World Events Today
- The funeral of Queen Victoria took place today in 1901 at Saint George’s Chapel Windsor, the body lay in state for 2 days before being interred in the nearby Windsor Great Park
- Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, a commuter rail terminal and tourist attraction, was opened today in 1913
- Following a coup, the Ugandan military officer Idi Amin, declared himself president of the country today in 1971, he would become known as the “Butcher of Uganda”
Entertainment Events Today
- Alexander Selkirk was rescued today in 1709, he had spent over 4 years on a deserted island, his story became the inspiration for the novel Robinson Crusoe
- The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs in the United States, usually known more simply as The National League, or NL, was founded today in 1876
- The modernist novel Ulysses, by the Irish author James Joyce, was first published today in 1922, the author’s 40th birthday
Family Events Today
- Sir David John White, better known as the English actor David Jason, star of Only Fools and Horses and a Touch of Frost, was born today in 1940 in Edmonton
- William Henry Pratt, better known as the English actor Boris Karloff, who starred in many of the earliest horror movies, including Frankenstein and The Mummy, died today in 1969 aged 81
- Sid Vicious, member of the infamous British punk rock band The Sex Pistols, died today in 1979 of a drug overdose, he was just 21 years old
Main Event Today
- The largest confrontation of World War 2, The Battle of Stalingrad, ended today in 1943, it was a victory for the Soviet Union and, what many consider, the turning point of the war
National Day Today
- Today, it’s Groundhog Day