Diana, Princess of Wales, the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. She died in a car crash together with her companion Dodi Fayed, the son of Egyptian billionaire, with whom she, presumably, had relations.
  • 1987 Thai Airways Flight 365 en route from Hat Yai International Airport to Phuket International Airport (both in Thailand) crashed into the ocean near Ko Phuket. All 74 passengers and 9 crew on board died.
  • 1986 The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sank in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier. The liner sank in 7 minutes, while the bulk carrier was not badly damaged. 359 passengers and 64 crew out of total 1,234 on board drowned.
  • 1985 Died: Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian virologist, remembered for his contributions to immunology. In 1960 he won Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for predicting acquired immune tolerance.
  • 1980 Over 300 people died in a flood caused by heavy rain in Ibadan, Nigeria. The flood also destroyed a million worth properties.
  • 1971 Born: Chris Tucker, American actor, comedian, known for playing the role of Smokey in Friday, the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series, and the role of Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element.
  • 1969 Died: Rocky Marciano, American boxer, the World Heavyweight Champion from 1952 to 1956. He is the only person to hold the heavyweight title without a bout tie of defeat during his entire career.
  • 1963 Died: Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor, remembered for contributions to development of Cubism. His works are closely associated with his colleague Pablo Picasso.
  • 1949 Born: Richard Gere, American actor and activist. He is best remembered for role in American Gigolo, that established him as a leading man and a sex symbol in the USA. He also starred in Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, Runaway Bride and Chicago.
  • 1949 Born: Hugh David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate for discovery of asymptotic freedom in quantum chromodynamics. He received the prize in 2004.
  • 1945 Born: Itzhak Perlman, Israeli-Born American violinist, conductor and pedagogue, one of the most outstanding violinists of the second half of the 20th century. He won five Grammy Awards for performances of classical music.
  • 1939 Nazi Germany mounted a staged attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, Germany. They used this attack as an excuse to attack Poland the following day, thus officially beginning World War II.
  • 1936 Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic went into air.
  • 1935 The United States passed the first of its Neutrality Acts. This step was made in an attempt to stay out of growing turmoil in Europe.
  • 1920 Died: Wilhelm Wundt, German physician, physiologist, philosopher and professor, known as one of the founding figures of modern psychology. He distinguished psychology from the sciences of philosophy and biology and the was the first person to call himself a psychologist.
  • 1908 Born: William Saroyan, American dramatist and author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940 and winner of the Academy Award for Best Story in 1943. He is recognized as one of the most prominent literary figures of the mid-20th century.
  • 1900 Born: Gino Lucetti, Italian anarchist. In 1926 he made an attempt to assassinate Benito Mussolini, Italian leader of the National Fascist Party, but he failed. In 1927 he stood trial and was condemned for 30 years in prison.
  • 1897 Thomas Edison patented the Kinetoscope, that became the first movie projector in the world.
  • 1880 Born: Wilhelmina, Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. Her reign lasted for 58 years and saw two world wars and economic crisis in the Netherlands. Outside the Netherlands she is remembered for role in World War II, proving to be a great inspiration to the Dutch resistance.
  • 1870 Born: Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator, well-known for her philosophy of education, called after her, Montessori education. Her philosophy emphasizes importance of independence, freedom within limits and respect for a child's natural psychological, physical, and social development. Her methods are used today in number of private schools throughout the world.
  • 1867 Died: Charles Baudelaire, French poet, best known for work The Flowers of Evil, depicting the changing nature of beauty in Paris during the 19th century.
  • 1814 Died: Arthur Phillip, English admiral and politician, the first Governor of New South Wales and the founder of the British penal colony, that later became the city of Sidney in Australia.
  • 1741 Born: Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, French composer of classical music. His best known masterpiece is the vocal romance Plaisir d'amour, that became the base for Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love.
  • 1422 Died: Henry V, King of England from 1413 till his death, the second monarch coming from the House of Lancaster. He reigned during Hundred Years' War and was close to defeat France. He died two years after the marriage with Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI, King of France.
  • 1097 The Anglo-Russian Convention was signed by count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson in St. Petersburg. This convention identified respective control in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet and ended a long-standing struggle for power throughout Central Asia.
  • 12 Born: Caligula or Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, Roman Emperor. There aren't many sources preserved to describe the time of his rule, however, it's known, that he payed much attention to ambitious construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself and initiated the construction of two aqueducts in Rome.