Holidays and Observances

1/18/12

US Observances

Official / Sponsored / Traditional Holidays

Statewide Annual Pistachio Day – CA
Pooh Day

Week of Christian Unity
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Unofficial / Unsponsored / Urban Legend Holidays

Peking Duck Day
Thesaurus Day

International Observances

Revolution Day – Tunisia
Royal Thai Armed Forces Day – Thailand

Trivia

1535 Lima, Peru was founded
1778 Hawaiian Islands discovered by James Cook
1788 First Australian settlers arrive
1803 Lewis and Clark Expedition Commissioned
1866 Wesley College, Melbourne, Australia was established
1884 Legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom set
1886 Modern field hockey is born
1896 The X-ray machine was exhibited for the first time
1903 First transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States
1911 First time an aircraft landed on a ship
1919 Bentley Motors Limited was founded
1919 Versailles Peace Conference formally opened
1944 First Jazz concert at the The Metropolitan Opera House
1958 First African Canadian National Hockey League player
1966 First African American US Cabinet Member
1967 Boston Strangler convicted
1981 First two people BASE jump  from objects in all four categories
1983 Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals were restored
1993 First time all 50 states observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
1997 First person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided
2005 World’s largest commercial jet was unveiled