02
All Souls Day (Day of the Dead): Christian. This is a Christian holiday to remember those who have died.

03
Culture Day (Bunka No Hi): Japan. This public holiday was established in 1948 to promote the appreciation of peace and culture. The emperor awards Cultural Orders of Merit to those who have made major contributions to Japanese culture.

03
Independence from Columbia: Panama. After the Spanish conquest of Columbia in the fourteenth century, Spain established colonies in Panama, which became part of Colombia. In 1903, Panamanians, supported by the United States which wanted to build a canal across the country, revolted and declared Panama independent of Columbia.

04
Victory in World War I: Italy. This marks the end of the war in Italy in 1918.

06
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932): Portuguese American. Composer and band conductor. Sousa wrote a number of marches that by virtue of their military vigor, tunefulness, and instrumentation brought him the title March King. Perhaps the most famous of the marches he composed was Stars and Stripes Forever. He also invented the Sousaphone, a tuba-like instrument named for him.

07
Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) Japanese American. Sculptor and designer. Noguchi was a distinguished sculptor and respected designer whose creations ranged from stage costumes and sets for the modern dance works of Martha *Graham to interiors, gardens, lamps, and furniture. *

07
Marie Sklodowska-Curie (1867-1934): Polish French. Scientist. A Polish-born researcher who became the first woman professor at the Sorbonne, Marie Skoldowska-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for phusics (shared with her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel) in 1904 for her elements radium and polonium, the latter named for her native country.

07
Day of Accord and Reconciliation: Russia and the Ukraine. This commemorates the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia that began in October 1917.

09
Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806): African American. Astronomer and mathematician. Largely self-taught, Banneker mastered mathematics, machanical principles, and the use of astronomical and surveying instruments. As a young man he designed and carved and accurate wooded clock; in 1791 he assisted the surveyor of the site where the new national capital city was to be built. After teaching himself to predict eclipses, Banneker published a widely read almanac.