World Events Today
- The University of Athens, one of the oldest and largest universities in Europe, opened today in 1837
- The Royal Festival Hall in London, home to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, officially opened today in 1951
- The rematch of the World chess champion Garry Kasparov, against the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue, started today in 1997, after losing the previous year, Big Blue won this match
Entertainment Events Today
- The Indian silent film Raja Harishchandra, considered the first full-length Indian feature film, was released today in 1913
- Katrina and the Waves, representing the United Kingdom, won the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest today in 1997, they sang Love Shine a Light
- The Spider-Man movie, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, went on general release in the United States today in 2002
Family Events Today
- Harry Lillis Crosby Junior, better known as the American singer and actor Bing Crosby, famous for the hit single White Christmas, was born today in 1903 in Washington
- The American singer-songwriter James Brown, often referred to as the “Godfather of Soul”, was born today in 1933 in South Carolina
- Ken How, the Chinese-American chef, author and television-show presenter, was born today in 1949 in Arizona
Main Event Today
- The Anne Frank House, the house of Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, opened as a museum today in 1960
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Paranormal Day