Inventors' Day is a day of the year set aside by a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

to recognise the contributions of

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

s. Not all countries recognise Inventors' Day. Those countries which do recognise an Inventors' Day do so with varying degrees of emphasis and on different days of the year.

By location

Argentina

The Inventors' Day () in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

has been celebrated since 1986 and is held yearly on 29 September, the birthday of the inventor of the

ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali English and South Asian English), is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) ...

, László József Bíró.

Austria, Germany and Switzerland

The Inventors' Day () in the German-speaking countries

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

is celebrated on 9 November, the birthday of the Austrian-born inventor and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

actress Hedy Lamarr whose main

invention An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...

was the frequency-hopped spread spectrum 1942. The day was proclaimed by

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

inventors An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...

and

entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

Gerhard Muthenthaler and Marijan Jordan. According to the website of the organisation it intends to pursue the following goals: * Encourage people towards their own ideas and for a change to the better * Remind people of forgotten inventors

Brazil

The Inventors' Day ( Portuguese: Dia do Inventor) in Brazil is celebrated on 4 November.

Hungary

''Hungarian Inventors' Day'' ( Magyar Feltalálók Napja) is celebrated on 13 June in memoriam of

Albert Szent-Györgyi Albert Imre Szent-Györgyi de Rapoltu Mare, Nagyrápolt (; September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986) was a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with first isolating vitamin C and disc ...

who registered his national patent about the synthesized

Vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

in 1941. It is celebrated by the Association of Hungarian Inventors (MAFE) since 2009.

Moldova

Since 1995, the

Republic of Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised ...

has celebrated an Inventors' and Rationalizers' Day annually at the end of June.

Russia

Since 1957,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

has celebrated an Inventors' and Rationalizers' Day () annually at the last Saturday of June.

Thailand

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

recognises 2 February as Inventors' Day each year. The Thai Cabinet set this date to commemorate the anniversary of His Majesty King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

’s allocation of a patent for a ''slow speed surface aerator'' on 2 February 1993.

United Kingdom

While as of yet, the United Kingdom does not officially recognize an Inventor's Day, in 2014 BT made a public appeal to celebrate "the first" National Inventor's Day on 2 December 2014. While many countries celebrate inventiveness on a significant day relating to one of that country's inventors, 2 December does not appear to have such a relationship. However, the day was also the release of a study by BT of the inventiveness of UK residents. As of 9 November 2016 there has not been any announcement of a second or subsequent National Inventor's Day in the United Kingdom.

United States

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

proclaimed 11 February 1983 as National Inventors' Day
Proclamation 5013
, to "...call upon the people of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities". In recognition of the enormous contribution

s make to the nation and the world, the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 140 (Public Law 97 – 198), has designated 11 February, the anniversary of the birth of the inventor

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions ...

, who held over 1,000

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s, as National Inventors' Day.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Inventors February observances June observances September observances November observances Types of secular holidays