June 14 is celebrated in Ukraine as the Day of the Furniture Industry Worker, in the world as World Blood Donor Day, World Health Day, International Day of Young Eagles, and International Blogger Day. On this day, in different eras, events took place that became significant in the history of religion, politics, science, aviation, wars and culture.
Day of the worker of the furniture industry of Ukraine
This is a professional holiday of specialists engaged in the manufacture of furniture, production of components, design, sales and development of the industry. The holiday is established as a national holiday and is officially celebrated every year on the second Saturday of June. Its purpose is to recognize the role of the furniture industry in the development of the economy, support the employees of manufacturing enterprises and stimulate the prestige of the profession.
The decision to establish this professional holiday was made by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 285/95 dated August 17, 1995. The document emphasized the importance of furniture production as a component of the industrial complex of Ukraine, which ensures the domestic market and exports.
Interesting facts
The history of the furniture business in Ukraine has long-standing traditions that have been formed for centuries. Even in Kyivan Rus, wooden furniture – benches, tables, chests, shelves – was made from solid oak, linden, pine. Furniture was often decorated with carvings, ornaments and inlays, which made each product unique. Dowries, clothes, towels were kept in chests – they were not only furniture, but also an important part of family culture.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries, the guild system of master carvers and carpenters began to develop in the cities of Cossack Ukraine. For example, in Kyiv, Lviv, and Chernihiv there were workshops that passed down the secrets of craftsmanship from generation to generation. Much of the furniture of that era was made to order for the estates of the Cossack elders, churches and monasteries. Particularly popular were carved iconostases, analogies, thrones — works of a high artistic level, which were made by furniture makers and carvers.
In the 19th century, with the development of industry, the first furniture factories began to appear in cities. Galicia became one of the centers of the furniture business. In Lviv and Kolomyia, small factories were developed, where craftsmen with the experience of the European school of furniture worked. Lviv furniture was even exported to Vienna.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the furniture business was actively developing in Eastern Ukraine as well. In Odesa, Kharkiv, Poltava, and Kyiv, there were furniture workshops that produced not only household furniture, but also specialized products for hotels, restaurants, and theaters.
During the Soviet period, Ukrainian furniture factories were among the largest in the USSR. In particular, Lviv furniture factory, Kyiv factory named after Beketova, the Chernihiv factory and the Cherkasy furniture factory were known far beyond the borders of the republic. In the 1970s, furniture from Ukraine was delivered even to the countries of the social camp — to Poland, Hungary, and the GDR.
A new era began in independent Ukraine after the 1990s. Some of the old factories went bankrupt, but private enterprises of a new type appeared – many of which were immediately focused on exporting to the EU. Some Ukrainian furniture makers successfully cooperate with such global giants as IKEA, JYSK or West Elm.
In many villages of the Carpathians, ancient traditions of hand-made wooden furniture are still alive – especially beds, rocking chairs, benches and chests, which are made according to old technologies using hand carving.
The furniture industry of Ukraine is one of the important export segments. A significant part of the products is supplied to the EU, in particular to Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries. In 2022–2024, despite the war, some enterprises managed to maintain their export positions thanks to the transfer of production to the western regions and reorientation to the European market.
World Blood Donor Day
This holiday was founded in 2004 on the initiative of the World Health Organization and international donor associations. This date was started in 2005 in honor of the Austrian doctor Karl Landsteiner, who discovered blood groups, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. In 2025, the World Health Organization dedicated the day to the theme “20 years of free joy: thanking donors”, emphasizing the importance of voluntary donation.
This day honors all donors who voluntarily give their blood, saving the lives of others, and draws attention to the challenges of ensuring adequate and safe blood supplies in hospitals.
This day has been celebrated in Ukraine since 2005. After the start of a full-scale war in 2022, the role of donation in the country has increased many times: bases of urgent donors are formed, mobile blood collection points are deployed in front-line hospitals and rear centers. Donation has become an important part of defense and humanitarian support for the wounded.
Interesting facts
The first blood transfusions in history were attempted as early as the 17th century, but often ended in death. The first real successes became possible only after the discovery of blood groups by Landsteiner in 1900.
During World War II, the British created unique mobile donor stations — special trains where blood was collected, stored, and transported directly to hospitals at the front.
In the USSR, donors received the title of “Honorary Donor” with the right to additional benefits. Some people have been donating blood for decades — there are cases of over 150 donations from one person.
