September 1st "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 245 of the year! Known as Ginger Cat Appreciation Day, National Pet Rock Day. If you were born today you were likely conceived the week of December 9th in the previous year. Your star sign is Virgo and your birthstone is Sapphire.
1939 – At dawn on 1st September, Germany made a massive invasion of Poland and bombed Warsaw at 6am, beginning World War II in Europe.
Todays birthdays
1946 – Barry Gibb (78), British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer (The Bee Gees – “How Deep Is Your Love”), born in Douglas, Isle of Man.
1957 – Gloria Estefan (67), Cuban-American singer, songwriter (“Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”), born in Havana, Cuba.
1962 – Ruud Gullit (62), Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s (Chelsea; A.C. Milan), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
1967 – Steve Pemberton (57), English actor (Benidorm) and comedian who wrote and starred in The League of Gentlemen as Tulip Tattsyrup, born in Blackburn, Lancashire.
1996 – Zendaya (28), American actress (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Dune part 1 and 2), singer and model, born in Oakland, California, United States.
Famous deaths
1964 – Ian Fleming (b. 1908), British writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels.
2015 – Stephen Lewis (b. 1926), English actor and screenwriter (Inspector Blake – On The Buses and as Smiler in Last of the Summer Wine).
2021 – Una Stubbs (b. 1937), English actress, TV personality, and dancer (Till Death Us Do Part, In Sickness and in Health).
The day today
1939 – At dawn on 1st September, Germany made a massive invasion of Poland and bombed Warsaw at 6am, beginning World War II in Europe. The service to 2,000 televisions also ceased in Britain. There would be no more TV for seven years.
1951 – The Premier supermarket opened in Earl’s Court, London; the first supermarket in Britain.
1958 – Iceland expanded its fishing zone, putting it into conflict with the United Kingdom starting the beginning of the Cod Wars.
1971 – The British penny and the threepenny piece coins ceased to be legal tender as decimalization continued.
2001 – England beat bitter rivals Germany 5-1 in the World Cup qualifying tie, with Michael Owen scoring a hat-trick.
Today in music
1974 – The Osmonds were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Johnny Bristol song ‘Love Me For A Reason’, the group’s only UK No.1. Also a UK No.2 hit for Boyzone in 1994.
1984 – After a 25-year career, Tina Turner had her first solo No.1 single in the US with ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’. This song was originally written for Cliff Richard, however the song was rejected. It was then offered to Donna Summer, who has stated she sat with it for a couple of years but never recorded it.
2002 – Coldplay scored their second UK No.1 album with “A Rush Of Blood To The Head”. The album won the 2003 Grammy for Best Alternative Album for the second time in a row.
2013 – Classic Beatles albums finally went platinum after the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) changed its sales award rules. Gold or platinum status has become synonymous with record success but the system has only been in place since 1973. This made Sgt. Pepper’s a triple-platinum album, having sold more than 900,000 copies since 1994. In total, the album is estimated to have sold 5.1 million units in the UK since its 1967 release. The albums Revolver, Help!, Rubber Soul, and The White Album also now had platinum status.
2016 – A Blue Plaque marking the first home Freddie Mercury lived in when he arrived in England was unveiled. The Queen frontman moved to the semi-detached home in Feltham, west London, after his family left Zanzibar in 1964 when Mercury was 17.
Today in history
1159 – The death of Pope Adrian IV, (Nicholas Breakspear), the only English pope.
1532 – Lady Anne Boleyn was made Marquess of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII. Less than 4 years later Henry had her investigated for high treason. She was found guilty of adultery and incest and was executed on 19th May 1536.
1715 – Louis XV succeeded his great-grandfather and became King of France at the young age of five.
1865 – Joseph Lister performed the first antiseptic surgery.
1886 – The Severn Tunnel, (railway tunnel) between England and Wales, was opened for goods traffic.