View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
What : day is it
1897 – The birth of Enid Blyton, English author (also known as Mary Pollock). Her work has been translated into nearly 90 languages and her literary output was an estimated 800 books, with 8,000,000 sales, over roughly 40 years.
1909 – The first recorded use of the new emergency wireless signal SOS.
1918 – World War I: The end of the Battle of Amiens that ultimately led to the end of the First World War. The battle is also notable for the large number of surrendering German forces. It was one of the first major battles involving armoured warfare and marked the end of trench warfare on the Western Front.
1941 – President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, largely to demonstrate public solidarity between the Allies.
1942 – Barnes Wallis patented his ‘bouncing bomb’, used successfully to destroy German dams in the 2nd World War. The ‘Dam Busters’ practiced their techniques at the Derwent Dam in Derbyshire where you can see this memorial to them.
1968 – The start of National Apple Week in England. The Beatles launched their new record label, Apple.
1971 – The Prime Minister, Edward Heath, steered the British yachting team to victory in the Admiral’s Cup.
1975 – The Government took ownership of British Leyland, the only major British-owned car company.
1982 – The notorious East End gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray were allowed out of prison for the funeral of their mother.
1994 – The death of Surrey born actor Peter Cushing, OBE. He is known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the distinguished-looking, but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally Vincent Price.
1998 – British Petroleum stunned the money markets by announcing it had agreed to merge with Amoco Corp of the United States in a deal billed as the largest industrial merger.
1999 – Up to 350m people throughout Europe and Asia witnessed the last total solar eclipse of the century.
2014 – Comedian ad actor Robin Williams commits suicide aged 63.
2016 – A Greenland shark is declared the oldest vertebrate animal in the world at 392 years by an international team of scientists.
The ‘security’ number on the backs of credit cards is the easiest number to remember.
“Wait. You dropped your phony dog poo” … “What phony dog poo?” #moviequotes
Richard Burton – Real Name: Richard Jenkins
“Rosebud.” – Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) #moviequotes
The word OK looks like a sideways person. I’ve said OK my whole life and never noticed him.
A group of Foxes is called a Leash or Skulk or Earth or Lead or Troop.
Learning English is hard but it can be taught through tough thorough thought though.
If you don’t know whether to use ‘effect’ or ‘affect’, use ‘impact’. – Writer Tips
Lie, liar and lying all come from the same word, but are all spelled differently.
The word ‘night’ is a shortened version of ‘no light’. #ireadthatonline
30 years ago, I wonder how many people had ever uttered the words “My phone got stolen.”
A salesman gives you a deal. A great salesman makes you think you got a good deal.
“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” – Alex Haley
“I feel like I’m ready for any dangerous situation that might come my way, provided I have a hammer on me.” – Chris Hemsworth
“The easier it is to do something, the harder it is to change the way you do it.” – Steve Wozniak
“The only time I’m not Hulk Hogan is when I’m behind closed doors because as soon as I walk out the front door, and somebody says hello to me, I can’t just say ‘hello’ like Terry. When they see me, they see the blond hair, the mustache, and the bald head, they instantly think Hulk Hogan.” – Hulk Hogan
“One of the most fascinating lessons I’ve absorbed about life is that the struggle is good.” – Joe Rogan
1993 – The Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, fell into the sea following a landslide, making news around the world.
1805 – The first Trooping of the Colour took place on Horse Guards Parade. It was Edward VII who moved Trooping the Colour to its June date, because of the vagaries of British weather.
2012 – The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant took place on the Tideway of the River Thames, as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.