World Events Today
- The Boys’ Brigade was founded today in 1883, by Sir William Alexander Smith in Glasgow in the United Kingdom
- Lesotho, officially known as the Kingdom of Lesotho, regained its independence from the United Kingdom today in 1966
- The first InterCity 125 High Speed Train in the United Kingdom ran today in 1982, it travelled from Paddington Station in London to Bristol
Entertainment Events Today
- The first US Open was played today in 1895, on a 9-hole golf course at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, the winner was Horace Rawlins, a 21-year-old Englishman
- The American teen drama television series Beverly Hills 90210 aired for the first time today in 1990 on the Fox network, it ran for 10 seasons
- Farbenspiel, the sixth studio album by the German singer Helene Fischer, was released today in 2013, it became one of the best-selling German albums of all time
Family Events Today
- The American actor Charlton Heston, who starred in many movies, including Ben-Hur and Planet of the Apes, was born today in 1923 in Illinois
- Anne Lucinda Hartley Rice, better known as the Welsh television presenter Anneka Rice, the jump-suited “skyrunner” in the British television series Treasure Hunt, was born today in 1958 in Glamorganshire
- The American soul and blues singer-songwriter Janis Joplin died of an accidental heroin overdose today in 1970 aged 27
Main Event Today
- The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 today in 1957, it became the first artificial satellite of the Earth, before it burned up while re-entering the atmosphere 3 months later
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Vodka Day