CALENDAR

DATES. EVENTS. PEOPLE.

November 18th is World No Tobacco Day. It is carried out to inform and draw attention to the health hazards and health effects of smoking. The World Health Organisation calls on governments to build effective policies to reduce tobacco use.


November 18th is Guinness World Record Day — a collection of world records, published annually. The Guinness Book of Records was first published in 1955. The idea began during a dispute in a pub, as hunting lovers could not decide which bird was faster than the rest. One of the participants in the dispute was Hugh Beaver, executive director of the Irish brewery Arthur Guinness Son & Co, who decided to perpetuate various achievements. The holiday appeared in 2005, in honour of the 50th anniversary release of the book.


On November 19th, 1711, Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765) was born — the first Russian natural scientist, transformer of the Russian literary language, poet, artist, historian, champion of national education and founder of the Russian tradition of encyclopedism. On his initiative, Moscow University was opened. He was the first to formulate the law of conservation of mass. He also laid the foundations for the development of modern versification. It is to him that the descendants owe the birth of the Russian mosaic. 


November 19th is the Day of Missile Troops and Artillery in the Republic of Belarus. The holiday dates back to Soviet times. It was established to commemorate the outstanding merits of the rocket forces and artillery in the fight against the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War. In particular, in the defeat of the invaders at Stalingrad, where artillery played one of the key roles. (November 19th, 1942, is the day of the beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad). 


November 20th is World Children’s Day, celebrated annually at the call of the UN to commemorate the adoption on November 20th, 1959, by the 14th session of the UN General Assembly of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted by the 44th session of the UN General Assembly on November 20th, 1989).


November 21st is the Day for Workers of the Agriculture and Processing Industry of the Agro-industrial Complex in the Republic of Belarus. Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the national economy in most states, including the Republic of Belarus, which has centuries-old agrarian traditions. The holiday was approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of November 10th, 1995, and it is no coincidence that it falls on the end of autumn: the period of completion of the harvest.



November 21st is World Television Day, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on December 17th, 1996, to commemorate the first World Television Forum, held at the UN Headquarters on November 21st, 1996. Television has been recognised as an important tool for influencing — targeting, directing and monitoring public opinion.


On November 22nd, 1801, Vladimir Dal (1801-1872) was born — Russian writer, lexicographer, ethnographer and doctor, as well as a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and creator of The Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, for which he was awarded the title of Honorary Academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. The dictionary became a landmark in the history of Russian science and culture. Dal collected more than 200,000 words, each of which he illustrated with a saying, a proverb and gave examples of language expressions in which these words are most often used.


On November 22nd, 1941, during the Great Patriotic War and the blockade of the Nazi troops of Leningrad, the ‘Road of Life’ was opened, linking the besieged city with the mainland. The first convoy of 60 cars with sleds on trailers set off across the ice to the eastern shore of Lake Ladoga and reached the port of Kobona in the evening. During the operation of the ice route, hundreds of tonnes of cargo were delivered from the rear to the besieged city.


On November 23rd, 1706, the first lanterns in Russia were lit in St. Petersburg. They were hung on the facades of houses near the Peter and Paul Fortress by order of Peter I in honour of the victory of Russian troops over the Swedes near Kalisz.


Open source photos