Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
On This Day 2026
Hello, … Welcome to day 11

Sunday, January 11th Daily Prep.

Today is National Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day, Human Trafficking Awareness Day and Golden Globe Awards. Your star sign is Capricorn and your birthstone is Garnet.
1980 – Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton, Lancashire, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess.
Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton, Lancashire, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess.
Today’s birthdays
1952 – Kim Hartman (74), English actress, best known for her role as Private Helga Geerhart in the BBC television sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo!, born in Hammersmith, London.
1971 – Mary Jane Blige (55), American singer and songwriter (“Family Affair”, “No More Drama”), born in The Bronx, New York, United States.
1978 – Emile Heskey (48), English former professional footballer who currently serves as head of football development of Leicester City Women, born in Leicester, Leicestershire.
1981 – Jamelia (45), English singer (“Superstar”, “See It in a Boy’s Eyes”) and actress (Hollyoaks), born in Handsworth, Birmingham.
1981 – Tom Meighan (45), English singer, co-founder and lead vocalist with Kasabian (“You’re in Love With a Psycho”), born in Blaby, Leicestershire.
1985 – Newton Faulkner (41), English singer and songwriter (“Dream Catch Me”, “Teardrop”), born in Reigate, Surrey.
1986 – Rachel Riley (40), English television presenter (Countdown and its comedy spin-off, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown), born in Rochford, Essex.
1987 – Jamie Vardy (39), English professional footballer (England national team), who currently plays as a striker for Serie A club Cremonese, born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Famous deaths
1928 – Thomas Hardy (b. 1840), English novelist and poet (Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles).
The day today
1922 – Squadron Leader Neville Duke was born, in Tonbridge, Kent. He was a supreme flying ace during the war and shot down at least 27 enemy aircraft. After the war he became acknowledged as one of the world’s foremost test pilots. In 1953, he became holder of the world air speed record when he flew a Hawker Hunter F Mk3 at 727.63 mph. During the Coronation year of Queen Elizabeth II, he became a celebrity alongside footballer Stanley Matthews and mountaineer Edmund Hillary.

1954 – All Comet airliners were grounded. The day before, 35 people had died in a mysterious crash off the island of Elba. In 1953, another Comet had crashed inexplicably near Calcutta when ‘it fell out of the sky for no apparent reason’. The cause was finally traced to a structural fault, with serious consequences for British aviation.

1980 – Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton, Lancashire, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess. Participating in four World Junior Championships, from 1980–1983, Short achieved his best result during his first attempt, in which he was placed second to Garry Kasparov. He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1984, aged nineteen, the world’s youngest grandmaster at that time.
1981 – A British team led by Ranulph Fiennes completes the longest and fastest crossing of Antarctica, reaching Scott base after 75 days and 2,500 miles.
1994 – Katherine, The Duchess of Kent and wife of Prince Edward, announced that she was converting to Catholicism, the first member of the Royal Family to become a Roman Catholic since James II in the 17th century.
2007 – Author J. K. Rowling finishes the 7th and last Harry Potter novel in room 552 of the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh.
2014 – Three Britons made the shortlist of just over 1,000 who want to take part in the Dutch project ‘Mars One’. It hopes to send 24 people from around the world on a one way trip to settle on Mars, after going through a seven-year training course, commencing in 2018.
2015 – The Muslim Charities Forum, that was given a £250,000 taxpayer-funded contract to run a major faith project, was stripped of state funding after links were uncovered to a group alleged to fund Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood political movement.
2020 – Diego, a 100-year-old tortoise, was retired from a breeding program after fathering 800+ children. Diego lived at the San Diego Zoo until 1977, when he was sent to the Galápagos to save his species from extinction. Over the following 43 years, Diego almost single-handedly returned the Galápagos giant turtle population to acceptable levels. Diego has since retired to the island of Española, where he was initially found.
2022 – Newspapers were dominated by a leaked e-mail which showed that as many as 100 people were invited to a “bring-your-own-booze” drinks event in the Downing Street garden during the first coronavirus lockdown. Schools, non-essential shops, hospitality venues and hairdressers were all still closed because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Government’s press conference on the same day reiterated that “You can meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor, public place provided that you stay two metres apart.”

