What’s Happening Today?

World Food Day. World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year around the world on October 16 in honour of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. The day is celebrated widely by many other organizations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. During these difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are going without. We should use this day to highlight the need for food for every single human being.

World Anaesthesia Day. It is an annual event celebrated around the world on October 16 to commemorate the first successful demonstration of diethyl ether anaesthesia in 1846. This ranks as one of the most significant events in the history of medicine and took place in an operating theatre (now known as the Ether Dome) at the Massachusetts General Hospital, home of the Harvard School of Medicine. The discovery made it possible for patients to obtain the benefits of surgical treatment without the pain associated with an operation.

What Happened Today?

1. In 1923, the Walt Disney Company was founded. A leader in the international entertainment industry, the company was created by brothers Walt and Roy as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Today, the company is synonymous with cartoon and animated movies and characters.

2. In 1975, three-year-old Rahima Banu, from Bangladesh, became the last known case of naturally occurring smallpox. She was declared free of the virus on November 24 of the same year and everyone on the island who might have come into contact with the infected were vaccinated, while the island was searched to find others who might still be infected.

3. In 1978, Karol Józef Wojtyła, the Archbishop of Kraków, became the first non-Italian to win the Papacy since 1523. He won the papal elections that were held after his predecessor Pope John Paul I died after only 33 days in office. As Pope, Wojtyła took on the name of John Paul II. He was the second-longest serving Pope in modern history, after Pope Pius IX, who was in office for over 31 years.

Birthdays

1. 1952 – Loyce Biira Bwambale, former Deputy Minister of Gender in the Uganda Cabinet between 1992 and 1994, Member of Parliament for Kasese district between 1989 and 2006  and also a former member of the Pan-African Parliament.

2. 1997 – Naomi Osaka, reigning US Open champion and three-time Grand Slam winner. She is currently the No. 1 ranked player in women’s tennis.

Sources: Wikipedia, checkiday & bornglorious.com

Picture credit: Time Bulletin