Holidays Calendar for April 21, 2017

Tiradentes Day is a national holiday in Brazil celebrated on April 21. It marks the death anniversary of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, who was a leading member of the Brazilian independence movement Inconfidência Mineira.




Civil Service Day is an Indian professional holiday celebrated annually on April 21. Its main goal is to emphasize the importance of the work that civil servants perform so that their country could prosper.

Traditional tree planting events are organized in many countries around the world, but the dates mostly do not coincide. For instance, National Tree Planting Day is celebrated in Kenya every year on April 21.

Vietnam Book Day is an annual nationwide observance held on April 21. It was established in 2014 by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. This holiday focuses on raising public awareness about the importance of books and encouraging reading in the community.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her birthday twice. On the first, second, or third Saturday in June, the sovereign's official birthday is traditionally celebrated with various events. The Queen's actual birthday, April 21, is not a big holiday in the United Kingdom, but it still is an official flag day.

Kartini Day, also referred to as Women Emancipation Day, is an Indonesian holiday that commemorates Raden Ajeng Kartini. She was the first Indonesian feminist and is considered a national heroine of Indonesia.

On April 21, Mexicans celebrate Heroic Defense of Veracruz (Heroica Defensa de Veracruz). It is a civic holiday, which means that it is observed nationwide, but is not a paid non-working day.

On April 21, North Koreans celebrate the birthday of Kang Pan-sok, the mother of the North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, grandmother of his successor Kim Jong-il, and great-grandmother of the current supreme leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un.

Rome Foundation Day is a semi-official holiday celebrated in the Italian capital on April 21 or the closest weekend. The celebration includes a costumed procession and a symbolic opening of the city gates.

Chocolate goes well with everything, especially nuts. If you're looking for a special treat, they pick up a handful of chocolate covered cashews. By the way, April 21 is National Chocolate Covered Cashew Day.

World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) is a United Nations observance held annually on April 21. It was officially established by the General Assembly in 2017 to emphasize the importance of creativity and innovation for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Day of Local Self-Government in Russia is celebrated on April 21. It was established by President Vladimir Putin on June 2012 and first held in 2013.

This Day in History

  • 2018 Died: Verne Troyer, American actor, stunt performer, and comedian best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series and Griphook in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
  • 2016 Died: Prince (stage name of Prince Roger Nelson), American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. Prince was renowned as an innovator.
  • 2012 A head-on collision of two trains occurred near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. 117 people were injured, one of whom died in a hospital.
  • 2010 Ukraine and Russian signed the Agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine, also known as the Kharkiv Pact.
  • 2003 Died: Nina Simone (born Eunice Kathleen Waymon), American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, and activist primarily associated with jazz music.
  • 1999 Died: Buddy Rogers, American actor and jazz musician, the third husband and widower of silent film legend Mary Pickford who was 12 years his senior.
  • 1993 Former Bolivian dictator Luis García Meza Tejada was sentenced to 30 years in jail for fraud, theft, murder, and human rights violation.
  • 1989 Died: James Kirkwood, Jr., American playwright, author, and actor best known for his 1975 musical A Chorus Line that earned him several awards.
  • 1988 Died: Jean-François Lyotard, French philosopher, sociologist, and literary theorist who is best known for his articulation of postmodernism.
  • 1979 Born: James McAvoy, Scottish stage, film, and television actor who is notable for starring in The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, X-Men: First Class and its sequel.
  • 1971 Died: François Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc, Haitian politician and statesman who served as the 40th President of Haiti from 1957 to 1971.
  • 1970 Born: Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedian, and voice artist who is best known for participating in the series MADtv and The King of Queens.
  • 1967 A coup d'état took place in Greece. A group of right-wing army officers quickly seized power and established a military junta that was later named The Regime of the Colonels.
  • 1965 Died: Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist who was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the F region of the ionosphere.
  • 1963 The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Faith was elected for the first time. It is the supreme governing institution of this religion.
  • 1963 Born: John Cameron Mitchell, American actor, writer, singer, and director best known for creating the cult musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
  • 1962 The Century 21 Exposition, also known as Seattle World's Fair, opened in Seattle, Washington. It was the first World Fair in the US since the Second World War.
  • 1960 Brasília was officially inaugurated to serve as the new national capital of Brazil. The city was founded specifically for this purpose. It was built in 41 months.
  • 1958 Born: Andie MacDowell, American actress and model who is known for her roles in the films Groundhog Day, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Michael.
  • 1949 Born: Patti LuPone, renowned American actress and singer, best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards and two Grammy Awards.
  • 1947 Born: Iggy Pop, American rock musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor whose music has encompassed a number of styles over the years.
  • 1946 Died: John Maynard Keynes, British economist whose ideas have considerably influenced on the development of modern macroeconomics.
  • 1925 The Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals was first published in the Italian newspaper Il Mondo. It established the foundations of Italian Fascism.
  • 1918 Died: Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, German fighter pilot who is considered the top ace of the First World War.
  • 1910 Died: Mark Twain (pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens), American author and humorist best known for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
  • 1864 Born: Max Weber, German philosopher, sociologist, and political economist who is considered to be one of the three creators of sociology.
  • 1837 Born: Fredrik Bajer, Danish writer, pacifist politician, and teacher who was Awarded the 1908 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Klas Pontus Arnoldson.
  • 1836 The decisive battle of the Texas Revolution, the Battle of San Jacinto, took place. The Texian Army led by General Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans.
  • 1816 Born: Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters. Her best known work is the 1847 novel Jane Eyre.
  • 1555 Born: Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter, printmaker, and etcher. Hist best known works include Lamentation of Christ and Saint Sebastian.
  • 1509 Henry VIII ascended the throne of England following the death of his father, Henry VII of England. He was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
  • 1142 Died: Peter Abelard, French scholastic philosopher, theologian, logician, and composer. He contributed to the development of conceptualism.