February 13th "2024" daily prep
Welcome to day 44, known as Radio Day, Safer Internet Day and Extraterrestrial Culture Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of May 23rd in the previous year. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1996 – Take That split up, the biggest band of the 90s announced their demise in front of the world’s press at The Hilton in Manchester.
Todays birthdays
1950 – Peter Gabriel (74), English singer-songwriter (“Solsbury Hill” as his first single) and original lead singer of Genesis, born in Chobham, Surrey.
1960 – Pierluigi Collina (64), Italian former football referee (1998 to 2003) named “The World’s Best Referee”, born in Bologna, Italy.
1962 – Hugh Dennis (62), English comedian (Mock the Week), presenter and actor (Outnumbered, The Couple Next Door), born in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
1971 – Sonia (53), English pop singer (“You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You”) who became the first female UK artist to achieve five top 20 hit singles from one album, born in Liverpool.
1974 – Robbie Williams (50), English singer and songwriter (“Angels”, “Rock DJ”, “She’s the One”), born in Stoke-on-Trent.
Famous deaths
1542 – Catherine Howard (b. 1524), Queen of England (1540-42), 5th wife of Henry VIII.
1958 – Christabel Pankhurst (b. 1880), English activist, co-founded the Women’s Social and Political Union.
2014 – Ralph Waite (b. 1928), American actor (Bonanza, The Waltons) and activist.
The day today
1945 – 1400 RAF and 450 US Airforce planes bombed Dresden in three waves over a 14-hour period, devastating one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Over a three-day period, 3,900 tons of explosives and incendiaries reduced much of the city to smouldering rubble and killed between 35,000 and 135,000 civilians.
1948 – The Science Museum in London announced that it would return the Wright Brothers’ biplane, Kitty Hawk, the first to fly, to the Smithsonian Institution. It had been sent to England in 1928 by Orville Wright when he found that the Smithsonian had labelled another plane as the first capable of sustained flight.
1978 – Tomorrow’s World presenter Anna Ford was officially announced as ITN’s first female newsreader.
1988 – The Winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Canada. English ski-jumper and plasterer Eddie Edwards, became the surprise sensation of the Games. The fearless contestant came last, but won all the headlines and the nickname The Eagle. His life story was made into a film, Eddie the Eagle, in 2016
2001 – Stephen Kelly, aged 33, went on trial in Glasgow for knowingly infecting a woman with the HIV virus in a case believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland. He was found guilty of ‘culpable and reckless conduct’ and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Today in music
1977 – Julie Covington was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’, taken from the Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical Evita. Covington had been in the 1977 UK TV series based on an all female group called Rock Follies. Madonna had a hit with her version of the song in 1996.
1982 – The Jam became the first band since The Beatles to play two numbers on the same edition of Top Of The Pops when they performed ‘A Town Called Malice’, and ‘Precious’, their latest double A sided No.1.
1996 – Take That split up, the biggest band of the 90s announced their demise in front of the world’s press at The Hilton in Manchester, the band had achieved 7 No.1 singles & 2 No.1 albums. They released one more single and a Greatest Hits album. (Take That reformed in 1996 and have now scored another 5 No.1 albums in the UK).
2005 – Readers of UK newspaper The Sun voted George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’ as the greatest British pop single of the past 25 years. Oasis came second with ‘Wonderwall’ and Kate Bush third with ‘Wuthering Heights’. The rest of the Top 10: No.4, Robbie Williams, ‘Angels’, No.5, The Jam, ‘Going Underground’, in equal 6th, Sex Pistols, ‘God Save The Queen’ and Joy Division, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, 7th was Queen, ‘We Are The Champions’, 9th, The Stone Roses, ‘Fool’s Gold’ and 10th The Undertones ‘Teenage Kicks’.
2013 – Lady Gaga was forced to postponed her world tour after sustaining an injury which left her unable to walk. The singer had severe inflammation of the joints, known as synovitis.
Today in history
1462 – The Treaty of Westminster is finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles.
1542 – Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII is beheaded for adultery aged 18. On the same day Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, sister-in-law of Henry VIII is also beheaded.
1633 – Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome for trial before Inquisition for professing belief that earth revolves around the Sun.
1689 – William and Mary ascended to the English throne as co-rulers. While this isn’t the only case of England being co-ruled, it’s the only time both co-rulers had equal power.
1692 – The massacre of the MacDonalds at Glencoe, for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange. The massacre began simultaneously in three settlements along the glen – Invercoe, Inverrigan, and Achnacon, although the killing took place all over the glen as the fleeing MacDonalds were pursued. Thirty eight MacDonalds from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed and another forty women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned.