World Events Today
- The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, based on an original design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, finally opened today in 1864, 5 years after his death
- The British musician and former member of the rock band The Beatles, John Lennon, was fatally shot by Mark David Chapman today in 1980 in New York City
- The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, between the United States and Russia, was signed today in 1987 by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev
Entertainment Events Today
- The movie The Dear Hunter, starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, was released today in 1978, it went on to win 5 Academy Awards
- Irving Berlin’s musical Watch your Step, opened at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York today in 1914
- The Broadway Theater finally became a “legitimate theater” house today in 1930
Family Events Today
- The American singer, dancer, actor and Rat Pack member, Sammy Davis Junior, was born today in 1925 in New York
- The Irish flute player Sir James Galway, also known as “The Man with the Golden Flute”, was born today in 1939 in Belfast
- The American singer-songwriter and poet James Douglas Morrison, better known more simply as Jim Morrison, lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors, was born today in 1943
Main Event Today
- The President of the United States, Franklin D Roosevelt, declared war on Japan today in 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Brownie Day