World Events Today
- New Zealand became the first country to give all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections, today in 1893
- In order to gather intelligence on the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp, the Polish resistance leader Witold Pilecki allowed himself to be captured today in 1940
- William Brooke Joyce, also known as Lord Haw-Haw, was sentenced to death today in 1945, he was the last person to be executed for treason in the United Kingdom
Entertainment Events Today
- Fawlty Towers, written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, aired for the first time today in 1975 on BBC 2, it is considered one of the best British television sitcoms ever produced
- The American crime movie Goodfellas, based on the rise and fall of the mob associate Henry Hill, went on general release in the United States today in 1990
- The American medical drama television series ER, short for Emergency Room, aired for the first time today in 1994 on the NBC network
Family Events Today
- The English music entrepreneur Brian Epstein, who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967, was born today in 1934 in Liverpool
- The English actor Jeremy Irons, the voice of Scar in the animated movie The Lion King, was born today in 1948 in the Isle of Wight
- Dame Lesley Lawson, DBE, better known as the English model, actress and singer Twiggy, was born today in 1949 in Middlesex
Main Event Today
- The Blackpool Illuminations, an annual lights festival in Northern England, were switched on for the first time today in 1879
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Butterscotch Pudding Day