Holidays and Observances

US Observances

Official / Sponsored / Traditional Holidays

Michigan Admission Day
National Peanut Brittle Day

Unofficial / Unsponsored / Urban Legend Holidays

Lotus 1-2-3 Day
Spouses’ Day
Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement

International Observances

Australia Day – Australia
Australia Day Cockroach Races – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Liberation Day – Uganda
National Holiday – Dominican Republic
Republic Day – India

Trivia

1788 First permanent European settlement on the Australian continent
1808 The Rum Rebellion
1837 Michigan was admitted as the 26th U.S. state
1838 First prohibition law in the United States
1841 The United Kingdom formally occupied Hong Kong
1861 Louisiana seceded from the Union
1863 African-American militia organized
1870 Virginia rejoined the Union
1875 The electric dental drill was patented
1905 The world’s largest diamond was found
1907 The oldest military rifle still in official use was officially introduced into British Military Service
1911 First successful American seaplane was flown
1915 Rocky Mountain National Park was established
1920 Lincoln Motor Company launched
1924 St. Petersburg, Russia was renamed Leningrad
1930 The Indian National Congress declared January 26 as the day for Complete Independence
1934 The Apollo Theater reopened
1949 The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory was first used
1950 India became a republic
1960 Worldwide high school basketball scoring record set
1961 First woman appointed as physician to the President of the United States
1965 Hindi became the official language of India
1983 Lotus 1–2–3 spreadsheet software for the IBM PC was released
1988 Phantom of the Opera premiered on Broadway
1998 U.S. President Bill Clinton denial
2004 A sperm whale exploded in Tainan, Taiwan