Wednesday 8 March is International Women's Day, an event held around the world to commemorate the struggle for women's rights.

Here are five facts about the day:

1. Originally called International Working Women’s Day, it was first celebrated on February 28, 1909, in New York in remembrance of a 1908 strike of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union when 15,000 workers, including many immigrants, marched through the city's lower east side to demand social and political rights.

2. The first modern International Women’s Day was held in 1914, five years after its inception, on March 8. The day was chosen because it was a Sunday, which the majority of women would have off work allowing them to participate in marches and other events, and has been celebrated on that date ever since.

All you need to know about International Women's Day 2016

3. The day was declared a national holiday in the Soviet Union in 1917, and was predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted by the UN in 1977. Since 1996, the UN has assigned a theme to every IWD. This year’s theme is “Be bold for change”.

Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Show all 10 1 /10 Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Katharine Hepburn Katharine Hepburn: “I have not lived as a woman. I have lived as a man. I've just done what I damn well wanted to, and I've made enough money to support myself, and ain't afraid of being alone” Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Betty Friedan Betty Friedan: “No woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor” Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst: "I want to say to you who think women cannot succeed, we have brought the government of England to this position, that it has to face this alternative: either women are to be killed or women are to have the vote” Creative Commons Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Nawal El Saadawi Nawal El Saadawi: “They said, “You are a savage and dangerous woman. I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous” Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Margaret Fuller Margaret Fuller: "It is a vulgar error that love, a love, to woman is her whole existence; she is born for Truth and Love in their universal energy" Creative Commons Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Germaine Greer Germaine Greer: “All societies on the verge of death are masculine. A society can survive with only one man; no society will survive a shortage of women” Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Naomi Wolf Naomi Wolf: “A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience” Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Rebecca West Rebecca West: "I myself have never able to find out precisely what a feminist is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat" Creative Commons Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi: “In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth, women are not merely tolerated but valued" Getty Images Indyplus gallery: 10 feminist quotes to inspire you on the International Women's Day Margaret Atwood Margaret Atwood: “Does feminist mean large unpleasant person who'll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings. To me it's the latter, so I sign up” Getty Images

4. According to the UN, it is “a day when women are recognised for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.”