Thursday, the 16th of October, 2014 is the 289th day in 2014 and in the 42nd calendar week.
General Events:
Spirit Day
October 16, 2014 in the World
Spirit Day began in 2010 as a way to show support for LGBT youth and take a stand against bullying.
In early October 2010, Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan promulgated the observance of a new commemoration called Spirit Day, the first observance of which took place on October 20, 2010; it now however takes place on October 16. On this day people wear the color purple to show support for LGBT youth who are victims of bullying. Promoted by GLAAD, many Hollywood celebrities wore purple on this day to show their support of this cause, and many websites added a prominent purple shade to their design.
The observance was inaugurated in response to a rash of widely publicized bullying-related suicides of gay school students in 2010. The name Spirit Day comes from the purple stripe of the Rainbow flag, whose creator Gilbert Baker defined it as “representing ‘spirit'”.
Spirit Day now occurs every year on the third Thursday in October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, and has become the most visible day of support for LGBT youth.
Where is Spirit Day?
Worldwide
World Food Day
October 16, 2014 in the World
World Food Day (WFD) is celebrated on October 16, 2014. The day is observed every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. It is also the Food Engineer day and has been observed in more than 150 countries, raising awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger.
The day was established by FAO’s Member Countries at the Organization’s 20th General Conference in November 1979. The Hungarian Delegation, led by the former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Dr. Pál Romány has played an active role at the 20th Session of the FAO Conference and suggested the idea of celebrating the WFD worldwide. It has since been observed every year in more than 150 countries, raising awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger.
WFD adopts a different theme every year, in order to highlight areas needed for action and provide a common focus. Most of the themes revolve around agriculture because only investment in agriculture will turn this situation around. The bulk of that investment will have to come from the private sector, with public investment playing a crucial role, especially in view of its facilitating and stimulating effect on private investment.
Where is World Food Day?
Worldwide
Conflict Resolution Day
October 16, 2014 in the World
Conflict Resolution Day is a global event, intended to promote the concept of peaceful conflict resolution. Created in 2005 by the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), it is now a recognized international event.
Primarily an educational event, the main purpose of Conflict Resolution Day is to increase awareness of the various peaceful, non-violent methods of conflict resolution available, such as mediation and arbitration. In addition, the ACR hopes to promote their use in various different avenues of life, including in schools, workplaces, within the legal system and even amongst families.
The Association for Conflict Resolution, alongside various independent organisations, host informative events all over the world, so check the event listings in your local area and see if you can attend one.
If not, why not spend the day learning about the contributions of some of history’s great peaceful conflict mediators?
Where is Conflict Resolution Day?
Worldwide
Boss’s Day 2014
October 16, 2014 in United States / Canada
Boss’s Day (also known as Bosses Day or National Boss Day) is a secular holiday celebrated on October 16 in the United States and Canada. It has traditionally been a day for employees to thank their boss for being kind and fair throughout the year. The holiday has been the source of some controversy and criticism in the United States, where it is often mocked as a Hallmark Holiday.
Patricia Bays Haroski registered “National Boss’ Day” with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. She was working as a secretary for State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Illinois at the time and chose October 16 because she forgot that the birthday of her boss, who was her father, was actually on the 16th. Four years later in 1962, Illinois Governor Otto Kerner backed Haroski’s registration and officially proclaimed the day.
National Boss’ Day has become an international celebration in recent years and now is observed in countries such as Australia, India and South Africa and very recently Ireland and the UK. Hallmark did not offer a Boss’ Day card for sale until 1979. It increased the size of its National Boss Day line by 90 percent in 2007. According to Emily Post, you should not give a gift to your boss unless it is from a group of employees. This will avoid the appearance of currying favor from your boss.
Where is Boss’s Day?
United States / Canada
Historical Events on 16th October:
1384 – Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, although a woman.
1710 – British troops occupies Port Royal, Nova Scotia
1813 – Battle of Leipzig, largest battle in Europe prior to WWI, Napoleon’s forces defeated by Prussia, Austria & Russia
1834 – Much of the ancient structures of the Palace of Westminster (parliament) in London is burnt down.
1846 – Dentist William T Morton demonstrates effectiveness of ether
1859 – John Brown leads 21 in raid on federal arsenal, Harper’s Ferry, Va
1900 – Great Britain and Germany sign the Anglo-German Treaty, in which they agree to maintain the territorial integrity of China and support the ‘open door’ policy called for by US secretary of State
1905 – The Partition of Bengal (India) occurred.
1916 – Margaret Sanger opens 1st birth control clinic (46 Amboy St, Bkln)
1923 – Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio founded
1923 – John Harwood patents self-winding watch (Switzerland)
1934 – Mao Zedong & 25,000 troops begin 6,000 mile Long March
1942 – Cyclone in Bay of Bengal kills some 40,000 south of Calcutta India
1945 – UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization comes into existence
1950 – The first edition of C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is released in London
1962 – Cuban missile crisis begins as JFK becomes aware of missiles in Cuba
1964 – China becomes world’s 5th nuclear power
1970 – Pierre Trudeau invokes the War Measures Act as a response to the October Crisis, the only peacetime use of the War Measures Act in Canadian history.
1984 – Baboon heart transplanted into a 15-day-old baby girl
1995 – Million Man March held in Wash DC (over 800,000 black men attend)
M'chelsMusings 