World Events Today
- The French diver Jacques Mayol became the first person to free dive to 100 metres, about 330 feet, today in 1976
- Thomas McMahon, a former volunteer in the South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the IRA, was sentenced to life imprisonment today in 1979, for the murder of Lord Mountbatten
- The Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was declared President of Liberia today in 2005, the first woman to be elected as the head of state in an African country
Entertainment Events Today
- The British science fiction television programme Doctor Who first appeared on television today in 1963
- The ex-Beatle George Harrison released the hit single My Sweet Lord in the United States today in 1970
- The British singer, songwriter, record producer, and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury, confirmed he had AIDS today in 1991, he died the following day
Family Events Today
- William Henry Pratt, better known as the English actor Boris Karloff, who starred in many horror movies including the early Frankenstein films, was born today in 1887 in Surrey
- The British novelist Roald Dahl, whose works included Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and The BFG, died today in 1990 aged 74
- The American actor Larry Hagman, most famous for his role as J.R. Ewing in the soap opera Dallas, died today in 2012 aged 81
Main Event Today
- Today in 1954, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the level it had reached just before the 1929 Wall Street crash, 25 years earlier
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Espresso Day