World Events Today
- The United States Congress voted to declare war on Germany and enter World War 1 today in 1917
- Post-it Notes were sold for the first time today in 1980 in the United States, they were introduced to Canada and Europe the following year
- France passed a law today in 2016 making it illegal to pay for sex, criminalizing the customer rather than the sex worker
Entertainment Events Today
- The English Romantic poet William Wordsworth, was appointed British Poet Laureate today in 1843
- Abba, representing Sweden, established themselves on the international stage today in 1974, singing their hit single Waterloo, to win the 19th Eurovision Song Contest
- The Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, was banned by the Italian League, from playing football for 15 months today in 1991, it was due to testing positive for cocaine use after a match the month before
Family Events Today
- The controversial Loyalist politician from Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley, was born today in 1926 in Armagh
- The American country music singer-songwriter Tammy Wynette, whose hits include Stand by Your Man, died today in 1998 aged 55
- Ninnian Joseph Yule Junior, better known as the American actor Mickey Rooney, died today in 2014 aged 93
Main Event Today
- The first Olympic Games in modern history opened today in 1896 in Athens, Greece
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Tartan Day