View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
What : day is it
1938 – Concerned about the prospect of war with Germany (which turned out to be a year away) British civilians were issued with gas masks.
1944 – British and Polish soldiers withdraw from Arnhem after days of fierce fighting. On the same day, Soviet troops occupy Estonia.
1953 – Sugar rationing in Britain came to an end.
1955 – Frozen Birdseye fish fingers first went on sale in Britain.
1956 – The highest score in a single match in the European Cup was won by Manchester United, who beat Anderlecht 10-1.
1965 – The Beatles are awarded their MBE’s by The Queen at Buckingham Palace.
1973 – Concorde made its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time, cutting the previous record in half, and flying at an average speed of 954 mph.
1979 – Compulsory metrication in Britain was abandoned.
1984 – Britain agreed to transfer full sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997, ending 150 years of British rule.
1997 – Two earthquakes strike the Italian regions of Umbria and the Marche, causing part of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (pictured) to collapse and damaging priceless artefacts.
1997 – Queen Elizabeth II and the British Government announced that the Royal Yacht Britannia would neither be refitted nor replaced because of the high cost. She is now a floating tourist attraction in Edinburgh.
2011 – The wreck of SS Gairsoppa, a UK cargo ship sunk by a German U-boat in 1941, was found in the Atlantic, around 300 miles off the coast of Ireland by US exploration firm Odyssey Marine. The wreck contained 200 tonnes of silver worth about £150m making it the largest haul of precious metal ever discovered at sea.
2013 – The funeral service was held for 5 year old April Jones, in her hometown of Machynlleth, mid Wales. She was murdered by 47-year-old Mark Bridger almost a year previously, sparking the biggest missing person search in UK police history. Her body was never found. At the time of her disappearance, ribbons were tied to the railings around the town’s clock tower, on shop doors and pinned to trees.
2019 – Abortion is decriminalized in New South Wales, the last remaining Australian state to do so. On the same day, former French president Jacques Chirac dies aged 86.
Did you know that on this day in 1949, the iconic Hollywood sign was changed to how we know it today? It initially said “Hollywoodland,” but the “land” was removed during renovations.
Luke Skywalker went from wanting to join the imperial academy to blowing up the Death Star in like two days.
If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.
“My God! What’s happened?” – Diana, Princess of Wales #LastWords
Return of the Jedi was originally called “Revenge of the Jedi.”
Nintendo started out as a trading card company.
A group of Kids is called a Migraine.
“So Dawn’s in trouble. Must be Tuesday.” – Buffy Summers #TVQuotes
If everyone throws out their worthless Beanie Baby collection, they’ll eventually be rare and valuable.
When filming Return of the Jedi they used the name Blue Harvest to avoid press and fans trying to sneak onto the set.
The “g” in “bingo” is pronounced twice.
“I’m an excellent driver.” – Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man #moviequotes
How come ghosts only come out at night?
“Everyone gets the experience. Some get the lesson.” – T. S. Eliot
“Do not worry at being worried; but accept worry peacefully. Difficult but not impossible.” – Johnny Appleseed
“There is no fountain of youth, What you put into your body is what you get out of it. You would not feed your dog a coffee and doughnut for breakfast followed by a cigarette. You will kill the damn dog.” – Jack LaLanne
“It’s fabulous when you do that, when you discover somebody who you like when you kind of feel those feelings, even though he articulates them better.” – Bryan Ferry
“Life is a lot like jazz. It’s best when you improvise.” – George Gershwin
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.