Casimir Pulaski Day is a local holiday officially observed in Illinois, on the first Monday of March in memory of  Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745^[1] – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is praised for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution and known as "the father of the American cavalry".