World Events Today
- The cornerstone of New York’s Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, was laid today in 1892
- The Greater Poland uprising of 1918–1919 began today in 1918
- Apollo 8, the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the moon and return, returned to Earth today in 1968
Entertainment Events Today
- The hit musical Show Boat, by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, premiered today in 1927 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City
- The Radio City Music Hall, headquarters of the Rockettes, opened today in 1932 in New York City
- The American television soap opera Knots Landing, a spin-off of Dallas, first aired today on CBS in 1979
Family Events Today
- The French biologist Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization, was born today in 1822 in Dole
- The French civil engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame, died today in 1923 aged 91
- The American actress, writer, and comedian, Carrie Fisher, famous for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, died today in 2016 aged 60
Main Event Today
- The IMF, the International Monetary Fund, was formally established today in 1945
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Fruitcake Day