Portugal

Portuguese Republic
Flag
Location  Europe
Capital  Lisbon
Area  92,090 sq km
Population  10,355,493

"All things come to those that wait"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 Portugal joined the European Union (EU), an economic and political union of European countries, on 1 January 1986. January 2 Renowned Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura was awarded Israel’s prestigious Wolf Prize for 2013 for the advancement of architectural knowledge in showing how buildings can philosophically and experientially engage with the natural world, and for his exceptional skills as a designer. January 3 January 4 Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo won the record fifth Best Player Award at Globe Soccer Awards on 4 January 2019 in the UAE. Pope Francis named Jose Macario do Nascimento Clemente of Portugal as a cardinal among a new batch of cardinals selected by Pope on 4 January 2015. January 5 January 6 January 7 January 8 January 9 Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year award in Zurich on 9 January 2017. January 10 January 11 Portugal was presented with three awards - Vila Joya Resort won the World's Leading Boutique Resort award and the national airline of Portugal, TAP Portugal, won the World's Leading Airline to South America and Africa awards- at the grand final gala ceremony of the 18th World Travel Awards on 11 January 2012. January 12 Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or world footballer of the year award for the second year in a row on 12 January 2015. It was his third Ballon d'Or award. January 13 Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or at the FIFA Ballon d’Or soccer awards ceremony in Zurich on 13 January 2014. January 14 January 15 January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22 January 23 Portugal was crowned as the seventh greenest country in the world according to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2016 published by Yale University, Columbia University and the World Economic Forum. The EPI index ranks the performance of each nation in protection of human health from environmental harm and protection of ecosystems based on nine assessment areas that include air quality, climate and energy, forests and water resources. January 24 January 25 January 26 January 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 January 31 UPTEC, the Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto – part of Portugal Ventures’ Ignition Partner Network – won the 2013 RegioStars award in the category for Smart Growth. The RegioStars Awards have been organized by the European Commission since 2008.

February

February 1 February 2 February 3 February 4 February 5 February 6 February 7 February 8 February 9 February 10 February 11 February 12 February 13 February 14 February 15 Portugal ranked second in the world on how effectively children can access the justice system to defend their rights, according to a research report released on 15 February 2016 by Children Rights International Network (CRIN). February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20 February 21 February 22 February 23 February 24 Portuguese firm Tekever has demonstrated a drone that can be piloted using just a person's brainwaves, as revealed on 24 February 2015. February 25 February 26 February 27 February 28 February 29

March

March 1 March 2 March 3 March 4 March 5 Scientists in Portugal have identified the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever found in Europe, a 33-foot-long (10-meter-long) brute called Torvosaurus gurneyi that was the scourge of its domain in the Jurassic Period. The findings were described in the Plos One journal on 5 March 2014. March 6 March 7 March 8 March 9 March 10 Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo set a new all-time goal record in UEFA club competition with his 77th and 78th strikes on 10 March 2015 against Schalke. March 11 March 12 Portuguese scientists were awarded 9 research grants by the European Research Council (ERC) on 12 March 2015 as part of the European Union Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020. March 13 Portuguese archaeologists and a team of international researchers have discovered the oldest fossil human cranium from the Aroeira cave in Portugal dated to around 400,000 years ago. Their findings were detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on 13 March 2017. March 14 March 15 March 16 March 17 March 18 March 19 Fajãs de São Jorge in Portugal, the biosphere reserve that covers the entire Island of São Jorge, was added to the list of UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves on 19 March 2016. The list recognizes regions that have maintained a healthy economy while hanging on to significant environmental values. March 20 In a world first, scientists have studied the DNA of giant squid from across the globe to discover that they all belong to the same species. The genetic diversity of giant squid (Architeuthis) is surprisingly low and indeed far lower than that of other marine species studied to date. The findings were published on 20 March 2013 in the British journal the Proceedings of the Royal Society B by an international team including researchers from Portugal. March 21 March 22 March 23 March 24 March 25 March 26 March 27 March 28 Eduardo Souto de Moura, a Portuguese architect who worked mainly in his native country, designing a major soccer stadium and numerous private houses, was awarded the 2011 Pritzker Prize, considered as one of the highest honors for architects, on March 28, 2011. March 29 March 30 March 31

