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 7 of the New Year

Wednesday, January 7th Daily Prep.

Today is Internaional Programmers’ Day, National Bobblehead Day and Orthodox Christmas Day. Your star sign is Capricorn and your birthstone is Garnet.
1990 – The iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa leaned “too far,” which resulted in its closure. The tower’s bells were removed to reduce the weight, and it was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001.
The iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa leaned “too far,” which resulted in its closure. The tower’s bells were removed to reduce the weight, and it was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001.
Today’s birthdays
1948 – Kenny Loggins (78), American singer (“Footloose”, “Danger Zone”), guitarist and songwriter, born in Everett, Washington, United States.
1964 – Nicolas Cage (62), American actor (Gone in 60 Seconds, Con Air, Lord of War), born in Long Beach, California, United States.
1967 – Mark Lamarr (59), English comedian (Shooting Stars), radio DJ and television presenter (Never Mind the Buzzcocks), born in Swindon, Wiltshire.
1967 – Nick Clegg (59), English politician (Deputy UK PM 2010-2015) and media executive, born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire.
1985 – Lewis Hamilton (41), British Formula One driver (Mercedes, Scuderia Ferrari), winning a joint-record seven World Drivers’ Championship titles, born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
2012 – Blue Ivy Carter (14), American singer, actress, and dancer, daughter of singer Beyoncé and rapper Jay-Z, born in New York City, United States.
Famous deaths
2007 – Magnus Magnusson (b. 1929), Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter (BBC television quiz programme Mastermind for 25 years).

2024 – Franz Beckenbauer (b. 1945), German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed der Kaiser (“the Emperor”), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players of all time.

The day today
1904 – The Marconi company suggested the use of CQD for a distress signal, a derivation of CQ commonly used by telegraphers and wireless operators to address all stations at once. CQ followed by D meant distress. It lasted just two years before being replaced with SOS.

1945 – Second World War – General Montgomery held a press conference in which he claimed credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge (also known as the Ardennes Offensive). The defeat left many German units severely depleted of men and equipment. America suffered 89,000 casualties, their bloodiest battle of World War II.

1965 – Identical twin brothers Ronald and Reginald Kray were in custody, charged in connection with running a protection racket. When they died (1995 and 2000 respectively) their funerals were like those of royals, rather than those of notorious criminals.
1976 – The Ministry of Defence claimed that a British naval frigate, HMS Andromeda, had been deliberately rammed into by an Icelandic gunboat in the Atlantic. The ‘attack’ was one of several incidents between Britain and Iceland with regard to disputed fishing territory.
1989 – Akihito succeeded his father to become the 125th Emperor of Japan. Like all post-WWII Emperors of Japan, his role was entirely ceremonial. Akihito abdicated the throne to his son in 2019, becoming the longest-lived recorded Emperor of Japan.
1990 – The iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa leaned “too far,” which resulted in its closure. The tower’s bells were removed to reduce the weight, and it was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001.
2011 – “The King’s Speech”, starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, is released in the UK following earlier festival and Australian releases, telling the true story of King George VI overcoming his stammer with the help of therapist Lionel Logue.
2012 – Casualty, the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world, was broadcast from Cardiff’s Roath Lock studios in the Porth Teigr area of Cardiff Bay for the first time. For 25 years the fictional Holby City Hospital’s emergency department had been staged in studios in Bristol.
2013 – Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d’Or award for a record 4th consecutive year.
2014 – The Royal mail issued a series of stamps celebrating characters from more than 60 years of children’s television. Characters ranged from Andy Pandy (screened in 1950) to Peppa Pig (who celebrated her 10th anniversary in 2014).
2014 – Figures from ‘Care for the Wild’ showed that pilot culls of badgers in Somerset and Gloucestershire had cost more than £7m – equivalent to more than £4,000 per badger killed. The government scheme was to test how effective, humane and safe a cull could be in their attempt to stop the spread of bovine TB.
2018 – Snow fell in the Sahara Desert, notably in Aïn Séfra, Algeria, with a significant event seeing up to 15 inches (40cm) blanket the red sand dunes, creating stunning, rare scenes, though such occurrences are infrequent, happening only a few times in decades due to unusual cold air patterns.
2025 – A series of wildfires ravage the Greater Los Angeles area, resulting in at least 16 deaths and 13,401 structures destroyed.
Today in music
1955 – ‘Rock Around the Clock’ by Bill Haley and his Comets, entered the UK chart for the first time. The original full title of the song was ‘We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!’ and is often cited as the biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll single of all time with sales over 25m.
1964 – The Beatles recorded a seven-song appearance for the BBC Radio program Saturday Club. They played ‘All My Loving’, ‘Money’, ‘The Hippy Hippy Shake’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Johnny B. Goode’, and ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’. The show was broadcast on February 15, while the Beatles were in the US.
1971 – Black Sabbath released ‘Paranoid’ their second studio album in the US. The album features the band’s best-known signature songs, including the title track, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘War Pigs’. The album was originally titled War Pigs, but allegedly the record company changed it to Paranoid, fearing backlash from supporters of the ongoing Vietnam War.
1972 – David Bowie released ‘Changes’ as a single in the UK. The track peaked at No.49 on the UK chart and later at No.41 on the US chart. This was the last song Bowie performed live on stage before his retirement from live performances at the end of 2006 when he joined Alicia Keys at the Black Ball fundraiser at New York’s Hammersmith Ballroom.
1980 – Pink Floyd released ‘Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)’ in the US. The single peaked at No.1 on both the US and UK charts, giving Pink Floyd their first and only No.1 hit single. The single went to No.1 in many other countries, including Australia, Germany and Italy.

1994 – Oasis started recording their debut album Definitely Maybe at Monnow Valley Studio in South Wales. When released in August 1994, it became the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK, (being surpassed in 2006 by Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not). The album went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide.

2003 – “In Da Club” single is released by 50 Cent (MTV Video Music Award Best Rap Video and Best New Artist 2003, Billboard Song of the Year 2003)
2010 – Lady Gaga was the queen of the digital downloads, selling 15,297,000 digital tracks. The Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift all finished in the vicinity of 12 million digital units.
Today in history
1536 – Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII of England and mother of Mary I, died, at Kimbolton Castle in Cambridgeshire where she had lived since Henry annulled their marriage. The Pope had declined the request for an annulment, but Henry married his mistress Anne Boleyn regardless, a chain of events that led to England’s break with the Roman Catholic Church.
1558 – English forces were ousted from the French port of Calais, led by the Duke of Guise. Calais had surrendered to an invading English army in 1346 and its recapture by the French saw the last continental possession of England forfeited.
1610 – Galileo discovered the first three satellites of Jupiter. At first, he thought he saw three small stars, but over the following days, he noticed the location of the stars had changed each time. It was then that he realized they were wandering around Jupiter.
1618 – Francis Bacon became Lord Chancellor of England. Later that year he was accused of taking a bribe, and fined £40,000, a huge sum of money for those times.
1889 – Birth of Arthur Clifford Hartley, the English inventor of World War II’s PLUTO (Pipeline Under The Ocean), a series of 21 undersea pipes used to transport oil from Britain to continental Europe. He also invented FIDO (Fog Investigation Dispersal Operation) which is credited with bringing 2500 aircraft and 10,000 aircrew safely home during the war.