April 14
Overview
Holidays & Observances
Ambedkar Jayanti(India)
Ambedkar Jayanti is a national holiday in India honoring the birth of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, principal architect of the Indian Constitution.
Bengali New Year(Bangladesh)
Bengali New Year, known as Pohela Boishakh, celebrates the start of the Bengali calendar with vibrant processions and cultural festivities.
Black Day(South Korea)
Black Day is an informal South Korean observance for singles to commiserate their bachelorhood over black bean paste noodles.
Cake and Cunnilingus Day
Cake and Cunnilingus Day is an unofficial tongue-in-cheek holiday celebrating indulgence and pleasure on April 14th.
Christianfeast day:
Anthony, John, and Eustathius, Bénézet, Henry Beard Delany(U.S. Episcopal Church), Domnina of Terni, Lidwina, Peter González, Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, April 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Multiple Christian traditions commemorate a group of saints and martyrs, including St. Anthony and St. John, on April 14th.
Commemoration of Anfal Genocide Against the Kurds(Iraqi Kurdistan)
This day memorializes the victims of the Anfal campaign, a brutal genocide against the Kurdish people in 1988.
Day ofMologa(Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia)
The Day of Mologa commemorates the lost town of Mologa, submerged during the construction of a Soviet hydroelectric dam.
Day of the Georgian language(Georgia)
Day of the Georgian Language celebrates the unique script and linguistic heritage of Georgia every April 14th.
Dhivehi Language Day(Maldives)
Dhivehi Language Day marks the anniversary of the first Dhivehi script publication, celebrating Maldivian linguistic heritage.
Events
Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
In 43 BC, Gaius Pansa's Senate-aligned legions defeat Mark Antony at the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho in the First Battle of Bedriacum to take power over Rome.
In AD 69, Vitellius's Rhine legions defeat Emperor Otho at the First Battle of Bedriacum.
Following his marriage to the Christian Doubravka of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converts to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state.
In 966, Mieszko I of the Polans converts to Christianity, marking the birth of the Polish state.
Otto II, Co-Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, marries Byzantine princess Theophanu. She is crowned empress by Pope John XIII in Rome the same day.
On April 14, 972, Otto II marries Byzantine princess Theophanu and sees her crowned Empress.
Tokhtamysh–Timur war: At the Battle of the Terek River, Timur defeats the army of the Golden Horde, beginning the khanate's permanent military decline.
In 1395, Timur defeats Tokhtamysh’s Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River.
In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl is killed and Edward resumes the throne.
On April 14, 1471, Edward IV’s Yorkists rout Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Barnet.
A celestial phenomenon is reported over Nuremberg, described as an aerial battle.
In 1561, inhabitants of Nuremberg report a mysterious aerial display, later likened to a sky battle.
Thirty Years' War: Forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Electorate of Saxony are defeated by the Swedes at the Battle of Chemnitz, ending the military effectiveness of the Saxon army for the rest of the war and allowing the Swedes to advance into Bohemia.
In 1639, Swedish forces defeat Imperial and Saxon troops at the Battle of Chemnitz in the Thirty Years’ War.
The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, the first abolition society in North America, is organized in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
In 1775, Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush found North America’s first abolition society in Philadelphia.
Births
Averroes
Averroes was a pioneering Andalusian Arab physician and philosopher known for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle.
Henry I
Henry I was King of Castile who reigned from 1214 until his early death in 1217.
Jeanne-Marie de Maille
Jeanne-Marie de Maille was a French noblewoman who became a dedicated Roman Catholic saint known for her charity.
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius was a pioneering Flemish cartographer who created the first modern atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.
Adam Tanner
Adam Tanner was an Austrian mathematician and philosopher renowned for his academic contributions during the early 17th century.
Philip III was King of Spain and ruler of the vast Spanish Empire from 1598 to 1621.
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch scientist celebrated for his discoveries in optics, mechanics, and astronomy.
Magnus Julius De la Gardie
Magnus Julius De la Gardie was a Swedish count who served as a general and key political figure during the Great Northern War era.
Abraham Darby I
Abraham Darby I was an English ironmaster who pioneered coke-based smelting, revolutionizing the iron industry.
Deaths
Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III was the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 904 until his death in 911.
Gerard
Gerard was the Duke of Lorraine in the 11th century, overseeing a key duchy in the Holy Roman Empire.
Conrad
Conrad served as Bishop of Utrecht from 1076 until his death in 1099, navigating church and imperial politics.
Mstislav I, known as Mstislav the Great, was Grand Prince of Kievan Rus' from 1125 to 1132.
Bolesław the Pious
Bolesław the Pious was Duke of Greater Poland from 1239 until his death in 1279, celebrated for his devout faith and legal reforms.
Bartholomew de Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere was an English soldier and nobleman who served as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports under King Edward II.
Richard de Bury
Richard de Bury was an English bishop, bibliophile, and Lord Chancellor, famed for his love of books and scholarship.
Lucia Visconti
Lucia Visconti was an Italian noblewoman of the powerful Visconti family who became an English countess through marriage.
Lidwina
Lidwina was a Dutch mystic and saint, venerated as the patroness of the chronically ill and disabled.