April

April 1 April 2 April 3 Portuguese footballer and Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was named the Premier League Player of the Month for March 2026, as revealed on 3 April 2026, drawing level with club legend Cristiano Ronaldo with six such awards. Portugal’s renewable energy sources generated enough power to exceed total grid demand for the first time, across the month of March 2018, as reported on 3 April 2018. April 4 April 5 April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 April 10 April 11 April 12 On 12 April 2013, Portugal was granted seven more years to pay their bailout loans from the European Union, easing the burden on its economy and paving the way for a quicker return to sustainable growth. April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16 April 17 April 18 Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal became the first player to reach a century of goals in UEFA club competition after scoring a hat trick for Real Madrid against Bayern München on 18 April 2017. April 19 Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins won the first prize at the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards in Still Life category. April 20 April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25 April 26 April 27 April 28 April 29 World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge that is 516-metre-long (1693-ft) opened on 29 April 2021 in Arouca in northern Portugal. April 30

May

May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 Scientists from Portugal and their international colleagues have found bones in a Bulgarian cave that show modern humans may have arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought, as published in the journal Nature on 11 May 2020. May 12 May 13 May 14 Salvador Sobral of Portugal won the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Amar Pelos Dois'. This is the first time Portugal has won since it first entered the contest in 1964. May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31

June

June 1 Portugal ranked as the third most peaceful country in the world, according to a report published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) on 1 June 2017. June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5 Portuguese footballer Ruben Dias playing for Manchester City was named 2020/21 Premier League Men's Footballer of the Year, making him the first defender to win the award since Steve Nicol in 1989. An international team of astronomers, including researchers from Portugal, has discovered the hottest known exoplanet, a world where temperatures exceed those on the surface of most stars. The Jupiter-like planet, named as KELT-9b, was detailed in the journal Nature on 5 June 2017. June 6 Portugal was ranked as the fourth most peaceful country in the world according to the 2018 Global Peace Index (GPI) produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). June 7 June 8 Portugal won their second Nations League Football title on 8 June 2025 defeating Spain 5-3 on penalties after the match was tied 2-2 after extra time. June 9 Portugal won the inaugural UEFA Nations League football competition beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final on 9 June 2019. Portuguese footballer Bernardo Silva was named as the Player of the Tournament at the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League on 9 June 2019. June 10 June 11 The genetic blueprint of the Eucalyptus grandis (flooded gum) has almost been sequenced by a team of international researchers, including scientists from Portugal. The five-year effort to analyze the 640 million base-pair genome was reported on 11 June 2014 in the journal Nature. June 12 June 13 Portugal offers the fifth best family-friendly policies among 31 rich countries with available data, according to a new UNICEF report published on 13 June 2019. June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 Portugal ranked as the eleventh most peaceful country in the world at the 2015 Global Peace Index published by Institute for Economics & Peace. June 18 United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of Portugal was appointed for a second-five year-term on 18 June 2021 by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. June 19 June 20 June 21 June 22 The University of Coimbra in Portugal was granted UNESCO’s World Heritage status, during the 37th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC), on 22 June 2013. June 23 Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal made football history by becoming the first player ever to score in six different FIFA World Cup editions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026) with his two goals during the team's 5-0 win over Uzbekistan on 23 June 2026. June 24 June 25 June 26 June 27 June 28 June 29 Portugal’s António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino was elected as the Director General of the UN migration agency International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 29 June 2018. June 30 The Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications in Portugal were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List on June 30, 2012.

July

July 1 July 2 July 3 July 4 July 5 July 6 July 7 Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga in Portugal, a cultural landscape located on the slopes of Mount Espinho, was designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site on 7 July 2019. July 8 July 9 July 10 Portugal won the UEFA EURO 2016 football championship after 1-0 extra-time victory against France. July 11 July 12 July 13 Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal won the Best International Athlete award at the 2016 ESPY Awards held in Los Angeles. July 14 July 15 July 16 July 17 July 18 Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was named as the Best International Men’s Soccer Player at the 2018 ESPY Awards held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. July 19 July 20 July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 July 26 Researchers from Portugal and their international colleagues have built the first artificial intelligence tool capable of identifying individual small birds without tagging. Their research was published in the British Ecological Society journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution on 26 July 2020. July 27 July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31

August

August 1 August 2 August 3 August 4 August 5 August 6 August 7 August 8 August 9 August 10 August 11 August 12 August 13 August 14 August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 August 19 August 20 August 21 August 22 The remains of what can be the largest dinosaur to be found in Europe are being uncovered in a backyard in Pombal, city in the central region of Portugal. The remains, that could correspond to a sauropod dinosaur with approximately 12 meters high and 25 meters long, were revealed on 22 August 2022. August 23 August 24 Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was named as the UEFA Men's Football Player of the Year on 24 August 2017. August 25 Portuguese footballer and Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes won the 2026 Professional Footballers' Associations men's player of the year award. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal was named UEFA's Best Player in Europe for the second time on 25 August 2016 after winning the Champions League and Euro 2016. August 26 Portuguese footballer Rúben Dias was named Defender of the Season for the UEFA Champions League on 26 August 2021 after his success with Manchester City football club. August 27 August 28 Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was named UEFA's Best Player in Europe for the 2013/14 season at a ceremony on 28 August 2014, winning the title for the second time. August 29 August 30 August 31

