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 5 of the New Year

Monday, January 5th Daily Prep.

Today is National Bird Day, National Screenwriters Day and Twelfth Night (Twelfth Day Eve). Your star sign is Capricorn and your birthstone is Garnet.
1993 – The oil tanker Braer ran aground at Garths Ness on the southern tip of the Shetland Islands in hurricane-force winds after losing all engine power due to fuel contamination.
The oil tanker Braer ran aground at Garths Ness on the southern tip of the Shetland Islands in hurricane-force winds after losing all engine power due to fuel contamination.
Today’s birthdays
1931 – Robert Duvall (95), American actor (Apocolypse Now, Days of Thunder) with a career spanning seven decades, born in San Diego, California, United States.

1962 – Perry Fenwick (64), English actor known for portraying the role of Billy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders since 1998, born in Canning Town, London.

1965 – Vinnie Jones (61), English actor (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and former professional footballer (Wimbledon FC, Leeds Utd), born in Watford, London.

1969 – Marilyn Manson, born Brian Warner (57), American rock musician (“Mobscene”, “The Beautiful People”, “Personal Jesus”), born in Canton, Ohio, United States.
1974 – Iwan Thomas (52), Welsh sprinter (GB and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 metres, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games), born in London.
1975 – Bradley Cooper (51), American actor (A Star is Born, American Sniper, Burnt), born in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, United States.
1992 – Suki Waterhouse (34) English actress (The Divergent Series: Insurgent), singer-songwriter (“Melrose Meltdown”), born in Hammersmith, London.
Famous deaths
1998 – Sonny Bono (b. 1935), American singer, songwriter, actor, and politician. In partnership with his second wife, Cher, he formed the singing duo Sonny & Cher.

2001 – Colin Bell (b. 1946), English professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Bell, known for his thirteen-year spell at Manchester City, is regarded as the club’s greatest-ever player, and was part of the Bell–Lee–Summerbee trio in the late 1960s and 1970s.

The day today
1938 – The BBC began broadcasting Bandwagon, its first radio comedy series, with Arthur Askey and Richard ‘Stinker’ Murdoch.
1941 – Pioneering English pilot Amy Johnson went missing after bailing out of her plane over the Thames River. Amy Johnson was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. She was transporting a plane for the British Air Transport Auxiliary when her plane went down. Her plane was found, 100 miles off course, in the muddy water of the Thames, but her body was never recovered. Reportedly out of fuel she had been seen alive in the water, but a rescue attempt failed and the incident also led to the death of her would-be rescuer, Lt. Cmdr. Walter Fletcher.

1960 – The last journey of the Mumbles Railway, the oldest in the world. It was set up in 1804 as a goods railway running from Swansea to Mumbles Head, Wales, and began carrying passengers in 1807. The railway still holds the record for the highest number of forms of traction of any railway in the world – horse-drawn, sail power, steam power, electric power, petrol and diesel.

