Hi, I’m Sen, and welcome to another episode of Today in History!

As usual, I’d recommend listening to today’s historical events twice. Remember, don’t worry too much about focusing on the meaning the first time around. That’s what the second listen is for, when you can try and understand even more of what is said.

Let’s begin. So, what happened today in history?

On July 3, 1888, the renowned 20th century Japanese painter Kagaku Murakami was born. His fame arose from his Buddhist-themed work, as well as his transformation of nihonga, a style of painting which entailed traditional Japanese techniques and materials.

On the same day in 1941, Indian filmmaker, script writer and producer Adoor Gopalakrishnan was born near present day Kerala. Regarded as one of India’s most renowned filmmakers, he sparked the new wave movement in Malayalam cinema with his first film Swayamvaram in 1972. Swayamvaram broke cinematic traditions by choosing realism over theatrical dance numbers and comedic scenes. Adoor Gopalakrishnan has directed over 35 films, including features, shorts and documentaries.

On July 3, 1988, construction was completed on the Second Bosphorus Bridge in Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul. Spanning the Bosphorus Strait, it was the fifth longest suspension bridge at the time and constituted the second connection between Europe and Asia.

Ok, now rewind, and have a second listen. See how many of the historical facts you can understand this time.

That’s all for today. If you want to learn more about the past, then be sure to join me tomorrow for another episode of Today in History!