View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
1922 – The birth of the comedy actress Hattie Jacques. She is best known as a regular of the Carry On films, but also appeared in three highly popular radio series – with Tommy Handley in It’s That Man Again, with ventriloquist Peter Brough on Educating Archie and then with Tony Hancock on Hancock’s Half Hour. She was married to the actor John Le Mesurier (Sergeant Wilson in the BBC TV comedy Dad’s Army) from 1949 until their divorce in 1965.
1937 – Britain’s first dive-bomber, the prototype B-24 Skua, made its maiden flight over Yorkshire, piloted by Dasher Blake.
1964 – The Beatles pop group arrived in New York at the start of their first tour of the United States.
1974 – Prime Minister Edward Heath announced a general election and appealed to the miners to suspend their planned strike.
1974 – The island of Grenada, in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, gained independence from Britain.
1976 – Joan Bazeley became the first woman to referee a men’s football match and Diana Thorne became the first woman jockey to win under National Hunt Rules (on ‘Ben Ruler’ at Stratford).
1991 – Prime Minister John Major and senior Cabinet Ministers escaped unhurt during an apparent assassination attempt, when the IRA fired three mortar shells at 10 Downing Street from a van parked several streets away in the centre of London.
1992 – The European Union was formed.
1994 – It was reported that 13.1 million television viewers watched British boxer Chris Eubank beat German Graciano Rocchigiani in Berlin. It was the most watched programme of the year.
2005 – Britain’s Ellen MacArthur (born 8th July 1976) became the fastest person to sail solo around the world. Two months after her amazing feat she also became the youngest person to receive a damehood.
2006 – The completion, in Cardiff Bay, of The Senedd. It is the main public building of the National Assembly, the main centre for democracy and devolution in Wales.
2015 – Printing blocks from a typeface called ‘Doves Type’ were discovered in the River Thames. The font has not been used for nearly a century as the printing type blocks, used to print letters, were thrown into the river in 1917.
Did you know that on this day in 1940, Walt Disney released their second feature length movie “Pinocchio”? The film won two Academy awards.
Useless Pronunciation: Y as in you.
The Capital of Qatar is Doha
Janelle “Penny” Commissiong was the first black woman to hold the Miss Universe title. She won the title in 1977 at the Miss Universe pageant, which was held in the Dominican Republic.
Biggest film of 1993: Jurassic Park.
Based On A True Story could be shortened to BOATS. #mynewacronym
Just once before I die, I want to know what it feels like to steal a freshly baked pie from someone’s windowsill.
Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob, also narrated The Powerpuff Girls.
Bender from Futurama was named after John Bender from The Breakfast Club.
Wall Street is called Wall Street because the settlers erected an actual wall to defend against Native Americans.
“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” – Bill Gates
“Live your epitaph” – Zoe Weil
Well… it’s a deep subject, isn’t it?
“Just look at the face: it’s vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who’s lost a bet.” – Dianne, in Shaun of the Dead
A group of Midges is called a Bite.
Fred Astaire – Real Name: Frederick Austerlitz
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.