View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
What : day is it
1961 – Britain’s youngest ever Conservative MP, Margaret Thatcher, was given her first governmental job.
1962 – Uganda proclaimed its independence from Britain.
1968 – Prime Minister Harold Wilson met Rhodesian premier Ian Smith aboard HMS Fearless in Gibraltar to discuss Rhodesia’s decision to declare UDI -a Universal Declaration of Independence.
1976 – The listing of the art-deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe, Lancashire. The hotel was built in 1933, by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). In its heyday it was ‘the place’ to stay and quickly attracted the wealthy middle classes. From 1988 the hotel stood derelict, but after major refurbishment the Midland re-opened its doors to the public in the summer of 2008.
1986 – The musical The Phantom of the Opera had its first performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.
1988 – The death of the footballer Jackie Milburn (full name John Edward Thompson Milburn). By the time Milburn left Newcastle in 1957, he had become the highest goal scorer in Newcastle United’s history. He remained so until he was surpassed by Alan Shearer in February 2006.
1991 – The first Sumo wrestling tournament ever held off Japanese soil in the sport’s 1500 year history began ‘on this day’ , at the Royal Albert Hall.
1997 – The campaign to ban landmines, a cause made popular by Diana, Princess of Wales was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1999 – The new Scottish Parliament building was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new building on 7th September 2004.
2010 – A ticket bought in the UK won a new record of £113m on the Euro millions lottery draw, making the anonymous winner the UK’s 589th richest person.
2013 – Environment Secretary Owen Paterson claimed that “badgers moved the goalposts” when asked why marksmen failed to reach their badger cull target in the counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset.
2013 – The Royal Mail share-offering for private investors was seven times over-subscribed, with 700,000 applications in total. Labour claimed that the shares were being sold too cheaply. Two days later the shares rose 38% to 455p in their first day of conditional dealings on the London Stock Exchange.
2014 – A report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found that populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish had declined on average by 52 per cent in the last 40 years. Almost the entire decline was down to human activity, through habitat loss, deforestation, climate change, over-fishing and hunting.
2017 – Film producer Harvey Weinstein is fired from The Weinstein Company after allegations of sexual abuse.
2019 – Turkey launches air strikes on Kurdish forces in Northern Syria after US President Donald Trump pulls back American forces.
Did you know that on this day in 2006, Google announced that it had acquired YouTube? The acquisition of the online video company was agreed for $1.65 billion.
One of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World: Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in (now) Bodrum, Turkey built in 353-350 BC, destroyed by earthquakes and abandoned by the 1400s AD. We still use the word, mausoleum, for above-ground tombs.
George Orwell – Real Name: Eric Arthur Blair
Somewhere out there is the Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, or Joe Montana of custodians, and he gets nowhere near the amount of praise he deserves for his talents.
Because of Monty Python when someone starts with “Nobody expects…” I expect the Spanish Inquisition.
In The US, Outdoor cats are believed to be responsible for the extinction of 33 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles, killing between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 billion to 20.7 billion mammals a year.
The Capital of Korea, North is Pyongyang
Adam and Eve did not have belly buttons. #science #religion
Nail-biting has been associated with a better functioning immune system because of the exposure to germs on a small scale that your body can build antibodies to.
Everyone is forgetting to count their sellable organs when calculating their net worth.
“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.” – John Keating (Robin Williams) in Dead Poets Society, 1989
I wonder what happened to Inigo Montoya’s mother.
“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” – John Lennon
“Forget what life used to be, you are what you choose to be. It’s whatever it is you see that life will become.” – Jackson Browne
“I like to be honest, and after all these years I can’t be bothered being politically correct.” – Sharon Osbourne
“Being at the genesis of the creative process is definitely something I want to keep doing. It’s just such a great buzz.” – Chris O’Dowd
“When you’re out there talking about your faith and what you believe in, you’ll face some backlash. But mostly, I’ve received support.” – Scotty McCreery
“When we leap, we must leap as though the net will appear. A leap in life, however big or small, is an act of commitment with the expectation of success.” – John O’Hurley
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.