1971 – One-day cricket was born when 46,000 turned up to watch England play Australia at Melbourne. The test match had been rained off for several days previously. Australia won by 5 wickets (with 42 balls remaining).
1976 – In retaliation for the Reavey and O’Dowd killings, the South Armagh Republican Action Force shoot dead 10 Protestant civilians after stopping their minibus in County Armagh.
1981 – Peter Sutcliffe, the “Yorkshire Ripper,” was was formally charged in court for a total of 13 counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder committed over a five-year period (1975-1980). Sutcliffe pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility; however, the judge rejected this plea, and he was found guilty of all 13 murders and seven attempted murders at his trial in May 1981, receiving 20 concurrent life sentences.
1993 – The oil tanker Braer ran aground at Garths Ness on the southern tip of the Shetland Islands in hurricane-force winds after losing all engine power due to fuel contamination. The incident led to the release of its entire cargo of approximately 85,000 tonnes of light crude oil, but surprisingly, the environmental damage was less severe than initially feared due to the extreme weather.
2001 – A report funded by The Department of Health found that the convicted serial killer, former GP Harold Shipman, may have killed in excess of 300 of his patients. The official inquiry concluded that up to 15 patients who died between 1971 and 1974 at the former Pontefract general infirmary West Yorkshire could have been killed by Shipman, based on the investigation into 137 deaths at Pontefract that occurred while Shipman was a junior doctor there.
2016 – 15-year-old Mumbai schoolboy Pranav Dhanawade became the first cricketer ever to score 1,000 runs in a single innings, hitting 1,009 not out for KC Gandhi School in an inter-school match, a record-breaking feat surpassing Arthur Collins’ 116-year-old record. He smashed 129 fours and 59 sixes in his incredible innings, which lasted just over six hours, leading his team to a massive victory.
2021 – Scots were ordered to stay at home and work from home where possible amid a fresh Covid-19 lockdown which saw schools closed to most pupils until 1st February. Similarly a new lockdown in England saw schools and colleges closed to most pupils, with a switch to remote learning until after the February half-term holiday. Mark Drakeford, Wales’ first minister, said that Wales was likely to remain in lockdown for the rest of January as there was “not much headroom for change”.
Today in music
1964 – The Rolling Stones performed at the Ricky Tick club at the Olympia Ballroom in Reading, England. During the 1960s, the club was host to many important acts such as The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Cream. The Yardbirds were filmed performing in a recreation of the club built at MGM Studios in Borehamwood for Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film Blow-Up.
1968 – Jimi Hendrix was arrested in Gothenburg, Sweden, after trashing his hotel room (Hotel Opalen), injuring his hand smashing a window. He was charged with criminal damage and had to report to police daily until a fine was issued later, amidst allegations of drink/drug-fueled behaviour.
1973 – Bruce Springsteen released his debut album ‘Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.’ Recorded in a single week the album only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release. Both ‘Blinded By The Light’ and ‘Spirit In The Night’ were released as singles but neither made a dent in the charts. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band later released a version of ‘Blinded By The Light’ on their album ‘The Roaring Silence,’ which reached No.1 on the US charts in 1977.
1989 – Winners in music weekly Melody Makers Readers Poll results, The Mission won best band, best live act, best single and best album. Morrissey won best male singer, Julianne Regan from All About Eve best female singer, worst LP went to Bros with ‘Push’ and best new band was won by House Of Love.
1991 – Iron Maiden went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter.’ The second single from their album No Prayer for the Dying, became the lowest selling No.1 since 1960, with just over 42,000 copies sold in its first week. The song was originally recorded and released by Bruce Dickinson for the soundtrack to A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, but Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris liked it so Iron Maiden re-recorded it.
1998 – American singer, producer, and politician Sonny Bono was killed in a skiing accident at a resort near Lake Tahoe, aged 62. Bono who was one half of Sonny & Cher scored the 1965 UK & US No.1 single ‘I Got You Babe’ and had become a US Congressman.
2001 – Kirsty MacColl was laid to rest at a private funeral ceremony, ahead of a public memorial to pay tribute to her life. The singer songwriter was killed in a boating accident in Cozumel, Mexico on 18th Dec 2000.
2024 – Royal Mail announced it was issuing a set of 15 stamps celebrating The Spice Girls. one of the world’s most successful pop groups, as they marked their 30th anniversary. It was the first time Royal Mail had dedicated an entire stamp issue to a female pop group. The stamps were set to feature images from their performances from 1997 to 2012, including at the Brit Awards in 1997, and at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Today in history
1066 – The death of Edward the Confessor, usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex. He was called ‘the Confessor’ because of his great piety. He died childless, sparking a succession crisis that led to the Norman Conquest.
1531 – King Henry VIII was forbidden to remarry in a letter sent to him by Pope Clement VII. This was a significant moment in history due to the fact that King Henry VIII ignored the Pope and divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Once Henry married Anne Boleyn, he was excommunicated from the church. By doing this, the history of Christianity in Europe changed in an event led to the creation of the Church of England.
1709 – The “Great Frost” of 1709 was Europe’s coldest winter in 500 years, beginning suddenly on January 5, 1709, freezing the continent from Italy to Scandinavia, causing immense hardship, devastating agriculture, wiping out crops, and leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths from cold and famine, particularly in France, as rivers froze, trees exploded, and bread had to be chopped with axes, leaving an indelible mark on history.
1757 – Louis XV of France survived an attempt on his life from Robert-François Damiens, a lowly domestic servant. Damiens had apparently gone into a religious frenzy and attempted to assassinate the king but failed. It didn’t help that all he’d tried to stab King Louis with was a pocket knife, and the king was wearing a thick winter coat. The would-be assassin was tortured and sentenced to death.
1886 – “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” by novelist Robert Louis Stevenson was published by Longmans, Green & Co.