Not to be confused with National Pi Day on March 14th, January 23rd honors the tastier variety of pie. Shortly after his graduation from the University of Virginia in 1972 with a degree in nuclear engineering, Charlie Papazian was celebrating his birthday (January 23, 1975) as he usually did, with a birthday pie. While blowing out the candles on his pie, Charlie declared it National Pie Day! The celebration would later be registered with Chase's Book of Events.
Pies have been eaten since the time of the ancient Egyptians. However, since 1986 the American Pie Council has observed Papazian's birthday as National Pie Day, and each year they organize a National Pie Championship for amateurs as well as professional Pie Makers. Additionally, pie events take place all over the country every January 23rd.
Papazian would later found the American Homebrewers Association and the Great American Beer Festival, the largest ticketed beer festival in the country, which takes place in Denver, and draws over 60,000 attendees. I guess he liked to wash down his pie with a beer.
