August 9: Holidays Celebrated in the World and Kazakhstan

Today, August 9, several holidays are celebrated in the world and Kazakhstan. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

Today is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. This holiday was established in 1994 by a decision of the UN General Assembly. The purpose of the holiday is to draw attention to the problems of indigenous peoples. According to statistics, the total number of indigenous peoples is 370 million people. They are representatives of various cultures living in more than 90 countries around the world.

National Women's Day in South Africa

Residents of the Republic of South Africa celebrate a public holiday – National Women's Day. This holiday originated in honor of the women's march of 1956. On August 9, 1956, twenty thousand women gathered in front of the parliament building in Pretoria to protest against laws restricting the migration of the black population of South Africa. The participants left a bundle of petitions against the discriminatory law in front of the office of Prime Minister Johannes Strijdom, signed by more than one hundred thousand people. Then the women stood silently in front of the parliament building for half an hour. Many women brought their children to the march. Since 1994, this day has been celebrated annually in South Africa as National Women's Day.

National Peacekeepers' Day in Canada

In Canada, today is National Peacekeepers' Day. Although the official day of remembrance is August 9, the ceremony is usually held on the Sunday closest to this date. National Peacekeepers' Day commemorates all veterans of Canada's military peacekeeping forces. The reason for choosing this date is that on August 9, 1974, three Syrian missiles shot down a Buffalo 461 aircraft carrying nine Canadian peacekeepers. As a result of the incident, all nine passengers and crew members were killed. To forever remember this tragedy, a memorial was opened in Calgary's Peacekeepers Park, and National Peacekeepers' Day was established. In 2008, this day received official status.

Historical Events on August 9 in the World

• 01In 1173, construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy began;
• 02In 1639, Europeans first settled on the site of present-day New York City;
• 03In 1803, the steamboat invented by Robert Fulton was first presented;
• 04In 1859, American Nathan Ames patented the escalator;
• 05In 1910, Alva John Fisher, a resident of Chicago, USA, patented an electric washing machine;
• 06In 1928, the world's first museum of circus and variety art was opened in the building of the Leningrad Circus.

Historical Events on August 9 in Kazakhstan

• 01In 1971, the Enlik-Kebek cinema was opened in Semey;
• 02In 1994, the foundation of the state repository of the National Bank was laid in Almaty;
• 03In 2000, a memorandum of friendship between Kazakhstan and UNESCO was signed;
• 04In 2010, a summer street cinema was opened for the first time in Almaty;
• 05In 2013, a new section of the transnational corridor "Western Europe - Western China" was opened in Zhambyl region. A four-lane highway of 48 kilometers was put into operation in Merki district;
• 06In 2017, within the framework of the program "Bolashakka bagdar: rukhani zhangyru", the Club of Patrons was established in the capital;
• 07In 2017, the ethnographic park "Kumai" was created in Akmola region.

Famous People Born on August 9

• 01In 1899, English writer Pamela Travers, author of books about Mary Poppins, was born;
• 02In 1914, Finnish writer and artist Tove Marika Jansson was born;
• 03In 1963, American pop, soul and R&B singer, actress, producer Whitney Houston was born;
• 04In 1976, French actress Audrey Tautou was born.

Who Was Born on August 9 in Kazakhstan

• 01In 1879, Omar Shipin, an active participant in the national liberation movement of 1916, people's akyn of the Kazakh SSR, was born;
• 02In 1933, scientist-geologist, professor of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan Muftakh Diarov was born;
• 03In 1944, Zauresh Yergaliyeva, screenwriter of Kazakfilm JSC named after Sh. Aimanov, was born;
• 04In 1959, Asel Mambetova, senior lecturer, associate professor of the Kazakh National Academy of Arts named after T. Zhurgenov, actress of the Kazakh State Academic Theater for Children and Youth named after G. Musrepov, was born;
• 05In 1983, Kazakh freestyle wrestler Daulet Shabanbay was born.