A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniversaries, although the human lifespan makes this usage more common for institutions.
Western monarchies
George III of the United Kingdom died nine months before his diamond jubilee was due in 1820. The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria celebrated her 60-year reign on 22 June 1897. The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II was celebrated across the Commonwealth of Nations throughout 2012.
Asian monarchies
In East Asia, the diamond jubilee coincides with the traditional 60-year sexagenary cycle, which is held in special importance despite not generally being called a "diamond jubilee." Monarchs such as the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors of China and Emperor Hirohito of Japan held celebrations for their 60th year of reign, as did King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on 10 June 2006.
National governments also mark their 60th anniversary as diamond jubilees, as did the Republic of Korea in 2005 and the People's Republic of China in 2009. In South Asia, the term is also used for certain 100-day anniversaries. In the Indian and Pakistani film industries, a "diamond jubilee" film is a title that has been featured in cinemas for 100 days, and beyond.
African monarchies The longest reigning monarch in history, Sobhuza II of Swaziland, celebrated his (60 year) diamond jubilee in 1981, dating from when he gained direct rule. There does not appear to have been any (75 year) diamond jubilee celebration.
List of diamond jubilees Monarchs MonarchRealmAccession dayCommemorationMore informationQueen VictoriaUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the rest of the British Empire20 June 183722 June 1897Diamond Jubilee of Queen VictoriaEmperor Franz Joseph IAustrian Empire, Austria-Hungary2 December 184812 June 1908Prince Johann IILiechtenstein12 November 18581918Sultan Ibrahim of JohorJohor7 September 189517 September 1955King Sobhuza IISwaziland10 December 18991959Emperor HirohitoJapan25 December 192629 April 1986King Bhumibol AdulyadejThailand9 June 194610 June 200660th Anniversary Celebrations of Bhumibol Adulyadej's AccessionQueen Elizabeth IIUnited Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand6 February 19522–5 June 2012Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth IIHis Highness Prince Aga Khan IVNizari Isma'ilism11 July 195711 July 2017 – 11 July 2018
Sovereign states and dependent territories Sovereign state or dependent territoryIndependence day or formation dayCommemorationMore informationJapan11 February 660 BC600 BCIran550 BC490 BCSan Marino3 September 3013 September 361France10 August 843 10 August 903Thailand12381298Ethiopia12701330Andorra8 September 12788 September 1338Switzerland1 August 12911 August 1351Monaco8 January 12978 January 1357Spain20 January 147920 January 1539Sweden6 June 15236 June 1583Russia16 January 154716 January 1607Bhutan16161676Portugal1 December 16401 December 1700Nepal25 September 176825 September 1828United States4 July 17764 July 1836United Kingdom1 January 18011 January 1861Haiti1 January 18041 January 1864Serbia15 February 180415 February 1864Ecuador10 August 180910 August 1869Colombia20 July 181020 July 1870Mexico16 September 181016 September 1870Chile18 September 181018 September 1870Paraguay14 May 181114 May 1871Venezuela5 July 18115 July 1871Luxembourg9 June 18159 June 1875Argentina9 July 18169 July 1876Greece25 March 182125 March 1881Peru28 July 182128 July 1881Costa Rica15 September 182115 September 1881El Salvador15 September 182115 September 1881Guatemala15 September 182115 September 1881Honduras15 September 182115 September 1881Nicaragua15 September 182115 September 1881Brazil7 September 18227 September 1882Bolivia6 August 18256 August 1885Uruguay25 August 182525 August 1885Belgium21 July 183121 July 1891New Zealand6 February 18406 February 1900Dominican Republic27 February 184427 February 1904Liberia26 July 184726 July 1907Denmark5 June 18495 June 1909Italy17 March 186117 March 1921Liechtenstein15 August 186615 August 1926Canada1 July 18671 July 1926Cuba10 October 186810 October 1927Montenegro13 July 187813 July 1938Qatar18 December 187818 December 1938Philippines12 June 189812 June 