site.btaToday's Observances: May 19

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1876: Dryanovo Monastery is captured (old style date: May 7) by Ottoman troops after nine days of heroic resistance during the April Uprising.

1934: A coup d'etat is carried out by the Zveno military organization and the Military Union.

1969: Diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Luxembourg are promoted to the level of embassies. First established on December 16, 1956 at the level of legations.

1989: The first demonstration against the totalitarian regime and the Bulgarian Communist Party is held in the southern town of Djebel. The people protest against the forcible assimilation of ethnic Turks, known as the Regeneration Process.

1999: The 38th National Assembly passes the Protection and Development of Culture Act.

2004: Bulgarian Petko Totev reaches Mount Everest.

2008: A Bulgarian-US Cultural Centre for People with Disabilities is unveiled in Sofia by the then US Ambassador to Bulgaria John Beyrle and his wife Jocelyn Greene.