View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
2007 – Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, was demolished in a controlled explosion. When it closed on 31st March 2003, the first reactor had been in use for nearly 47 years.
What : day is it
1938 – England, France, Germany and Italy signed the Munich Pact, under which the Sudetenland was given to Nazi Germany. In return, Hitler promised not to make any further territorial demands in Europe. World War II began the following year!
1942 – The small market town of Somerton in Somerset was hit by four Luftwaffe bombs. The bombs were aimed at the Cow and Gate milk factory at nearby Etsome which was largely destroyed. Nine people were killed and a further thirty seven injured.
1946 – BBC launched the ‘Third Programme’, later to become Radio 3.
1952 – British and world water speed record holder John Cobb was killed on Loch Ness in Scotland when his craft ‘Crusader’ broke up after hitting waves at 240 mph close to Urquhart Castle.
1956 – Sebastian Coe was born. As a 1500m runner he won Olympic gold in 1980 & 1984. He headed the successful London bid (2005) to host the 2012 Summer Olympics and became chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.
1963 – The Rolling Stones started their first tour, as the opening act for Bo Diddley and the Everly Brothers.
1997 – British scientists said they had established a link between a human brain disease – vCJD – and one found in cows – BSE.
2007 – Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, was demolished in a controlled explosion. When it closed on 31st March 2003, the first reactor had been in use for nearly 47 years.
2010 – Death of actor Tony Curtis (Bernard Schwarz) aged 84.
2011 – Britons basked in record-breaking temperatures of 29C (84F). The mercury peaked in the East Midlands, beating the previous 29th September high of 27.8C (82F), which was recorded in York in 1895.
2012 – Actor Stanley Tucci marries literary agent Felicity Blunt (sister of his The Devil Wears Prada co-star, Emily) in London.
2015 – The original contract signed by The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein sells at Sotheby’s for £365,000.
Did you know that on this day in 1996, the Nintendo 64 gaming console was released in the US? It was initially named the “Nintendo Ultra 64” but was changed as Konami held a trademark for “Ultra Games.”
Earth must be the universe’s number one radio drama.
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, joined the so-called “Mile High Club” at age 19. #TMI
Han Solo was frozen at the end of ESB because they didn’t know if Harrison Ford would agree to do the next movie.
A strawberry is not actually a berry, but a banana is.
The most dipped into sauce is ketchup. The most dipped item is chips. Yet not many people have dipped their chips in ketchup, even though everyone has dipped fries into ketchup.
The Capital of Latvia is Riga
A costumer on “The Wizard of Oz” bought the coat for Frank Morgan’s Professor Marvel character at a resale shop. Once it got to the costume department, a tag was discovered on the inside of the coat that read “Property of L. Frank Baum.”
“Never underestimate the joy people derive from hearing something they already know.” – Enrico Fermi
“A cowboy never takes unfair advantage, even of an enemy.” – Gene Autry
“When you can’t wait for your ship to come in, you’ve got to row out to it.” – Greer Garson
“We respect the dignity and the rights of every man and every nation. The path to a brighter future of the world leads through honest reconciliation of the conflicting interests and not through hatred and bloodshed. To follow that path means to enhance the moral power of the all-embracing idea of human solidarity.” – Lech Walesa
“In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.” – Miguel de Cervantes
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.