World Events Today
- Guy Fawkes, a member of the failed Gunpowder Plot, avoided being hanged, drawn and quartered today in 1606, by jumping off the ladder of the hanging platform, breaking his neck and dying instantly
- Ham the Chimp, was the first hominid launched into space today in 1961
- The English doctor Harold Shipman, believed to be the most prolific serial killer in history, was found guilty of the murder of 15 patients today in 2000, it was estimated that the total number of victims was more like 250
Entertainment Events Today
- Often recognised as the first television soap opera, These Are My Children, aired for the first time today in 1949 on the American NBC network
- The French national cultural centre in Paris, The Pompidou Centre, officially opened today in 1977
- The American animated sitcom television series Family Guy, aired for the first time today in 1999 on the Fox network
Family Events Today
- The first African American to play in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson, was born today in 1919, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962
- The American singer-songwriter and actor Justin Timberlake, was born today in 1981 in Memphis
- Sir Michael Terence Wogan, better known as the legendary British television broadcaster Terry Wogan, died today in 2016 aged 77
Main Event Today
- The first McDonalds restaurant in the Soviet Union, opened today in 1988 in Pushkinskaya square in Moscow
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Backward Day