The modern blood sampling procedure takes only 10-15 minutes. A donor donates 450 ml of blood at a time – this is only 7-10% of the total volume, and the body restores the loss of plasma in a few hours.
In 2022–2025, mobilization of donors in Ukraine became a de facto second front. During the days of mass shootings, queues of volunteers lined up in hospitals, many donated blood for the first time in their lives.
There are blood groups that are called “universal donors” – this is group 0 (I) with negative Rh. Her blood can be transfused to almost anyone in critical situations.
In Japan, blood donation is a popular social event: after donation, donors are given sweets, gifts and even souvenirs from the organizers.
In 2025, artificially created blood — erythrocytes grown in laboratories — is already undergoing clinical trials. But so far, no technology has replaced the need for real donors.
World Wellness Day
The initiative to celebrate this day was launched in 2012 by Turkish businesswoman Belgin Aksoy, with the aim of promoting a healthy lifestyle, prevention of chronic diseases and care for emotional balance. The holiday quickly became global — in 2025, events will be held in more than 170 countries.
In Ukraine, in 2025, Global Wellness Day will be joined by networks of fitness centers, sanatoriums, wellness resorts in the resorts of Truskavets, Morshyn, Khmilnyk, private medical centers, as well as public health promotion initiatives. This day does not yet have an official state status in Ukraine.
Interesting facts
In Ukraine, even during princely times, there were separate health systems: steam baths, saunas, herbalism, massages. The bathhouse was considered not only a means of hygiene, but also a way of preventing diseases. It was combined with rubs with honey, juniper, hay, and nettle. To this day, many elements of these traditions have been preserved among the Carpathian Hutsuls.
In Kievan Rus, treatment with spring water was widely used. Many springs (for example, springs in Pochaev, in the Carpathians, in Podilly) were considered healing and were used to strengthen the body.
In the 19th century, the first “water hospitals” appeared in Ukraine, following the example of European resorts. For example, sanatoriums were established in Morshyn, Truskavets, and Khmelnyk, where patients were treated with mineral waters, mud, and thermal baths. Some methods from those times still exist today — even the formulas of the waters in Truskavets have remained practically unchanged for 100 years.
In the 1920s and 30s, gymnastics was actively promoted in the USSR, morning fitness complexes were developed, and mass outdoor classes were held. For example, already in 1930, the first “health towns” were organized in Kharkiv – an analogue of modern fitness parks.
In the 1970s, Truskavets was considered one of the leading resorts in Europe in terms of the number of mineral springs. In the peak season, up to 15,000 vacationers came there at the same time.
In modern Ukraine, after 2014, there was a trend for private wellness complexes in the Carpathians, Podilla, and Zakarpattia, which combine traditional methods (herbs, baths, healing pools) with new approaches (yoga, detox, anti-stress programs).
In 2023–2025, Ukrainian psychological rehabilitation programs for the military began to combine physical rehabilitation (baths, training, diet therapy) with psychotherapy. This became part of the modern Ukrainian system of “complex rehabilitation”, which actually did not exist before.
In 2025, the wellness industry in the world is estimated to be more than 5 trillion dollars. Global Wellness Day has become an element of the general trend towards “preventive medicine” – when people invest in a healthy lifestyle long before diseases appear.
International Day of Young Eagles
This day is celebrated annually on the second Saturday of June and is organized by the Experimental Aircraft Association, founded in the United States. The main goal is to introduce children and teenagers to aviation, give them their first practical flight experience, and develop interest in aviation sciences and professions.
The Young Eagles program was launched in 1992. The idea was to give children and teenagers between the ages of 8 and 17 the opportunity to fly light-engined, sport and experimental aircraft under the guidance of experienced volunteer pilots for free. Participants get not only flight, but also basic knowledge about the structure of airplanes, the principles of aerodynamics, the operation of airports and the basics of flight safety.
Interesting facts
During the Young Eagles program, more than 2 million children around the world took to the skies for the first time.
The first honorary chairman of the Young Eagles program was the famous American actor and pilot Chuck Yeager – the first person to overcome the speed of sound. Later, the program was supported by other famous pilots, including actors Chris Kristofferson, Harrison Ford and Cliff Robertson. Harrison Ford, who personally made hundreds of flights with participating children, was especially active.
Young Eagles usually include children from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia, but flights were also organized in Latin America, Japan, and South Africa. Many participants of the program later become professional pilots, aviation engineers, controllers or work in the aerospace field.
In Ukraine, there is no official branch of the program, but the idea is partially used by some aviation clubs and model airplanes, which organize familiarization flights for schoolchildren and students.
The Young Eagles initiative began with a very ambitious goal: to lift one million children into the sky by the 17th anniversary of the program, that is, by 2003. This goal was achieved ahead of schedule — in less than 11 years. This is actually a record of mass reconnaissance flights in the world.
One of the record holders of the program is the American pilot Campbell Piper, who personally made more than 10,000 familiarization flights with children.
In 2016, one of the young participants of the Young Eagles program in the USA made his first flight at the age of 12, and six years later became the youngest instructor pilot in his state.
In many cases, the first flights in Young Eagles took place in unique experimental aircraft that were built by the pilots themselves. For example, on lightweight RV-7 models that have been hand-assembled at home for several years.
International Blogger Day
This is an unofficial, but world-famous holiday of people who create content on the Internet: they write blogs, shoot videos, record podcasts, write on social networks, stream, comment on current events, share their knowledge, experience and opinions. The holiday arose as an initiative of the bloggers themselves in the early 2000s, when the activity of the blogosphere increased dramatically. There are no official government decisions to set this date – it is a day that the community itself has supported.
In Ukraine, the International Blogger Day gained special importance after 2014, when bloggers became an important part of the information front. After 2022, Ukrainian bloggers took on the functions of not only media workers, but also reporters from the front, volunteers, analysts, war documentaries.
Interesting facts
The world’s first blog is considered to be the personal online journal of the American Justin Hall, who started writing in 1994, when the word “blog” did not even exist.
The very term “blog” appeared in 1997: at first it was called weblog, and already in 1999 it was shortened to the usual “blog”.
One of the first platforms that massively enabled people to become bloggers was the Blogger project (1999), which was bought by Google in 2003.
In 2005, a new blog was created every 7 seconds in the world – this was the speed of expansion of the blogosphere in the first years of its mass.
In Ukraine, the first powerful waves of blogging occurred at the time of LiveJournal. It was here that the first Ukrainian political, journalistic, and literary bloggers started writing in the early 2000s.
Many modern famous bloggers – both in Ukraine and in the world – started with text blogs, but later switched to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Telegram.
In 2025, there will be more than 600 million blogs in various formats in the world.
A characteristic modern record — the blogger MrBeast (USA) in 2024 became the most profitable YouTube creator with an annual income of more than 80 million dollars.
After 2022, some military bloggers of Ukraine became sources of unique chronicles of front-line events, which are then used by both journalists and historians.
It was bloggers, not journalists or politicians, who first set the modern format of short news in Telegram and TikTok, which today form the feed of millions of people.
Historical events on this day
325 — the first Ecumenical Council began its work in the city of Nicaea (today the territory of Turkey). It was here that the bishops of various Christian communities gathered for the first time to resolve key issues of faith and church organization. At this council, the foundations of Christian teaching were developed, the Nicene Creed was adopted, and the unity of the Church was established.
1775 — in North America, in the conditions of the war for independence, the US army was officially created. Since then, a regular military structure began to form, which later became one of the largest in the world.
1777 — The Second Continental Congress adopted a new state symbol of the United States — a national flag with red and white stripes and white stars on a blue background. Since then, the stars and stripes flag has become the official symbol of the new American state.
1783 — in the Crimea, on the shore of the Southern Bay, the first stone structures were laid, which became the beginning of the construction of the city of Sevastopol. The city originated as a naval base of the Russian Empire on the Black Sea.
1834 — the American Isaac Fisher Jr. received a patent for the invention of sandpaper. Its discovery became an important technological basis for the development of the processing industry and grinding operations.
1847 — German chemist Robert Bunsen created the first laboratory burner with the ability to adjust the flame. This device is still actively used in laboratory research around the world.
1919 — English pilots John William Alcock and Arthur Brown were the first in the world to make a non-stop transatlantic flight. They took off from Newfoundland in Canada and landed in Ireland, proving that transatlantic flights are technically possible.
1940 — the troops of Hitler’s Germany entered Paris without a fight. The city capitulated after six weeks of defense, and the Nazi occupation of France began.
1985 — in the Luxembourg city of Schengen, five European countries signed an agreement on the abolition of passport control at internal borders. This is how the Schengen zone was born – one of the key foundations of modern European integration.
1995 — a detachment of Chechen fighters led by Shamil Basayev seized a hospital in the city of Budenovsk in Russia. Their goal was to force the Russian authorities to stop hostilities in Chechnya and start negotiations.
1997 — the first edition of the Batman comic from 1939 was sold at an auction in New York for $685,000. This became one of the record prices in the history of comic book sales.
2014 — near the Luhansk airport, pro-Russian militants shot down a Ukrainian Il-76 military transport plane. There were 49 soldiers on board, all of them died. This became one of the most tragic losses of the Armed Forces in the first months of the war.
2017 — in North Kensington, London, a large-scale fire broke out in the 27-story residential building Grenfell Tower. 72 people died, another 74 were injured. The tragedy sparked heated discussions about fire safety and builders’ responsibilities in Great Britain.
Sevastopol Foundation Day
June 14, 1783 is considered the founding day of Sevastopol. The first stone buildings of the city of Akhtiar (White Rock) were laid on the western shore of the South Bay: a house for the commander of the Black Sea Squadron, Fyodor Mackenzie, a chapel, a forge and a wooden pier. The construction was supervised by the chief of staff of the squadron, flag-captain Dmytro Senyavin, who later became a famous naval commander.
In February of the following year, the fortress city was given a new name – Sevastopol. The decree stated: “…The city will no longer be called Akhtiar, but always Sevastopol.”
Even five years earlier, the commander of the Crimean Corps, Oleksandr Suvorov, was the first to pay attention to the favorable location of the Akhtiar harbor and prevented the Turks from gaining a foothold there, forcing their squadron to leave the bay. Then the commander reported to Empress Catherine II: “There is no place on the entire Black Sea where the fleet would be better protected.”
The people of Haiti vote for an unlimited term of office for their president
On June 14, 1964, the people of Haiti voted in a constitutional referendum for an unlimited term of office for their president, François Duvalier. In the ballots for the question “Do you agree?” the only correct answer – “Yes” – was printed in capital letters. Those who wanted to answer “No” had to write it in by hand and then…
Then the president declared: “God and the people are the source of all power. I was given power twice. I took her, and damn it, I’ll keep her forever.” A few days after the plebiscite, François Duvalier was proclaimed president for life. In honor of this event, the words of the Haitian national anthem, which had since begun with the words “Papa Doc Forever”, were changed.
François Duvalier was born into an intelligent family of a teacher and journalist in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. He went from a doctor to a dictator who gripped the country with an iron hand. After receiving a medical education, he worked in rural areas, participated in the US military mission, and completed an internship at the University of Michigan. In 1939, he married nurse Simona Ovide, three daughters and a son were born in the marriage.
He admired the works of Machiavelli, especially The Emperor, but always dreamed of a career as a doctor. Subsequently, he became involved in politics, spent some time underground, engaged in subversive activities, used tactics of intrigue and provoking disturbances in order to gain power. President Paul Eugene Magloire was unable to suppress the protests and fled the country.
After becoming president after a series of political coups, he established a harsh regime of repression in Haiti. All political parties and public organizations, except for the presidential one, were banned. Duvalier cracked down on the opposition: imprisoned and executed people. Liberal newspapers were closed, the property of disloyal businessmen was confiscated. The Catholic Church, which was oppressed, was forced to rewrite its liturgies, turning not to God, but to Duvalier himself. Despite this, the voodoo cult remained Haiti’s main religion. François Duvalier personally went through the lists of those who needed to be arrested and eliminated.
He appropriated many titles that emphasized his power: “undisputed leader of the revolution”, “apostle of national unity”, “worthy heir of the founders of the Haitian nation”, “knight without fear and reproach”, “great electric exciter of souls”, “great boss of commerce and industry”, “supreme leader of the revolution”, “patron of the people”, “leader of the third world”, “benefactor of the poor”, “corrector” mistakes”. A new state flag was approved in the country with colors corresponding to Voodoo symbolism.
Wary of the army, Duvalier created his own armed formation, the Tonton Makutes. These squads, consisting of semi-criminal elements, did not receive a salary, but lived off the plunder of the population. At the head of the Tonton Makuts were voodoo priests who terrorized the illiterate villagers. They hid their faces under white hoodies and sunglasses so no one could see their eyes. The cruelty of the Tonton Makuts knew no bounds: people were flayed alive, drowned, burned, stoned. The Haitians believed that the Tonton Makute could not be bribed or killed because they were “zombies” who obeyed only Duvalier.