1958Guam, United States10 December 189810 December 1958Puerto Rico, United States10 December 189810 December 1958American Samoa, United States2 December 18992 December 1959Australia1 January 19011 January 1961North Macedonia2 August 19032 August 1963Panama3 November 19033 November 1963Norway7 June 19057 June 1965Bulgaria22 September 190822 September 1968South Africa31 May 191031 May 1970Mongolia29 December 191129 December 1971Taiwan1 January 19121 January 1972Albania28 November 191228 November 1972Ireland24 April 191624 April 1976United States Virgin Islands, the United States31 March 191731 March 1977Finland6 December 19176 December 1977Lithuania16 February 191816 February 1978Estonia24 February 191824 February 1978Georgia26 May 191826 May 1978Armenia28 May 191828 May 1978Azerbaijan28 May 191828 May 1978Czech Republic28 October 191828 October 1978Slovakia28 October 191828 October 1978Poland11 November 191811 November 1978Latvia18 November 191818 November 1978Romania1 December 19181 December 1978Ukraine22 January 191922 January 1979Afghanistan19 August 191919 August 1979Åland, Finland7 May 19207 May 1980Vatican City11 February 192911 February 1989Iraq3 October 19323 October 1992Lebanon22 November 194322 November 2003Iceland17 June 194417 June 2004Belarus3 July 19443 July 2004North Korea15 August 194515 August 2005South Korea15 August 194515 August 2005Indonesia17 August 194517 August 2005Vietnam2 September 19452 September 2005Syria17 April 194617 April 2006Jordan25 May 194625 May 2006Pakistan14 August 194714 August 2007India15 August 194715 August 2007Myanmar25 January 194825 January 2008Sri Lanka4 February 19484 February 2008Faroe Islands, Denmark23 March 194823 March 2008Israel14 May 194814 May 2008China1 October 19491 October 200960th anniversary of the People's Republic of ChinaLibya24 December 195124 December 2011Egypt23 July 195223 July 2012Laos22 October 195322 October 2013Cambodia9 November 19539 November 2013Morocco18 November 195518 November 2015Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia23 November 195523 November 2015Sudan1 January 19561 January 2016Tunisia20 March 195620 March 2016Ghana6 March 19576 March 2017Malaysia31 August 195731 August 2017Guinea2 October 19582 October 2018Senegal4 April 19604 April 2020Togo27 April 196027 April 2020Somaliland26 June 196026 June 2020Madagascar26 June 196026 June 2020Congo, Democratic Republic of the30 June 196030 June 2020Somalia1 July 19601 July 2020Benin1 August 19601 August 2020Niger3 August 19603 August 2020Burkina Faso5 August 19605 August 2020Ivory Coast7 August 19607 August 2020Chad11 August 196011 August 2020Central African Republic13 August 196013 August 2020Congo, Republic of the15 August 196015 August 2020Gabon17 August 196017 August 2020Mali22 September 196022 September 2020Cyprus1 October 19601 October 2020Nigeria1 October 19601 October 2020Mauritania28 November 196028 November 2020Kuwait25 February 196125 February 2021Sierra Leone27 April 196127 April 2021Tanzania9 December 19619 December 2021Samoa1 June 19621 June 2022Burundi1 July 19621 July 2022Rwanda1 July 19621 July 2022Algeria5 July 19625 July 2022Jamaica6 August 19626 August 2022Trinidad and Tobago31 August 196231 August 2022Uganda9 October 19629 October 2022Kenya12 December 196312 December 2023Malawi6 July 19646 July 2024Malta21 September 196421 September 2024Zambia24 October 196424 October 2024Gambia18 February 196518 February 2025Maldives26 July 196526 July 2025Singapore9 August 19659 August 2025Guyana26 May 196626 May 2026Botswana30 September 196630 September 2026Lesotho4 October 19664 October 2026Barbados30 November 196630 November 2026
Organizations OrganizationInauguration CommemorationMore informationInternational Olympic Committee23 June 189423 June 1954 BBC18 October 192218 October 1982Warner Bros. Pictures4 April 19234 April 1983The Walt Disney Company16 October 192316 October 1983Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer17 April 192417 April 1984United Nations24 October 194524 October 2005Disneyland Resort17 July 195517 July 2015Universal Studios Hollywood15 July 196417 July 2024
See also
Hierarchy of precious substances List of longest-reigning monarchs List of current reigning monarchs by length of reign Wedding anniversary
References