View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
1920 – The first regular broadcasting service in Britain started from Marconi’s studio in Writtle, near Chelmsford. The 30-minute programme was transmitted twice daily. Peter Eckersley opened with ‘Hello! Hello! This is Two-Emma-Toc, Writtle testing.’ Two-Emma-Toc stood for 2MT, the licence granted to Marconi by the General Post Office.
1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim was almost completely destroyed in a raid by 379 British bombers. About one quarter of the town’s population (over 17,000 people) were killed in the air raid. The town was thought by the Allies to be producing precision instruments for use in the German war effort and to be a transport centre for the movement of German troops.
1953 – In Britain, an amnesty offered to World War II deserters brought in applications from more than 3000 servicemen.
1963 – Peter Hicks, a farmer who electrified his car to ward off traffic wardens in London’s Covent Garden had to wait nine months before police returned his electric device and told him they would not be prosecuting.
1965 – The death of Stan Laurel, film comedian, born in Ulverston (which was then in Lancashire but now lies in Cumbria) in 1890. In 1961 Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy. Ulverston has a Laurel & Hardy Museum.
1978 – Fleetwood Mac win the Album of the Year Grammy for Rumours.
1995 – The death of James Alfred Wight (James Herriot ), vet and author of ‘All Creatures Great & Small’.
1998 – Osama bin Laden published a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and “Crusaders”. The term Crusaders is commonly interpreted to refer to the people of Europe and the United States.
1998 – Oasis are banned for life from flying Cathay Pacific Airlines after “abusive and disgusting behaviour” during a flight from Hong Kong to Perth, Australia.
2007 – A train derailed on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, killing one person and injuring 22. The accident resulted in hundreds of points being checked throughout the UK as similar accidents had occurred on the Rail Network.
2012 – Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland announced a full year loss of nearly £2bn, further fuelling the debate about bankers’ pay and bonuses. Nevertheless, £390m in bonuses was still paid to RBS’s 17,000 investment bankers.
2013 – Prayers were said for Pope Benedict XVI during a mass at Westminster Cathedral, as the pontiff prepared to step down at the end of the month. He was the first pope to resign in nearly 600 years.
2014 – The oldest known survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, Alice Herz-Sommer, died in London at the age of 110. She was an accomplished pianist and music teacher and a film about her life was nominated for the best short documentary at the Academy Awards. Born into a Jewish family in Prague in 1903, Ms Herz-Sommer spent two years in a Nazi concentration camp in Terezin.
2019 – Roy Hodgson overtakes Sir Bobby Robson as the oldest man to manage a Premier League club when at 71 years, 198 days his Crystal Palace side beats Leicester City 4-1.
Did you know that on this day in 1999, Eminem’s album The Slim Shady LP was released? The album’s success lifted Eminem from an underground rapper to a high-profile celebrity.
Every day I encounter dozens of individuals without us speaking a word to each other but when I log on to my computer I post a comment that could be viewed by hundreds, even thousands of people that I may never see in person.
“An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.” – Albert Einstein
The biggest film of 1977: Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope (Action/Adventure)
A group of ‘gods’ is called a Pantheon.
From my Idea Book: Get the actors that played the original kids from Barney and Friends. Make an adult comedy where they meet back up with Barney and get into shenanigans.
Any five consecutive months (except February) add up to 153 days.
Speedo originated in 1914 under the brand name ‘Fortitude’. It didn’t become known by its now-famous brand name until 1928.
Jeannette Rankin, the first Congresswoman, served just two non-consecutive terms starting in 1917 and 1941, and was the only person to vote against the declaration of war in both WWI and WWII.
Zombie Nation’s hit single “Kerncraft” synth riff comes directly from the Commodore 64 game “Lazy Jones.”
Sliced bread was invented in 1928 and was referred to as the ‘best thing since bagged bread’.
Sam Houston is the only person to be elected governor of two different states (TN and TX).
“Become vengeance, David. Become wrath.” – John Doe in Se7en #moviequotes
The State Motto of California is “Eureka! I have found it.”
2018 – Xi’an, China, introduced a pedestrian lane for people who walk while looking at their phones.
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.