Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on
which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental
protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by
the Earth Day Network, and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.
In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace
activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of
peace, to first be celebrated on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the
northern hemisphere. This day of nature's equipoise was later authorized in a
Proclamation written by McConnell and signed by Secretary General U Thant at
the United Nations. A month afterward a separate Earth Day was founded by
United States Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on
April 22, 1970. Nelson was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Award in appreciation of his work. While this April 22 Earth Day was focused on
the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the
original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and
organized events in 141 nations. Numerous communities celebrate Earth Week, an
entire week of activities focused on environmental issues.
