IOTD

Calendar day; April 16, 2015

Thursday, the 16th of April, 2015 is the 106th day in 2015 and in the 16th calendar week.

General Events:

Save The Elephant Day
April 16, 2015 in the World

They might be wildlife icons, but, sadly, elephants are in crisis. Save The Elephant Day is a chance to show our love and support for these much-loved giants and raise awareness of the threats to their future in both Africa and Asia, ranging from ivory poachers and traffickers to loss of habitat.

It’s a sad fact that Asian elephant numbers have declined by as much as 90% in the last 100 years. The key cause for this decline has been habitat destruction, pitting elephant against human in a fierce competition for land and food. Unsurprisingly the elephant is on the losing side of this battle, now finding itself on the IUCN red list of endangered animals.

Elephants are the gentle giants of the animal world, beloved by many for their slow lumbering gait, their inquisitive trunks and intelligent behaviour. They roam over large tracts of land; Asian Elephants not only live in lowland tropical forests but also semi-deciduous forests and scrubland at much higher altitudes too. The consequent breadth of habitat protection required would benefit other animals and plants too, including humans. Saving large parts of forests means that these ecosystems are left undisturbed, leaving the trees in place; trees that are integral to the many natural systems that much of life on earth needs to survive.

Save the Elephant Day on the 16th April aims to highlight the plight of elephants, to spread the word and to motivate people to get involved in saving them. Do your bit for the elephant. Write to your MP asking them to apply pressure to halt the illegal trafficking of ivory, learn something new about elephants, or have a look at what some fantastic organisations are doing to save the elephants and see if you can get involved.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

Emancipation Day
April 16, 2015 in Washington DC

Emancipation Day is celebrated in many former British colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates in observance of the emancipation of slaves of African descent. It is also observed in other areas in regard to the abolition of serfdom or other forms of servitude.

The District of Columbia celebrates April 16 as Emancipation Day. On that day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia. The Act freed about 3,100 enslaved persons in the District of Columbia nine months before President Lincoln issued his broader Emancipation Proclamation. The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act represents the only example of compensation by the federal government to former owners of emancipated slaves.

On January 4, 2005, Mayor Anthony A. Williams signed legislation making Emancipation Day an official public holiday in the District. Although Emancipation Day occurs on April 16, by law when April 16 falls during a weekend, Emancipation Day is observed on the nearest weekday. Each year, activities will be held during the public holiday including the traditional Emancipation Day parade celebrating the freedom of enslaved persons in the District of Columbia. The Emancipation Day celebration was held yearly from 1866 to 1901. The city council voted to resume it as a tradition and historic celebration in 2002.

Where is Emancipation Day?
Nationwide Washington DC

National Stress Awareness Day
April 16, 2015 in the USA

National Stress Awareness Day takes place on April 16, 2015 (the day after Tax Day, April 15). The day was started by the Health Resource Network(HRN) in 1992 to raise awareness of stress. National Stress Awareness Day is a good chance to take a deep breath and relax. Much research has shown a negative effect stress has on the immune system, mostly through studies where participants were subjected to a variety of viruses. In one study, individuals caring for a spouse with dementia, representing the stress group, saw a significant decrease in immune response when given an influenza-virus vaccine compared to a non-stressed control group. Chronic stress takes a more significant toll on your body than acute stress does. It can raise blood pressure, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, increase vulnerability to anxiety and depression, contribute to infertility, and hasten the aging process. For example, results of one study demonstrated that individuals who reported relationship conflict lasting one month or longer have a greater risk of developing illness and show slower wound healing.

Where is the event?
Nationwide USA

Historical Events on 16th April:

1178 BC – A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War.

73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt

1346 – The Serbian Empire is proclaimed in Skopje at an Easter assembly and Stephen Uroš IV Dušan crowned Emperor over much of the Balkans

1746 – Battle of Culloden, the last battle on British soil: Royalist troops under the Duke of Cumberland defeat the Jacobite army

1818 – Senate ratifies Rush-Bagot amendment (unarmed US-Canada border)

1854 – San Salvador destroyed by earthquake

1862 – Slavery abolished in District of Columbia

1871 – German Empire ends all anti-Jewish civil restrictions

1917 – [OS Apr 3] Lenin arrives back from exile in Russia at Finland Station, Petrograd to join the Russian Revolution

1924 – Child labor laws strengthened in Holland

1938 – Great Britain recognizes Italian annexation of Abyssinia

1943 – Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD

1946 – NSB mayor of Rotterdam Neth, FE Muller sentence to 100 years in jail

1953 – British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II

1975 – Cambodian Red Khmer occupy Phnom Penh

1982 – Queen Elizabeth proclaims Canada’s new constitution

1990 – Supreme Court rejects appeal from retarded man, Dalton Prejean, condemned to death for murdering a Louisiana state trooper in 1977

2007 – Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, kills 32 people and injures 23 others before committing suicide