2024 – The ruins of an ancient lost city were discovered in eastern Ecuador. It’s estimated that the city, which lies in Ecuador’s Upano area, was built around 2,500 years ago. The extent of the city suggests the presence of a society as large, or larger than the Aztecs or Mayans.

2024 – The US and UK launch multiple air-strikes against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in retaliation for attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
Today in music
1962 – Cliff Richard was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Young Ones’. It stayed at the top of the charts for six weeks and made Cliff the first UK artist to enter the chart at No.1.
1964 – Ring Of Fire The Best of Johnny Cash became the first No.1 album when Billboard debuted their Country Album Chart. It was his sixteenth album in total and the first compilations album by Cash.
1964 – ‘Louie Louie’ by The Kingsmen was the No.1 song on the US Cash Box music chart. For a while, the record was banned by a handful of US radio stations because of its indecipherable lyrics, which were rumored to contain some naughty words.
1986 – The Pet Shop Boys scored their first UK No.1 single with ‘West End Girls.’ The first version of the song was released in April 1984, becoming a club hit in the United States, after the duo signed with EMI, the song was re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague.
1998 – Rolling Stone magazine readers poll picked Be Here Now by Oasis as album of the year. Be Here Now was an instant commercial success, becoming the fastest-selling album in British chart history and topping the album chart in 15 countries. It was the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the UK, with 1.47 million units sold that year. As of 2016, the album has sold eight million copies worldwide.
2000 – It was reported that Whitney Houston was under investigation after allegedly trying to smuggle 15.2 grams of Marijuana out of Hawaii. A security officer found the drug in the singer’s handbag, Houston then walked away when he tried to detain her.
2003 – Pete Townshend issued a public statement denying being a paedophile after his name was linked with a police Internet porn inquiry. But The Who guitarist did admit studying child pornography for research into a campaign against it.
2016 – David Bowie topped the UK album chart with his latest release Blackstar less than 24 hours after his death. With sales of over 43,000 units the album outsold its nearest competitor, Elvis Presley’s If I Can Dream, by 25,000.
2024 – English radio and television broadcaster Annie Nightingale died age 83. She was the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 in 1970 and the first female presenter for BBC Television’s The Old Grey Whistle Test where she stayed for eleven years.
Today in history
1569 – The first state lottery took place in England. Lots were sold at the West Door of St Paul’s Cathedral. National lotteries continued until 1826 when it was felt that ” the inducement to gambling held out by lotteries is a great moral evil, helping to impoverish many and diverting attention from the more legitimate industrial modes of moneymaking.”
1787 – Astronomer Sir William Herschel (German-British astronomer and composer) discovered the first two moons of Uranus, Titania & Oberon.
1857 – Jockey Fred Archer was born. He won his first race at the age of 12 and was a Champion Jockey for 13 consecutive years until 1886. He won 2748 races during his career, including five Derby winners. In 1885 he rode 246 winners, a record that wasn’t broken until Gordon Richards’ 1933 season. Archer committed suicide, aged 29, by shooting himself, following depression after the death of his wife.
1864 – Charing Cross Railway Station opened in London. After opening, Charing Cross became the main terminus of all SER services instead of London Bridge, including boat trains to Continental Europe. Along with Victoria, it became the main departure point from London to abroad, and was called “the Gates of the World” by Percy Fitzgerald.
1879 – The start of the Zulu war against British colonial rule in South Africa. War began when a force led by Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand to enforce British demands. Lord Chelmsford split his invasion force into three columns. He planned to surround the Zulus and force them into battle before capturing the royal capital at Ulundi.