The Old Farmer's Almanac daily calendar gives you quick reference for the significant events on any day throughout the year.

United Nations Day

Today is noted as United Nations Day to mark the anniversary of the United Nations charter, which went into effect on October 24, 1945. Organizations and schoolchildren throughout the world mark this day with meetings, discussions, and exhibits on the achievements and goals of the international body.

Every Year

• United Nations Day

1780s

• Born 1788: Sarah Hale (poet; magazine editor)

1820s

• 1820: Spain ratified treaty to cede Florida to the United States

1830s

• Born 1830: Belva A. Lockwood (lawyer)

• 1836: Alonzo D. Phillips, of Springfield, Massachusetts, received a patent for phosphorus friction matches

1850s

• 1851: Astronomer William Lassell discovered Uranus moons Ariel and Umbriel

• Died 1852: Daniel Webster (lawyer & statesman)

1860s

• 1861: The first transcontinental telegraph message was sent by Justice Stephen J. Field of California to President Lincoln in Washington, D.C.

1900s

• Born 1903: Melvin Purvis (FBI agent)

• Born 1904: Moss Hart (playwright)

1910s

• Born 1915: Bob Kane (cartoonist; co-creator of Batman)

1920s

• 1921: Canadian schooner Bluenose won the International Fishermen's Trophy

• Born 1923: Denise Levertov (poet)

1930s

• Born 1930: The Big Bopper (singer)

• Born 1936: Bill Wyman (bassist; formerly of The Rolling Stones)

• 1939: Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time, Wilmington, Delaware

• Born 1939: F. Murray Abraham (actor)

1940s

• 1946: First photos of Earth taken from space

• Born 1947: Kevin Kline (actor)

1960s

• 1969: Actor Richard Burton bought a $1.1 million, 69-carat diamond ring for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor.

1980s

• Born 1980: Monica (singer)

1990s

• Died 1991: Gene Roddenberry (author & producer)

• Died 1994: Raul Julia (actor)

• Died 1996: George P. Oslin (Western Union executive credited with creating the singing telegram)

2000s

• Died 2002: Harry Hay (early activist in the gay-rights movement, founded Mattachine Society)

• 2003: The Concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner, headed home to London for the last time

• Died 2005: Rosa Parks (civil rights activist)

• 2007: The Boston Red Sox took Game 1 of the World Series with a final score of 13-1, scoring more runs than any team in the first game of a World Series

2010s

• Died 2014: Marcia Strassman (actress)

• Died 2015: Maureen O'Hara (actress)

• Died 2017: Robert Guillaume (actor)

• Died 2017: Antoine "Fats" Domino (singer)