Gaylord Nelson, the late U.S. senator and governor of Wisconsin, is considered the founder of Earth Day, which started in 1970.

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, making this year's festivities the 55th annual festival. For the first Earth Day, 20 million people went to inaugural events at schools, universities and other public areas around the country to protest for cleaner water, air and land.

Earth Day is a global event for environmental awareness. US Senator Gaylord Nelson started it in 1970. Millions participate in events across 190 count