50 years of World Heritage Sites Nov 16, 2022

50 years of World Heritage Sites

At its World Heritage Convention on November 16, 1972, UNESCO adopted an international treaty that for the first time linked the concepts of nature conservation and preservation of cultural properties. The World Heritage Sites program was sparked by Egypt"s plans to construct the Aswan High Dam. UNESCO helped save thousands of antiquities that would have been lost as a result of the dam, which flooded a large swath of the Nile Valley.

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Today in History

Nov 16, 2018Ancient art in the Amazon
Nov 16, 2019Mountain mists over Bavaria
Nov 16, 2020A temple, preserved
Nov 16, 2021Glenfinnan Viaduct
Nov 16, 2023World Philosophy Day
Nov 16, 2024Wadden Sea coast, Friesland, Netherlands
Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France

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Feb 6, 2022Oymyakon, Russia
Aug 4, 2018‘Fringe’ takes center stage as Edinburgh celebrates the arts
Dec 11, 2025International Mountain Day
Mar 9, 2020This grizzly has Napping Day down
Jun 5, 2019Happy trees = Clean air
Feb 26, 2022Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Feb 4, 2019Sitting down and taking a stand
May 14, 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico
Mar 12, 2023Lucian Blaga National Theater, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Jan 2, 2024Prayer flags in Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
Aug 11, 2025Village of Santa Maddalena, Dolomites, Italy
May 24, 2022European Day of Parks
Oct 26, 2025National Pumpkin Day
Sep 28, 2023World Maritime Day
Dec 21, 2023Winter solstice
Mar 14, 2024Happy Pi Day!
Jul 30, 2018Children at play for International Day of Friendship
May 20, 2020It s World Bee Day
May 3, 2023Wildebeests in Maasai Mara, Kenya
May 10, 2019Looking back on 150 years of rail travel
Sep 18, 2025Dunquin Pier, County Kerry, Ireland
Apr 17, 2022Easter
Aug 8, 2022Pantaleu
Aug 21, 2023Discovery Day in Yukon, Canada
Oct 21, 2023International Archaeology Day
Jul 7, 2025Northern gannets, Shetland Islands, Scotland
Jul 25, 2021Illuminated Uluru
Sep 20, 2024Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
Sep 23, 2020A tree of many memories
Jun 1, 2024Pride Month