February 11th "2024" daily prep
Welcome to day 42, known as Make a Friend Day and Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of May 21st. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.
Todays birthdays
1962 – Sheryl Crow (62), American musician, singer, and songwriter (“All I Wanna Do”, “If It Makes You Happy”), born in Kennett, Missouri, United States.
1969 – Jennifer Aniston (55), American actress (Friends, We’re the Millers, Marley and Me), born in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, United States.
1972 – Steve McManaman (52), English former professional footballer (Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester City ), born in Bootle, Merseyside.
1981 – Kelly Rowland (43), American singer (“When Love Takes Over”). She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny’s Child, born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
1982 – Natalie Dormer (42), English actress (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and 2), born in Reading, Berkshire.
Famous deaths
2012 – Whitney Houston, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (b. 1963).
2010 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founder of his eponymous brand (b. 1969).
The day today
1938 – The BBC broadcast the world’s first science fiction television program, an adaptation of the play R.U.R.
Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti (R.U.R., or Rossum’s Universal Robots) was written by Czech playwright Karel Čapek in 1920 and introduced the word “robot” to the English language.
1975 – Margaret Thatcher became the leader of the British Conservative Party. She also became the first woman to lead a majority party in the UK.
1976 – John Curry, known as “the Nureyev of the ice”, wins Britain’s first Olympic gold in figure skating.
1990 – Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years imprisonment in South Africa. On the same day, James ‘Buster’ Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson in Japan to win the world heavyweight boxing title.
2022 – Koalas were listed as endangered for the first time in Australian history.
While once prolific across Australia’s vast eucalyptus forests, koalas have lost large amounts of habitat due to excessive land clearing, deforestation, bushfires and drought. The endangered listing was announced for the Australian Capital Territory and the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Today in music
1963 – In less than ten hours, The Beatles record ten new songs for their first album plus four other tracks which would be the next two singles. John Lennon’s vocal on The Isley Brothers ‘Twist & Shout’ was recorded in one take to complete the album.
1978 – The Brotherhood Of Man were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Figaro’, the group’s third and last UK No.1.
1987 – The Smiths were at No.1 in the UK indie charts with ‘Shoplifters Of The World Unite.’ The title alludes to the communist slogan “Workers of the world, unite!”, and the 1966 David and Jonathan hit ‘Lovers of the World Unite’. The photograph on the sleeve is of a young Elvis Presley.
2000 – Spice Girls Geri Halliwell appeared in court to give evidence over the dispute with Aprilla Motorcycles. The company were suing the Spice Girls for £1.6 million over lost advertising as sponsors for the 1998 Spiceworld World tour.
2014 – Queen made UK chart history by becoming the first act to sell six million copies of an individual album. Their first Greatest Hits collection, which includes the hits ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ had extended its lead after being Britain’s highest-selling album for several years. The Official Charts Company said one in three British families now owned a copy of the 1981 compilation.
Today in history
1534 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.
1586 – Sir Francis Drake with an English force captures and occupies the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena de Indias for two months, obtaining a ransom and booty.
1806 – William Grenville becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the death of William Pitt the Younger.
1852 – The first female public toilet opened at Bedford Street, London. Nine days previous, the first modern public toilet for men opened on Fleet Street.
1858 – Bernadette Soubirous sees a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes.
The small town in southern France became one of the most important Christian places of pilgrimage.
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