December 13th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 348 of the “leap” year! Known as National Ice Cream Day, National Horse Day, National Violin Day. Your star sign is Sagittarius and your birthstone is Blue Topaz.
1972 – Last human landing on the Moon. Apollo 17 was the last mission of the United States’ Apollo lunar landing program. It was also the sixth and the last time humans landed on the Moon.
Todays birthdays
1949 – Paula Wilcox (75), English actress best known for her role as Chrissy Plummer in the ITV sitcom Man About The House from 1973 to 1976, born in Manchester.
1949 – Robert Lindsey (75), English actor known for his roles as Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith and Ben Harper in My Family, born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.
1957 – Steve Buscemi (67), American actor (Reservoir Dogs, Armageddon, Con Air, Boardwalk Empire), born in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1974 – Sara Cox (50), English broadcaster (Radio 1 Breakfast, BBC Radio 2 drivetime show), born in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
1989 – Taylor Swift (35), American singer-songwriter (“Shake it Off”, “I Knew You Were Trouble”), born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, United States.
Famous deaths
2017 – Keith Chegwin (b. 1957), British TV presenter also known by the nickname Cheggers (Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, It’s a Knockout, Cheggers Plays Pop).
The day today
1972 – More than 300 British victims of the Thalidomide drug were offered a compensation deal said to be worth £11.85m. A year later the 11 year battle over Thalidomide compensation ended with a £20 million court settlement.
1976 – The first oil was brought to Britain, by tanker, from the North Sea Brent Oil Field, located 116 miles north-east of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands.
1989 – A deaf choir from South Wales gave what was claimed to be the first concert using sign language. Performed in unison with a leading male voice choir, it enabled members of the audience who were deaf, to enjoy the concert at the Gwyn Town Hall in West Glamorgan.
1995 – Hundreds of black and white youths went on the streets of Brixton, in south London attacking police, ransacking shops and burning cars after the death of a black man (Wayne Douglas, aged 26. ) in police custody.
2013 – Prince Harry and his ‘Walking With the Wounded’ team reached the South Pole. Among those was Sgt Duncan Slater who lost both his legs in a blast in Afghanistan in 2009. The expedition’s director said ‘We came down here, determined to get 12 men and women, all injured in conflict, to the South Pole, and this is what we have done. The feeling is incredible.’
Today in music
1962 – Elvis Presley was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Return To Sender’, his 13th UK No.1. Elvis performed ‘Return To Sender’ in the film Girls! Girls! Girls!. The opening bars and backing on baritone saxophone was performed by Bobby Keys who later went on to work with The Rolling Stones, The Who, Harry Nilsson, George Harrison and Eric Clapton.
1997 – Children’s TV characters The Teletubbies went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Teletubbies Say-eh-oh’. The single spent a total of 32 weeks on the chart.
1999 – Winners in the Smash Hits readers poll included, Backstreet Boys who won Best band, best album & best single, Britney Spears won best female singer, Robbie Williams best male singer, S Club 7 won best new band and worst group went to the Spice Girls.
2002 – UK music channel Music Choice analysed all the Christmas No.1 singles from the past 30 years and identified criteria for their success. These included the use of sleigh bells, children singing, church bells harmony and references to love. They concluded that Sir Cliff Richards 1988 hit ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ was the perfect Christmas hit.
2013 – American singer Beyoncé released her fifth studio album, the self-titled Beyoncé. Developed as a visual album, every song was accompanied by a non-linear short film that illustrated the musical concepts conceived during production. Beyoncé and its release are frequently credited with inventing the modern definition of the visual album, popularising the surprise album release strategy, and provoking the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry to change the day of the week when music is released worldwide from Tuesday to Friday. The album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
Today in history
1577 – Sir Francis Drake set sail from Plymough, England on a circumnavigation of the world. The squadron consisted of five vessels, the two larger ships being the Pelican, Drake’s own ship, renamed Golden Hind on the voyage, on August 20, 1578; and the Elizabeth, commanded by John Winter. Three smaller vessels were the Marigold, Swan, and Benedict. Only one ship, the Golden Hind, made the complete voyage, returning on Sept. 26, 1580, “very richly fraught with gold, silver, pearls and precious stones”.
1642 – The first European explorer discovered New Zealand. Abel Tasman from the Netherlands sighted the South Island, which he initially called Staten Landt, thinking it was part of South America. A year later, he changed the name to Nieuw Zeeland. Tasman was also the first European in recorded history to step foot on Tasmania. Tasman claimed the island for the Dutch crown. It is named after him as well.
1643 – English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire. Parliamentary forces serving under Sir William Waller led a successful surprise attack on a winter garrison of Royalist infantry and cavalry serving under the Earl of Crawford.
1795 – A Meteorite crashes into Wold Newton in Yorkshire, England. Major Edward Topham owned the land where the meteorite crashed. He exhibited it later, and today it is in the Natural History Museum in London.
1847 – Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (under the pseudonym Ellis Bell) was published, as was Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë (under the pseudonym Acton Bell). In choosing to write under pseudonyms, the sisters drew an immediate veil of mystery around them, and people speculated as to the true identity of Currer Bell (i.e. Charlotte Brontë), and Ellis and Acton Bell.