World Events Today
- The Great Train Robbery, the robbery of 2.6 million pounds from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London, occurred today in 1963
- After a 5-year reconstruction, Central Park Zoo in New York reopened today in 1988
- The British journalist John Patrick McCarthy, CBE, one of the hostages in the Lebanon hostage crisis, was released today in 1991 after being held for more than 5 years
Entertainment Events Today
- The original version of the single Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini, by Brian Hyland, hit Number 1 in the United States today in 1960
- The 29th Summer Olympic Games opened today in 2008 in Beijing
- The Indian Hindi-language action comedy movie Chennai Express, one of the highest grossing Bollywood movies ever, was released today in 2013
Family Events Today
- The American actor Dustin Hoffman, who starred in many movies, including The Graduate and Rain Man, was born today in 1937 in Los Angeles
- The German tank ace Michael Wittmann, who once destroyed a reported 30 Allied vehicles in less than 15 minutes, died in battle today in 1944
- The British racing driver Nigel Mansell, CBE, who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indy Car World Series, was born today in 1953 in Upton-upon-Severn
Main Event Today
- Will Keith Kellogg and his younger brother accidentally invented cornflakes today in 1894
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Frozen Custard Day