World Events Today
- Vasco da Gama set sail from Portugal today in 1497, he would land in India the following year, the first European to set foot there by way of a sea voyage
- Ronald Arthus Biggs, better known as Ronnie Biggs, one of the Great Train Robbers, who had served 15 months of a 30-year sentence, escaped from prison today in 1965, he lived as a fugitive for 36 years, before returning voluntarily in 2001
- The Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched for the last time today in 2011, it was the last mission of the 30-year Space Shuttle program
Entertainment Events Today
- West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 today in 1990 to win the 14th FIFA World Cup Final
- Wannabe, the debut single by English girl group the Spice Girls, was released in the United Kingdom today in 1996
- The psychological science fiction movie Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, premiered today in 2010 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London
Family Events Today
- The American biochemist John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola, was born today in 1831 in Georgia
- Vivian Mary Hartley, better known as the British actress Vivien Leigh, star of Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, died today in 1967 aged 53
- Kim Il-sung, the leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death, died today in 1994
Main Event Today
- The Wall Street Journal was published for the first time today in 1889
National Day Today
- Today, it’s National Chocolate with Almonds Day