World Events Today
- The Trieste bathyscaphe became the first manned vessel to dive to the deepest known part of the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, today in 1960
- The British intelligence officer Harold Adrian Russell Philby, better known as the double agent Kim Philby, member of the “Cambridge Five”, defected to the Soviet Union today in 1963
- Chinese researchers confirmed that they had successfully cloned 2 monkeys today in 2018, they used the same technique used to clone Dolly the sheep
Entertainment Events Today
- The American television miniseries Roots, with Kunta Kinte, was aired for the first time today in 1977 on the ABC network
- The first artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced today in 1986, they included Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis
- Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, the American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, announced his retirement today in 2018
Family Events Today
- The legendary Liverpool manager Robert “Bob” Paisley, OBE, who spent almost fifty years at the club, was born today in 1919 in County Durham
- The Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, noted for his work The Scream, died today in 1944 aged 80
- The Dutch actor Rutger Hauer, who starred in many movies, including Blade Runner, The Hitcher and Fatherland, was born today in 1944 in Breukelen
Main Event Today
- Due to their damage to Earth’s ozone layer, Sweden announced that it would ban aerosol sprays today in 1978, the first country to do so
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Handwriting Day