View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
What : day is it
1854 – Lord Cardigan led the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. An ambiguous order from the commander, Lord Raglan, led Cardigan’s brave cavalry to charge the Russians while fire came from three different sides.
1920 – The Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney died in Brixton Prison after 74 days on hunger strike.
1951 – Margaret Roberts (later Thatcher), aged 26, of the Conservative Party, became the youngest candidate to stand at a general election. The Conservatives won a narrow overall majority but the future British Prime Minister failed to win the seat.
1964 – The Beatles won five UK Ivor Novello Awards – 1963’s Most Broadcast Song, and Top-Selling Single ‘She Loves You’, Second Best-Selling Single ‘I Want to Hold your Hand’, Second Most Outstanding Song ‘All My Loving’, and the Most Outstanding Contribution to Music.
1976 – The new National Theatre on the South Bank in London, was officially opened after years of delays.
1978 – Queen Elizabeth II opened the new Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool.
1995 – Fans gathered outside Buckingham Palace, to sing ‘Congratulations’ after singer Cliff Richard formally received his knighthood.
2001 – British Crime Survey revealed that the chances of being a victim of crime were the lowest for 20 years.
2004 – The death, aged 65, of John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE, known professionally as John Peel. Peel was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs and broadcasted regularly from 1967 until his death. Peel was 11 times Melody Maker′s DJ of the year and in 2005 the New Musical Express awarded him Hero of the Year. He was also posthumously given a special award for Lifelong Service To Music.
2013 – A dog walker found around sixty thousand pounds in banknotes (some charred after being burnt), floating in a Lincolnshire waterway (South Drove Drain in Spalding). Six months later police were still following up a number of lines of enquiry.
2013 – The former Labour home and foreign secretary, Jack Straw (67) announced that he was to stand down as MP for Blackburn at the next general election. He was elected in Blackburn in 1979 and stood in eight general elections in the constituency.
2017 – Scientists in India discovered a 152-million-year-old fossil of an extinct marine reptile called the ichthyosaur. The fossil was found inside rocks from the Mesozoic Era, which ran between 252 and 66 million years ago.
2020 – Lewis Hamilton won the Portuguese Grand Prix and broke Michael Schumacher’s record of the most F1 wins by achieving the 92nd win of his career.
Did you know that on this day in 1978, the original American horror film “Halloween” premiered? It received mixed reviews at the time but went on to receive critical acclaim in the following years.
John Wayne got cancer from a nearby nuclear test while filming The Conqueror. Or maybe it was the six-packs of cigarettes he smoked every day.
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of something is always done or held by 20% of a population.
Lewis and Clark had a dog on their expedition (a Newfie) named “Seaman”.
The Capital of India is New Delhi.
“Bond. James Bond.” – James Bond (Sean Connery) in Dr. No, 1962
In Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, three of Jabba’s men are named Klaatu, Barada, and Nikto.
If you are saying and believing the same things at the age of 40 as you were when you were 18 means you were always right (which is rare) or not learning much in your life (more likely).
There is a condition called ‘ergophobia’ – the fear of work or finding employment.
“pornography” derives from the Greek words porni (“prostitute”) and graphein (“to write”). It originates from art and literature depicting the life of prostitutes.
The earliest record of a yodel was in 1545, where it is described as “the call of a cowherd from Appenzell”.
One of the 7 Wonders of the Middle Ages: Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy, constructed 1173-1372 AD
Gustav Mahler was superstitious and strongly believed in the Curse of the Ninth, where composers can only compose nine symphonies before they die. He tried to beat superstition by calling his 9th symphonic work a “song cycle,” then began work on his 10th symphony and died.
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso
“This moment is your portal to the future. Use it wisely!” – Marion Ross
“Being beautiful is all in the attitude, it’s about confidence.” – Ciara
“Take the back roads instead of the highways.” – Minnie Pearl
“The name of my condition is Cartilage Hair Syndrome Hypoplasia, but you can just call me Billy.” – Billy Barty
“Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.” – James Carville
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.