Holidays Calendar for September 12, 2013

Mindfulness Day is an annual event held on September 12. It was created by Wisdom Publications, a publisher of Buddhist books and practical works on mindfulness.

Cinema Day in Iran is celebrated on the 21st day of the Iranian month of Shahrivar, which corresponds to September 12 in the Gregorian calendar. It was officially instituted in 2000 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the cinema of Iran.

On September 12, the Turkmens celebrate Ruhnama Day. Ruhnama (The Book of the Soul) is a book written by the former President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov.

Saint Patrick's Battalion Remembrance Day is observed in Mexico on September 12. It honors the immigrants and expatriates of European descent (mostly Irish) who fought on the side of Mexico during the Mexican-American War and were hanged by American soldiers.

Defenders Day is a legal holiday in Baltimore and the entire U.S. state of Maryland. It commemorates the successful defense of Baltimore from the British Army during the War of 1812.

September 12 is the best day to drink chocolate milkshakes as it is the National Chocolate Milkshake Day! The milkshake has been around since the late 19th century. It was originally an alcoholic beverage made with whiskey.

September 12 is United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. This observance was officially established in December 2003. It was originally observed on December 19, but in 2011 the date was moved to September 12.

National Day of Encouragement in the United States is observed on September 12. It was first announced in 2007 and has been celebrated each year ever since.

This Day in History

  • 2013 Died: Ray Dolby, American engineer, remembered for invention of the noise reduction system known as Dolby NR.
  • 2011 The 9/11 Memorial Museum opened to the public in New York City. The museum and museum commemorate the victims of the September 11 attacks of 2001 and the World Trade Center bombing of 1993.
  • 2009 Died: Norman Borlaug: American biologist, often called the father of the Green Revolution and The Man Who Saved A Billion Lives. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his contributions to world peace through increasing food supply.
  • 2003 Died: Johnny Cash, American singer, songwriter, actor and author, widely regarded as one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century. He is primarily remembered for country music, but his songs and sound embraced rock and roll, rockabilly, folk, blues and gospel.
  • 2001 Australia's first commercial interstate airline Ansett Australia collapsed due to increased strain on the international airline industry. 10,000 people were left unemployed.
  • 1995 Died: Jeremy Brett, English actor, best known for portraying Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series from 1984 to 1994.
  • 1994 Frank Eugene Corder stole a single-engine Cessna 150. He tried to hit the building of the white House, but the aircraft crashed onto the south lawn, striking the West wing. His own death was the sole casualty.
  • 1992 Died: Anthony Perkins, American actor and singer, best remembered for role as Norman Bates in Hitchcock's Psycho and its three sequels. He is also known for roles in films The Trial, Tall Story, Pretty Poison, Five Miles to Midnight, The Black Hole and Mahogany.
  • 1992 The leader of the Shining Path (the Communist Party of Peru) Abimael Guzmán was captured by Peruvian special forces. Shortly after the rest of the party leadership fell as well.
  • 1990 The two German states, France, the UK, the USA and Russia signed the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German reunification on October 3, 1990.
  • 1983 Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, was robbed by Los Macheteros (the Puerto Rican Popular Army) of approximately US$7 billion. This is the largest U.S. bank heist to date.
  • 1981 Died: Eugenio Montale, Italian poet, writer, widely considered as the greatest Italian lyric poet of the 20th century. In 1975 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • 1979 Indonesia was hit with an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale. The earthquake mainly led to damages (from $1 to $5 million).
  • 1973 Born: Paul Walker, American actor, best known for leading role in film The Fast and the Furious and its five sequels.
  • 1961 Born: Mylène Farmer, Canadian-French singer, songwriter, producer and actress, holder of the record for the most number of hits in the French charts. She is well known for songs Désenchantée, XXL, À l'ombre etc.
  • 1959 The first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color, Bonanza, premiered on the NBC channel in the USA.
  • 1957 Born: Hans Zimmer, German film composer and music producer. During his career he composed music for over 150 films, including The Lion King, The Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Dark Knight Trilogy.
  • 1953 Died: Hugo Schmeisser, German engineer, known for development of infantry weapons in the 20th century. He's developed the StG 44 (selective-fire rifle) and AK-47, but had no role in development of the MP-40, nicknamed "Schmeisser".
  • 1944 Born: Barry White, American composer, singer, songwriter, a three-time Grammy Award winner. During his career White achieved 106 gold albums and 41 platinum albums worldwide and sold over 100 million records, becoming one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.
  • 1931 Born: Ian Holm, English actor, winner of a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award and an Academy Award. He is well-known for roles in films Alien, The Lord of the Rings, The Madness of King George etc.
  • 1919 Adolph Hitler became a member of the German Worker's Party, becoming its 55th member. The party didn't live for long time and it was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi) on February 24, 1920.
  • 1913 Born: Jesse Owens, American athlete, a four-time Olympic gold medalist. He set three world records and tried another one in less then an hour at the 1935 Big Ten track meet.
  • 1902 Born: Juscelino Kubitschek, Brazilian politician, the 21st President of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His presidency was marked by economic prosperity and political stability in the country. One of his most notable deeds is construction of a new capital, Brasília.
  • 1897 Born: Irène Joliot-Curie, French scientist, daughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. In 1935 she was awarded jointly with her husband the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery of artificial radioactivity.
  • 1857 The SS Central America sank about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California Gold Rush.
  • 1852 Born: Herbert Henry Asquith, English lawyer and politician, serving as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He is the second longest continuously serving Prime Minister in the 20th century. He led the country to a series of domestic reforms, including social insurance and reduction of the power of the House of Lords.
  • 1819 Died: Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general, known for leading the army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig and the Battle of Waterloo. He is one of the highest-decorated Prussian-German soldiers in history, possessing the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross.
  • 1818 Born: Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor, best known for invention of the Gatling gun, the early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. The Gatling gun was used by the Union forces during the American Civil War, in Boshin War, the Anglo-Zulu War and the Spanish-American War.
  • 1814 Died: Robert Ross, Irish officer, participant of the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. He is known for burning Washington, that included destruction of the White House and The Capitol.
  • 1712 Died: Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter, printmaker and inventor. He is best remembered for contributions to contemporary firefighting, improvements to the fire hose, modifications to the manual fire engines and reorganization of the volunteer fire brigade. He also wrote and illustrated the first firefighting manual.