August 24 Holidays

National Waffle Day marks August 24, 1869, when Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York, received the first U.S. patent for a waffle iron — a device that standardized the gridded breakfast bread that Belgian immigrants had been making for centuries. Kobe Bryant Day marks August 24 — a date chosen because 8/24 represents the two jersey numbers worn by the Los Angeles Lakers star who died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, at age 41, after a 20-year NBA career that included five championships. National Heroes’ Day is a Philippine national holiday observed on the last Monday of August, honoring all the heroes of Philippine history — including José Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Emilio Aguinaldo — who fought for independence. National Peach Pie Day celebrates the summer stone-fruit pie whose peak window in Georgia and South Carolina runs from late July through August. A waffle iron patent, two jersey numbers, a Philippine tribute, and a peach in pastry.