World Events Today
- The Walt Disney Company was founded today in 1923
- The Long March, a military retreat by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, started today in 1934, the route covered an estimated 9,000 kilometers, 5,600 miles, and took over a year to complete
- Project 596, the first nuclear weapons test conducted by the People’s Republic of China, occurred today in 1964
Entertainment Events Today
- The Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, considered one of the best all-rounders in the history of the game, made his Test debut today in 1978 against Pakistan
- The British television sketch comedy series Not the Nine O’Clock News aired for the first time today in 1979 on BBC 2
- The Spanish racing driver Fernando Alonso won the Chinese Grand Prix today in 2005, it made him Drivers’ Championship for that year
Family Events Today
- Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France under the ancien régime, died today in 1793, she was executed by guillotine in Paris
- The Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, who wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, was born today in 1854 in Dublin
- Barbara Joyce Dainton, the penultimate remaining survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, died today in 2007 aged 96
Main Event Today
- Karol Józef Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II today in 1978, the first non-Italian Pope since the 16th century
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Dictionary Day