site.btaObservances: October 4-5

October 4

The world:

- World Animal Day;

- World Space Week (October 4-10);

- National Day of Lesotho. Independence Day (1966).

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1912: Ottoman Empire declares war on the Balkan League countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, and Montenegro).

1997: First bone marrow transplant in Bulgaria performed on nine-year-old child at Sofia's Tsaritsa Yoanna - ISUL University Hospital.

2000: Union of Publishers in Bulgaria is set up.

2004: Excavating Bulgaria's largest Thracian tomb, known as Golyama Kosmatka Mound (near Shipka, Central Bulgaria), archaeologists led by Georgi Kitov find 73 artefacts, including 20 gold ones, dated to late 5th - early 4th c. BC, in burial site of Thracian King Seuthes III.

October 5

The world:

- World Teachers' Day.

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1878: The Kresna-Razlog Uprising breaks out. Bulgarians in Macedonia oppose Congress of Berlin decisions (July 13, 1878), seek unification with Principality of Bulgaria.

1912: The Balkan League declares war on the Ottoman Empire. The First Balkan War (1912-1913) begins.

1944: Bulgaria and Yugoslavia sign an agreement on the participation of Bulgarian troops in military action against Germany in Yugoslav territory in the final phase (1944-1945) of the World War II.

1956: The Shipka National Park is inaugurated. It covers the historical places connected to the Battle of Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

1960: Diplomatic relations established with Cuba.

1968: First International Book Fair opens in Sofia.

1992: Bulgaria and Ukraine sign a 10-year Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.

2001: Sofia hosts a summit meeting of ten Central and Eastern European countries aspiring for NATO membership.