List of holidays commemorating individuals

This is a list of government-sanctioned holidays commemorating individuals.

Person Holiday Observing government Date
Bhanubhakta Acharya Bhanu Jayanti Nepal, India 13 July[1]
B. R. Ambedkar Ambedkar Jayanti India 14 April[2]
Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony Day United States 15 February[3]
Errol Barrow Errol Barrow Day Barbados 21 January
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Netaji Jayanti India 23 January[4]
Robert Burns Burns Night (or Day) Scotland 25 January[5]
Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez Day United States 31 March[6]
Jesus Christ Christmas Various 25 December
Christopher Columbus Columbus Day Various second Monday in October (US); 12 October (elsewhere)
Leif Erikson Leif Erikson Day United States, parts of Canada 9 October[7]
Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes Night (or Day) United Kingdom 5 November
Mahatma Gandhi Gandhi Jayanti India 2 October
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day United States third Monday in January
Fred Korematsu Fred Korematsu Day Parts of the United States 30 January[8]
Abraham Lincoln Lincoln's Birthday Parts of the United States 12 February
Nelson Mandela Mandela Day Various 18 July
Harvey Milk Harvey Milk Day California / United States / New York 22 May
John Muir John Muir Day California 21 April[9]
Barack Obama Obama Day Kenya, parts of the United States 6 November
Rosa Parks Rosa Parks Day Four states of the United States 4 February (California and Missouri); 1 December (Ohio and Oregon)
Maharana Pratap Pratap Jayanti Rajasthan 9 May[10]
Casimir Pulaski General Pulaski Memorial Day United States 11 October
Casimir Pulaski Day Illinois, Wisconsin public schools, etc. first Monday in March[11]
Shivaji Shiv Jayanti Maharashtra 19 February
Mother Teresa Mother Teresa Day Albania 5 September
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Day United States 10 March[12]
Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen Saint Verhaegen Brussels 20 November[13]
Queen Victoria Victoria Day Canada last Monday before 25 May
George Washington Washington's Birthday United States third Monday in February[14]
Wright brothers Wright Brothers Day United States 17 December[15]
Malcolm X Malcolm X Day Berkeley, California either Malcolm's birthday on 19 May or the third Sunday of May[16]

References

  1. ^ Chakravarty, Tanuj (2022-07-12). "Bhanu Jayanti: History and its significance for Gorkha community". EastMojo. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  2. ^ NEWS, SA (2025-04-10). "Ambedkar Jayanti 2025: Date, History, Quotes, Significance". SA News Channel. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  3. ^ Holly Matthews. "Susan B. Anthony Day". TeacherLINK @ Utah State University. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  4. ^ "23rd JANUARY: NETAJI JAYANTI". Vivekananda Mission School. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  5. ^ "Global appeal of the Bard endures with 2,500 Burns Suppers plotted on world map". The Scotsman. 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  6. ^ "Presidential Proclamation – Cesar Chavez Day". whitehouse.gov. March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2016 – via National Archives.
  7. ^ Little, Becky (2015-10-11). "Why Do We Celebrate Columbus Day and Not Leif Erikson Day?". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  8. ^ "AB 1775 Assembly Bill - CHAPTERED". www.leginfo.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  9. ^ "Ronald Reagan, John Muir, Harvey Milk: The Californian trinity". The Economist. July 8, 2010.
  10. ^ Köpping, Klaus-Peter; Leistle, Bernhard; Rudolph, Michael (2006). Ritual and Identity: Performative Practices as Effective Transformations of Social Reality. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-8042-2.
  11. ^ Greenberg, Julia (March 5, 2012). "Casimir Pulaski Day Closings: Chicago Public Schools, Government Agencies Closed for Holiday". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  12. ^ "Proclamation 6107 - Harriet Tubman Day, 1990". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  13. ^ "Saint Verhaegen — Patrimoine - Erfgoed". erfgoed.brussels. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  14. ^ Strauss, Valerie (February 16, 2014). "Why Presidents' Day Is slightly strange". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  15. ^ "Proclamation 3315—Wright Brothers Day, 1959 | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  16. ^ Knobel, Lance (2010-05-17). "Malcolm X Day -- more than a day off?". Berkeleyside. Retrieved 2025-11-10.