View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
What : day is it
1901 – The birth, in Blackpool, of Sir William Lyons, known as ‘Mr. Jaguar’. He was, with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co-founder in 1922 of the Swallow Sidecar Company, which became Jaguar Cars Limited after the war. The first ‘Jaguar’ model, under the company name of SS Cars Ltd. was offered in 1935, but after World War II Lyons changed the company name to Jaguar to avoid the unfortunate connotations of SS Cars Ltd. with the Nazi ‘SS’.
1909 – The first Boy Scout rally was held at Crystal Palace, near London.
1932 – The birth of Dinsdale Landen, British actor known mainly for his television appearances. He made his television debut in 1959 as Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations and his film debut in 1960, with a part in The League of Gentlemen.
1939 – World War II: The British liner Athenia was sunk by a German submarine off Ireland.
1939 – World War II: A Bristol Blenheim bomber became the first British aircraft to cross the German coast following the declaration of war. German ships were bombed but the aircraft stood little chance against the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 during daylight operations, although it proved successful as a night fighter.
1944 – In World War II, the Allies liberated Brussels and Antwerp (Belgium).
1955 – British TV newsreaders were seen in vision for the first time. The first was the BBC’s Kenneth Kendall.
1962 – The Beatles started their first recording session at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios, London, with their producer, George Martin.
1964 – Queen Elizabeth II opened the Forth Road Bridge across the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
1981 – The start of the Greenham Common peace protest outside the US Air Force base in Berkshire. The protest lasted for 19 years.
1985 – The wreck of the Titanic was photographed for the first time, 73 years after it sank with the loss of 1,500 lives.
1988 – British customs officers intercepted a helicopter landing on its way in from Holland. It was the first helicopter known to have been used in an attempt to smuggle drugs into Britain.
1998 – Google is incorporated by Stanford University students Larry Page and Sergey Brin.On the same day, the quiz show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ begins on ITV.
2006 – Australian naturalist and TV personality Steve Irwin is attacked and killed aged 44 by a stingray while filming.
2016 – Mother Teresa is canonised at The Vatican by Pope Francis.
2018 – Amazon becomes America’s second trillion dollar company.
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Biggest film of 1937: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Musical) earned ~ $185,000,000
A group of Deer is called a Herd or Leash or Gang.
The Guinness Book of World Records holds at least 2 records. It is the book Most Stolen from Public Libraries. It is also the Best Selling Annual Publication, according to its own records.
The Capital of Luxembourg is Luxembourg
There are few foods that dogs can’t eat, among them grapes and chocolate. Raisinets are doggy kryptonite.
Will Smith (who wanted to do Wild Wild West instead), Brad Pitt, Nicholas Cage, and Val Kilmer all turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix.
“Do you know who I used to be?” – Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) #moviequotes
“Snap out of it!” – Loretta Castorini (Cher) in Moonstruck, 1987
Manslaughter has nothing to do with man’s laughter.
A man name Clifford Johnson survived the Cocoanut Grove Fire with severe 3rd-degree burns, becoming the most severely burned person to survive his injuries. 14 years later, he burned to death in a car accident.
A book that is 1000 pages long only has 500 pieces of paper in it.
“In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these.” – Paul Harvey
“Making music is a lifestyle; go to the studio and sit in front of your computer, drum machine or guitar for 10 hours a day. The good stuff will come.” – Mark Ronson
“Your partner cannot read your mind, so talk to your partner about how you’re feeling and what you need.” – Drew Pinsky
“I think, oftentimes, it’s the audience that suffers when a show isn’t given the opportunity to have a beginning, middle and end.” – Khandi Alexander
“Dancing is still the hardest profession. Gene Kelly said dancing is a man’s game Women have to do the same thing in heels, and have to sing and smile at the same time. Professional athletes don’t even have to do that – and they get to wear sneakers.” – Mitzi Gaynor
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.