World Events Today
- Charged with heresy, the Italian philosopher and cosmological theorist Giordano Bruno, was burned alive in Rome’s Campo de’ Fiori today in 1600
- The tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun was opened today in 1923
- China invaded Vietnam today in 1979, it was the start of the Sino-Vietnamese War, a brief border war which lasted less than a month
Entertainment Events Today
- Madama Butterfly, the popular opera by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, premiered today in 1904 in Milan
- The double A-side single by the Beatles, Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane, was released in the UK today in 1967, it was released in the US 4 days after
- The Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, received a record 17 curtain calls today in 1972, after his performance in La fille du régiment at New York’s Metropolitan Opera
Family Events Today
- The Apache leader Geronimo, “the one who yawns”, died today in 1909, he is buried in the Fort Sill Indian Agency Cemetery
- The American professional basketball player Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time, was born today in 1963 in New York City
- The English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was born today in 1991 in West Yorkshire
Main Event Today
- The London Congestion Charge came into effect today in 2003
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Random Acts of Kindness Day