Welcome to day 261 of the year! Known as Cheeseburger Day, National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day and Respect Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of December 26th 2022 and your star sign is “Virgo”.
2014 – A referendum was held in Scotland, with one single question on the ballot paper – “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The “No” side won, with 2,001,926 (55.3%) of the votes.
Todays birthdays
1947 – Russ Abbot (76), British TV comedian (The Russ Abbot Show, September Song), born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
1949 – Peter Shilton OBE (73), English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper (England, West Ham United, Coventry City), born in Leicester.
1971 – Jada Pinkett Smith (52), American actress (The Nutty Professor, The Matrix Quadrilogy as Niobe) and talk show host, born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
1974 – Sol Campbell (49), English professional football manager (Macclesfield Town, Southend United) and former player (England, Newcastle United, Arsenal), born in Plaistow, London.
1984 – Dizzee Rascal MBE (39), British MC and rapper (Dance Wiv Me, Bonkers), born in Bow, London.
The day today
1944 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Tradewind torpedoed Junyō Maru, a Japanese cargo ship used to transport prisoners. It was the world’s greatest sea disaster at the time with 5,620 dead. 723 survivors were rescued, only to be put to work in conditions similar to those of the Burma Railway where death was commonplace.
1994 – Warwickshire became the first side to win the County Cricket Championship, the Benson and Hedges Cup and the Sunday League title in one season.
2012 – The world’s first mother-to-daughter uterus transplant is undertaken at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
2014 – A referendum was held in Scotland, with one single question on the ballot paper – “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The “No” side won, with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom
2017 – Hurricane Maria passes over the Caribbean island of Dominica as a category 5 hurricane, destroying 90% of structures.
Today in music
1970 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix died in his sleep from choking on his own vomit at a house where he was staying in Notting Hill.
1982 – The seven-minute epic by Dire Straits ‘Private Investigations’ went to No.2 on the UK singles chart, held off No.1 by survivors ‘Eye Of The Tiger’.
1993 – Meat Loaf went to No.1 on the UK album chart for the first of five times with Bat Out Of Hell II.
2012 – In a survey of more than 160,000 readers, British music magazine NME named John Lennon as Rock’s ultimate icon. Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher was placed second, followed by David Bowie, Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner and late Nirvana icon Kurt Cobain.
2014 – American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift was at no.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Shake It Off’, becoming Swift’s second No.1 single in the United States and the 22nd song to debut at No.1 in the chart’s history.
Today in history
1066 – Norwegian king Harald Hardrada lands with Tostig Godwinson at the mouth of the Humber River and begins his invasion of England.
1709 – Dr Samuel Johnson, English writer and compiler of the first English dictionary was born. Published in 1755, Johnson’s dictionary was the definitive reference for over a century.
1809 – The Royal Opera House opened, in Covent Garden, Central London. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House The current building is the third theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1857.
1837 – Tiffany & Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City. The store is called a “stationery and fancy goods emporium”.
1879 – The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time and has been held annually ever since.