Programmers' Day Date in the current year: September 12, 2024

The idea of celebrating Programmers' Day on the 256th day of the year was first proposed by Russian programmers Mikhail Chervyakov and Valentine Balt. They chose the number 256 (2 to the 8th power) because it is the number of distinct values that can be represented with a byte, a unit of digital information consisting of eight bits.

Programmers' Day was first celebrated in 2002. The holiday eventually spread throughout the world, mostly due to the Internet. International Programmers' Day was launched in 2007. In 2009, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev signed the decree, establishing Programmers' Day as an official professional holiday in Russia.

However, September 12/13 is not the only known date of Programmers' Day. Many programmers also observe their professional holiday on January 7. Another dates celebrated by programmers are December 10 (the birthday of Ada Lovelace, the first programmer) and April 4 (the feast day of Saint Isidor of Seville, who is unofficially regarded as patron saint of the Internet).