Holidays Calendar for August 21, 2013

August 21 is a public holiday in Morocco. It is the birthday of King Mohammed VI, the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Morocco. The holiday is also referred to as Youth Day.

Ninoy Aquino Day is a national holiday in the Philippines celebrated on August 21 every year. It commemorates the assassination of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., former Senator who is regarded as the hero of democracy.

Ghost Festival (also Hungry Ghost Festival) is a traditional Buddhist, Taoist and Chinese folk religions festival. It's annually observed on the 15th day of the 7th month in the Chinese calender. South China celebrates the festival on the 14th day.


On August 21, all officers in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and Russian uniformed services celebrate their unofficial professional holiday. Russian Officers Day was inaugurated by the non-governmental organization Officers of Russia.

On August 21, Latvians celebrate passing of the Constitutional Law on the Status of the Republic of Latvia as a State and Actual Restoration of the Republic of Latvia. It is an official memorial day, but not a non-working public holiday.

August 21 is Gospel Day in the Micronesian state of Kosrae. It was established to commemorate the introduction of Christianity on the island of Kosrae. Gospel Day is an official holiday in Kosrae, but it is not celebrated in the three other states.

August 21 is National Spumoni Day in the United States. This is a holiday for all you ice cream lovers out there as spumoni is an Italian ice cream dessert.

International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism is an official United Nations observance held on August 21 every year. Its main goal is to pay tribute to victims and survivors of terrorist attacks around the world.

This Day in History

  • 2013 During the Syrian Civil War, the Ghouta suburbs of Damascus were struck by rockets containing the chemical agent sarin. Hundreds of people died.
  • 2005 Died: Robert Moog, American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. He founded Moog Music.
  • 1995 Died: Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian and American astrophysicist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  • 1993 NASA lost contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft three days prior to orbital insertion. All attempts to re-establish communication failed.
  • 1991 The 1991 Soviet coup d'état, also known as the August Putsch, collapsed. The failed coup contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
  • 1984 Born: Alizée (stage name of Alizée Jacotey), French singer, dancer and voice actress. She was discovered by Mylène Farmer in 1999.
  • 1982 Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion landed in Beirut during the Lebanese War. They ware part of the Multinational Force in Lebanon.
  • 1982 Died: Sobhuza II, the Paramount Chief and later King of Swaziland who reigned for 82 years. He was succeeded by his son Mswati III.
  • 1973 Born: Sergey Brin, American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who is best known for co-founding Google together with Larry Page.
  • 1969 Australian citizen Denis Michael Rohan set fire to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. He was subsequently hospitalized in a mental institution.
  • 1967 Born: Serj Tankian, Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and political activist.
  • 1967 Born: Carrie-Anne Moss, Canadian actress best known for her breakthrough role of Trinity, the female lead in The Matrix film trilogy.
  • 1959 Hawaii gained admission to the United States, becoming the 50th state. Hawaii is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands.
  • 1957 Died: Harald Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer. He was the scientific director of Roald Amundsen's expedition.
  • 1956 Born: Kim Cattrall, English-Canadian actress best known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO romantic sitcom Sex and the City.
  • 1947 Died: Ettore Bugatti, Italian-born French automobile designer and manufacturer who is best known for founding Automobiles Ettore Bugatti.
  • 1945 American physicist Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. was fatally irradiated as a result of a criticality accident at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • 1943 Died: Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish realist writer who was awarded the 1917 Nobel Prize in Literature, sharing it with Karl Adolph Gjellerup.
  • 1940 Died: Leon Trotsky (born Lev Bronshtein), Russian revolutionary, Marxist theorist, Soviet politician and the founder of the Red Army.
  • 1930 Born: Frank Perry, American stage director and filmmaker. His best known works include David and Lisa, The Swimmer, A Christmas Memory.
  • 1920 Born: Christopher Robin Milne, English bookseller. He was the son of A. A. Miln who based the character Christopher Robin on him.
  • 1918 The Second Battle of the Somme began during the First World War. It ended on September 3, resulting in the victory of the Allies.
  • 1916 Born: Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist, songwriter and recording artist. Her best known song is the 1940s-era standard Bésame mucho.
  • 1911 The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre Museum by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former Louvre employee. The paining was returned in 1913.
  • 1863 During the American Civil War, the town of Lawrence, Kansas was devastated by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill's Raiders (Lawrence Massacre).
  • 1838 Died: Adelbert von Chamisso, German poet and botanist best known for his novella Peter Schlemihl about a man who sold his shadow.
  • 1814 Died: Benjamin Thompson, American-born British physicist and inventor who contributed to the 19th century revolution in thermodynamics.
  • 1789 Born: Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician regarded as a pioneer of mathematical analysis. Many theorems were named after him.
  • 1754 Born: William Murdoch, Scottish engineer and inventor. He is credited with inventing the oscillating cylinder steam engine and gas lighting.
  • 1614 Died: Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess known for being a serial killer. She was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls.