On July 20, several holidays are celebrated around the world and in Kazakhstan. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
International Chess Day
Since 1966, International Chess Day has been celebrated annually on July 20 worldwide. This holiday was established by the decision of the World Chess Federation, founded in 1924. The name of the game translates from Persian as "the ruler is dead." The game of chaturanga, which served as the basis for chess, appeared in the 5th century. Once considered a gambling game and rejected, chess has now been proven by scientists to be beneficial for normal brain function.
International Cake Day
Additionally, International Cake Day is celebrated today. It is hard to imagine any holiday, birthday, anniversary, wedding, or other joyful event without a cake. Indeed, cake is a symbol of friendship between people. Cake Day was first celebrated in 2009 on the initiative of the organization "Kingdom of Love" in Milan. The organization included artists, chefs, and other creative people, so the holiday was held at a high level. Later, in 2011, on July 20, the holiday began to be celebrated internationally and spread to countries around the world. The purpose of the holiday is to spread the ideas of peace and friendship through culture. This good initiative was supported by many CIS countries, Israel, and the United States. On that day, the peoples of the world jointly prepared a peace cake.
Historical events on July 20 in the world
- 011534 – the world's first printing house opened in Cambridge;
- 021877 – the history of animation began;
- 031917 – the BMW trademark was registered;
- 041924 – the International Chess Federation was founded in Paris;
- 051940 – the American music magazine Billboard published the first list of the most popular songs.
Historical events on July 20 in Kazakhstan
- 011969 – Dinmukhamed Kunaev laid the symbolic slab for the foundation of the Kapshagai Hydroelectric Power Plant;
- 021995 – President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree having the force of law "On Customs Affairs in the Republic of Kazakhstan";
- 032005 – in Astana, a photo exhibition "Eternal Sorrow" by European Parliament deputy Struan Stevenson was held, depicting the tragedy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site;
- 042014 – the first dombra courses opened in Beijing;
- 052016 – the open data portal data.egov.kz started operating in Kazakhstan;
- 062022 – a mural dedicated to the memory of People's Artist of Kazakhstan Yermek Serkebayev appeared in the capital.
Famous people born on July 20
- 011822 – Czech-Austrian biologist and geneticist, founder of the science of heredity, Gregor Johann Mendel;
- 021938 – American actress, two-time Golden Globe winner and three-time Oscar nominee Natalie Wood;
- 031919 – New Zealand explorer and mountaineer, first to conquer Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary;
- 041963 – Soviet and Russian figure skater, silver medalist of the 1994 Olympics, world and European champion, Honored Coach of Russia Alexander Zhulin.
Who was born on July 20 in Kazakhstan
- 011929 – composer, professor, People's Artist of Kazakhstan, Honored Art Worker of the Kazakh SSR Anatoly Bychkov;
- 021947 – Soviet and Kazakh scientist in mechanics and mechanical engineering, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Meirbek Moldabekov;
- 031951 – member of the National Kurultai under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Akhmet Muradov;
- 041961 – film director, screenwriter, playwright Yermek Tursunov;
- 051972 – Kazakh theater and film actor, TV presenter Sergey Pogosyan.