September

September 1 September 2 September 3 September 4 September 5 September 6 Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan captained the first circumnavigation expedition of the earth began from Spain. Out of the five ships and approximately 300 men who left on the Magellan expedition in 1519, only one ship (the Victoria) and 18 men returned to Seville, Spain on September 6, 1522. Unfortunately Magellan was killed during a battle in the Philippines in 1521. September 7 September 8 September 9 September 10 September 11 September 12 September 13 September 14 September 15 September 16 September 17 September 18 September 19 September 20 September 21 September 22 September 23 September 24 September 25 September 26 September 27 September 28 September 29 September 30 Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2021 Global Achiever’s Award by HBW News for his exemplary contribution to sports.

October

October 1 October 2 Portuguese scientists have found evidence of mega-tsunami caused by a collapsing volcano around 73,000 years ago that created 800-foot wave in the Cape Verde Islands, Africa. Their findings were published in the journal Science Advances on 2 October 2015. October 3 October 4 October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 Portuguese writer José Saramago, who with parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality, was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature. October 9 October 10 October 11 Portugal clinched the eighth spot on the 2016 Girls’ Opportunity Index released by Save the Children, a global index that provides a snapshot of the situation of girls in respective countries according to their opportunity to control their own lives and to fulfill their potential. October 12 October 13 Former Prime Minister of Portugal, António Guterres, was appointed as the next United Nations Secretary-General on 13 October 2016, to succeed Ban Ki-moon when he steps down on 31 December. Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo won record fourth Golden Boot Award on 13 October 2015 as Europe's top scorer for his 48-goal haul in La Liga playing for Real Madrid. October 14 October 15 October 16 October 17 October 18 October 19 October 20 October 21 October 22 Former President of Portugal Antonio Eanes won the prestigious 2015 Gusi Peace Prize in the Statesmanship category. October 23 Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo won the Best FIFA Men’s Player award for the fourth time in five years on 23 October 2017. October 24 October 25 October 26 October 27 Ana Morais of Portugal was awarded the 2016 Green Talent prize by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for her research focus on integration of green chemistry into the valorisation of biomass wastes and residues through the use of more sustainable technologies. October 28 October 29 October 30 October 31

November

November 1 November 2 November 3 November 4 Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the ‘Golden Boot’ for a second time on 4 November 2011 for finishing the 2010-11 season as the top scorer in all European leagues. November 5 November 6 November 7 November 8 November 9 November 10 November 11 November 12 November 13 November 14 November 15 November 16 Portugal secured the 11th position at the Climate Change Performance Index published on 16 November 2016 by Climate Action Network Europe and Germanwatch. The index ranked 58 countries according to their emissions level, the trend in emissions, the deployment of renewable energy, the energy intensity of the economy and climate policies. November 17 November 18 November 19 November 20 November 21 November 22 José Manuel Barroso, a Portuguese politician, was appointed as President of the European Commission on November 22, 2004. He was the eleventh head of the European Commission which is the executive body of the European Union-an economic and political union of European countries. November 23 November 24 Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal made history as the first player to score in five World Cups during Portugal’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Ghana at Qatar 2022. November 25 November 26 November 27 Portugal lifted their first FIFA U-17 World Cup football title with a 1-0 victory against Austria in the final of the 2025 edition at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar. November 28 November 29 November 30

December

December 1 December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 December 6 Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo representing Real Madrid broke all-time La Liga hat-trick record with his 23rd hat-trick on 6 December 2014 in the 3-0 win over Celta Vigo. His third goal was also his 200th of his La Liga career -- a feat he achieved in just 178 games, faster than any other player. December 7 Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or award for the fifth time - and the second year in a row - on 7 December 2017. December 8 December 9 December 10 December 11 December 12 Portugal and Real Madrid football star Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2016 FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the fourth time after claiming the European Championship and Champions League titles in 2016. December 13 December 14 December 15 December 16 December 17 December 18 December 19 December 20 Francisco Lufinha of Portugal crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat powered only by the sun and wind, setting a World record for Fastest Solo Atlantic Crossing, after arriving on the island of Martinique on 20 December 2021 from Portugal. December 21 December 22 December 23 December 24 December 25 December 26 December 27 December 28 Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was named Best European Sportsperson of 2017, as voted by international news agencies, for the second year in a row. December 29 Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was named as best player at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on 29 December 2014. December 30 December 31

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