April 23rd is the day for all the book lovers and bookworms, as the world celebrates 'World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day’. World Book Day is celebrated by UNESCO every year on April 23rd. The date was selected by UNESCO to pay tribute to great literary figures like William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes, and Vladimir Nabokov and may more.

The date, April 23, was finalized in the year 1995 in the UNESCO General Conference, held in Paris, to honour authors and book worldwide. Year 2019 marks the 24th edition of the World Book Day’ and this year it will celebrate literature and reading while focusing particularly on the importance of enhancing and protecting indigenous languages.

History of World Book Day

In 1995, UNESCO decided to celebrate April 23rd as the ‘World Book Day’ or World Book and Copyright Day’, since the date has prominence in the history of literature. April 23 marks the death anniversary of many prominent literary figures like William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, while the date also marks the birth anniversary of many other prominent authors including Maurice Druon, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla, Haldor K. Lazness and Manuel Mejia Vallejo. Therefore, it became obvious for the UNESCO to choose April 23 to celebrate World Book Day’ worldwide.