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 13

Tuesday, January 13th Daily Prep.

Today is Make Your Dreams Come True Day, National Sticker Day, Rubber Ducky Day and National Peach Melba Day. Your star sign is Capricorn and your birthstone is Garnet.
1989 – British comedy sketch show series “A Bit of Fry and Laurie” starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie debuts on BBC1 showcasing their witty wordplay, musical numbers, and satirical sketches.
ritish comedy sketch show series "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie debuts on BBC1 showcasing their witty wordplay, musical numbers, and satirical sketches.
Today’s birthdays
1961 – Suggs [Graham McPherson] (65), English singer-songwriter and vocalist for the Ska band “Madness” (“Baggy Trousers”, “House of Fun”), born in Hastings, East Sussex.
1964 – David McClusky (62), Scottish singer, musician and founding member of the Bluebells (“Young at Heart”), born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1965 – Bill Bayley (61), English musician and comedian (Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI), born in Bath, Somerset.
1969 – Stephen Hendry (57), Scottish former professional snooker player and a current commentator who dominated the sport during the 1990s, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1977 – Orlando Bloom (49), English actor (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings, The Outpost), born in Canterbury.
1990 – Liam Hemsworth (36), Australian actor (The Hunger Games, The Expendables 2, The Dressmaker), born in Melbourne, Australia.
Famous deaths
2015 – Trevor Ward-Davies (b. 1944), English pop bassist who went by the stagename Dozy, an original member of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (“The Legend Of Xanadu”).

2023 – Robbie Knievel (b. 1962), American motorcycle jumping stunt performer and son of Evel Knievel.

The day today
1926 – The birth of Michael Bond, English children’s writer and creator of ‘Paddington Bear’. Whilst working as a BBC television cameraman Bond had his first book published, ‘A Bear Called Paddington’. It was the start of Bond’s most famous series of books, telling the tales of a bear from ‘Darkest Peru’, whose Aunt Lucy sent him to England, carrying a jar of marmalade. He also wrote the children’s books about the adventures of a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, as well as the animated BBC TV series The Herbs.
1958 – In Scotland, the serial killer Peter Manuel was arrested after a series of attacks over a two year period that left nine people dead, although he is suspected of having killed as many as eighteen. Manuel was hanged in Barlinnie prison on 11th July 1958. He was one of the last prisoners to die on the Barlinnie gallows.
1989 – British comedy sketch show series “A Bit of Fry and Laurie” starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie debuts on BBC1 showcasing their witty wordplay, musical numbers, and satirical sketches, building on their earlier Cambridge Footlights success and establishing them as a beloved comedic duo before their Jeeves and Wooster fame.
1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer changed his plea from not guilty to guilty but insane. In May 1991, he admitted to his crimes but, despite this, pleaded not guilty. On this day, Dahmer pleaded guilty but insane to killing 15 young males between 1978 and 1991.
1993 – American, British and French planes bombed a series of targets over southern Iraq. The action was taken in response to repeated Iraqi breaches of the ‘no fly zone’ implemented after the end of the Gulf War in 1991.
1994 – Shawn Eric Eckardt (Tonya Harding’s bodyguard) and Derrick Brian Smith, along with attacker Shane Stant, were arrested and charged with conspiracy in the 1994 attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
2004 – Dr Harold Shipman, who was believed to have killed more than 200 of his patients, was found hanged in his prison cell. To date Shipman is the only British doctor to have been proved guilty of murdering his patients, in addition to being one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history.
2012 – The Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia runs aground at Isola de Giglio, killing 32. The eight-year-old vessel was on the first leg of a cruise around the Mediterranean Sea when she deviated from her planned route and struck a rock formation on the sea floor.
2020 – A meteorite that landed in Australia in the 1960s revealed stardust up to 7 billion years old. That makes it the oldest known solid material on Earth.
2022 – Britain’s Prince Andrew was stripped of his military titles, royal patronages, and his “His Royal Highness” (HRH) status by Buckingham Palace following ongoing sexual assault allegations from Virginia Giuffre, which he denied. In 2025, King Charles III took further action, removing his “Prince” and “Duke of York” titles and ordering him to leave Royal Lodge, effectively ending his public royal life and making him known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
2023 – British actor Julian Sands has been confirmed dead after human remains found in the San Gabriel mountains in southern California were identified. The 65-year-old actor had been missing for more than five months, after failing to return from a hike in the Mount Baldy area on January 13. The human remains were found in the same area on Saturday by civilian hikers, with a coroner later confirming them to be those of Sands.
2025 – World’s largest religious festival, the Mahakumbh Mela for 400 million people begins beside the Ganges in Prayagraj, India. Held every 12 years, 2025 is the grand Kumbh Mela, held every 144 years.
Today in music
1962 – Chubby Checker went back to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Twist’. The song first went to No.1 in Sept 1960 and became the only record in American chart history to top the charts on two separate occasions.
1968 – Johnny Cash famously performed two shows at Folsom State Prison capturing the legendary live album “At Folsom Prison,” in California. When released, the lead single, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ (an update of his 1956 hit) became one of the most famous recordings of his career.

1978 – With a budget of only £1,500 borrowed from Stewart Copeland’s brother Miles Copeland III, The Police started recording their debut album at Surrey Sound Studios, Surrey, England with producer Nigel Gray. The album ‘Outlandos d’Amour’ which was released in November of that year featured the hits ‘So Lonely’, ‘Roxanne’ and ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’.

1984 – BBC Radio 1 announced a ban on ‘Relax’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, after DJ Mike Read called it ‘obscene’, a BBC TV ban also followed. The song went on to become a UK No.1 and spent a total of 48 weeks on the UK chart.
1990 – New Kids On The Block had their second and last No.1 UK single with ‘Hangin’ Tough.’ They had a further 7 Top 10 hits by the end of 1991. They broke up after that, but set the scene for numerous boy bands throughout the 90s.
2005 – A report showed that more songs had been written about Elvis Presley than any other artist. It listed over 220 songs including: ‘Graceland’ by Paul Simon, ‘A Room At The Heartbreakhotel’ by U2, ‘Calling Elvis’, Dire Straits, ‘Happy Birthday Elvis’, Loudon Wainwright III, ‘There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis’, Kirsty MacColl, ‘I Saw Elvis in a UFO’, Ray Stevens. ‘Elvis Has Left the Building’ by Frank Zappa and ‘My Dog Thinks I’m Elvis’ by Ray Herndon.
2010 – Beyoncé and Jay-Z were named Hollywood’s top-earning couple by Forbes magazine. The pair earned an estimated £75.1m between June 2008 and June 2009 – more than any other couple married or unmarried.
2016 – Ed Sheeran’s new singles ‘Shape of You’ and ‘Castle On The Hill’ entered the UK singles chart at No.1 and No.2 respectively. The Official Charts Company said it was the first time in history an artist had taken the top two chart positions with brand new songs.
Today in history
1610 – Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei discovered Callisto, the fourth moon of Jupiter. Collectively, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are called The Galilean moons.
1691 – The death of George Fox, English founder of the religious group of the Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers. He was interred in the Nonconformists’ burying ground at Bunhill Fields in London, in the presence of thousands of mourners.
1832 – The death of Thomas Lord, English professional cricketer and founder of Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1787. He is buried in the churchyard of St. John’s Church at West Meon in Hampshire.
1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
1882 – German composer Richard Wagner completed “Parsifal” – one of his most famous operas having started it back it back in April 1857.
1893 – The British Independent Labour Party forms with Kier Hardie as its leader.