Duvalier began each day with a report from the chief of the secret police on everyone he thought deserved punishment. Then he signed lists of people to be arrested and executed. During his rule, prisons and concentration camps for those suspected of disloyalty appeared. The most dangerous were kept in a special prison under the presidential palace, where torture was used that could shock even the Middle Ages. New methods brought by technological progress were added to the old methods of torture. Newspapers regularly published photo reports with severed heads and mutilated bodies of victims.
“I am a revolutionary, I know no mercy. My only real companion is a rifle,” the president declared.
“Papa Doc” ruled until his death in 1971. After him, his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude became the dictator of Haiti, who remained in power until 1986. During the years of the dictatorship, about 50,000 people were killed, and another 300,000 Haitians were forced to flee the country. In 1986, Baby Doc was deposed and fled to France, taking with him a large part of the state treasury. In the 2000s, in Haiti, Papa Doc and Baby Doc were increasingly mentioned as rulers who allegedly protected the interests of the poor black population. Hoping to return to power, Jean-Claude Duvalier returned to the country in 2011, but was immediately arrested. Three years later, he died of a heart attack.
The regime left a deep mark on Haiti, turning the country into one of the poorest, most criminalized and backward countries in the world, which Haiti remains today.
Invasion of German troops to Paris
On June 14, 1940, German troops entered Paris, and on the evening of the same day, a giant banner with a swastika was erected on the Eiffel Tower. The elevator mechanism on the tower broke down just before the arrival of Adolf Hitler. Because of the war, it was impossible to fix it quickly, and the French were very proud of it. They said: Hitler conquered France, but he could not conquer the Eiffel Tower. We had to climb the stairs to install the flag.
Just eight days after the capture of the French capital, Henri Pétain and other French political leaders signed an armistice with the Germans. The signing took place in the Forest of Compiègne, in the same railway car where twenty years before, in 1919, Germany signed the act of surrender after the First World War. The symbolism of the place was obvious. France was defeated in a month and a half.
The Germans settled in France very quickly and managed to win the favor of part of the local population. It got to the point that the French openly rejoiced when German Luftwaffe pilots shot down British planes that appeared over Paris.
600,000 Frenchmen died during the war. About 40,000 people took part in the Russian Resistance, and only half of them were French themselves. There were 400,000 soldiers in de Gaulle’s troops at the time of landing on the continent, while up to 300,000 Frenchmen served in the Wehrmacht.
The downing of a Ukrainian Il-76 military transport plane during the approach to landing at the Luhansk airport
On June 14, 2014, a Ukrainian Il-76 military transport plane was shot down during an approach to Luhansk airport. The plane was carrying out the delivery of personnel, equipment and equipment for the Ukrainian units, which at that time were defending the airport in the conditions of active hostilities in the east of Ukraine.
On board were servicemen of the 25th separate Dnipropetrovsk airborne brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Air Force crew and accompanying personnel. In total, there were 49 people in the plane – 40 paratroopers and 9 crew members.
When the IL-76 was coming in for landing, at approximately 00:51 Kyiv time, it was opened fire from portable anti-aircraft missile systems. According to the main version of the investigation, the plane was hit by a MANPADS anti-aircraft missile of terrorist formations, which at that time controlled the territories around Luhansk. After being hit by a missile, the plane took off in the air and fell on the territory of the airport, completely collapsing.
No one on board survived. This became one of the largest simultaneous losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the war in Donbas. The Ministry of Defense officially confirmed the death of all servicemen, publishing the full list of the dead. Among them were both experienced officers and very young contractors and conscripts who had recently started their service.
This tragedy became one of the key dates of the first months of the war in eastern Ukraine. The death of 49 Ukrainian soldiers caused a wave of grief and indignation in the country. Mourning ceremonies were held in many cities, hundreds of people came to say goodbye to the dead, in Dnipro, Lviv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and other cities.
The circumstances of the plane’s death became the subject of a separate investigation and trial. The Ukrainian investigation accused the leaders of terrorist groups of organizing the attack, and also recorded the involvement of Russian military instructors who ensured the delivery of MANPADS to the territory of Donbas.
