On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 105 of the year.

Wednesday, April 15th

Today is McDonald’s Day, National Banana Day, Universal Day of Culture, World Art Day and Titanic Remebrance Day. Your star sign is Aries and your birthstone is Diamond.
Did you know: All Fools’ Day, also known as April Fools’ Day is a day for practical jokes and hoaxes, but only until 12 noon. The earliest recorded association between 1st April and foolishness can be found in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1392).
Today’s birthdays
1939 – Marty Wilde (87), English singer and songwriter ( “Endless Sleep”, “Sea of Love”, “Bad Boy”) and father of rocker Kim Wilde, born in Blackheath, London.

1940 – Jeffrey Archer (86), English novelist (Only Time Will Tell, The Sins of the Father) and former politician from 1969 to 1974, born in Holloway, London.

1959 – Emma Thompson (67), English actress (Nanny McPhee, Cruella, Love Actually), born in Hammersmith, London.

1965 – Linda Perry (61), American musician, singer-songwriter and lead vocalist with 4 Non Blondes (“What’s Up?”), born in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
1966 – Samantha Fox (60), English pop singer (“Touch Me”) and former glamour model, born in Mile End, London.
1971 – Katy Hill (55), English television presenter (Blue Peter, Live & Kicking, Top of the Pops), born in Poole, Dorset.
1978 – Luis Fonsi (48), Puerto Rican singer (“Despacito”), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1979 – Luke Evans (47), Welsh actor (Dracula Untold, Fast & Furious 6, Anna, Beauty and the Beast), born in Pontypool, Wales.
1980 – Natalie Casey (46), English actress (Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Hollyoaks), born in Rawtenstall, Lancashire.
1982 – Seth Rogen (44), Canadian actor (The Green Hornet, The Interview, Superbad) and voice actor (Sausage Party, Paul), born in Vancouver, Canada.
1988 – Eliza Doolittle (38), English singer (“Skinny Genes”, “Walking on Water”), born in London.
1990 – Emma Watson (36), English actress (Little Women, Beauty and the Beast, Harry Potter franchise), born in Paris, France.
1997 – Maisie Williams (29), English actress (The New Mutants) who made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, born in Bristol.
Famous deaths
1865 – Abraham Lincoln (b. 1809), 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, playing a major role in the abolition of slavery.
1982 – Arthur Lowe (b. 1915), English actor best remembered for playing Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom Dad’s Army from 1968 until 1977.
1984 – Tommy Cooper (b. 1921), Welsh prop comedian and magician who habitually wore a red fez when performing.
1988 – Kenneth Williams (b. 1926), English actor and comedian (Hancock’s Half Hour) best known for his comedy roles in 26 of the 31 Carry On films.
1990 – Greta Garbo (b. 1905), Swedish actress of Hollywood’s silent and early golden eras (Two-Faced Woman, A Woman of Affairs, Mata Hari).
1994 – John Curry (b. 1949), English figure skater and the 1976 European, World and Olympic Champion noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating.
2018 – R. Lee Ermey (b. 1944), American actor (Full Metal Jacket, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and U.S. Marine drill instructor.
The day today
1901 – The first motor hearse in Britain was used to carry William Drakeford to his burial in Coventry. His employer, the Daimler Motor Company, adapted one of their early cars for this, marking a shift from horse-drawn carriages to motorised funeral transport.

1912 – The British built Titanic luxury ocean liner that had collided earlier with an iceberg about 400 miles from Newfoundland sank at 2:20 a.m. More than 1,500 people drowned or froze to death in the icy waters. Most of the 700 survivors were women and children. As the ship sank, the band played music to calm the passengers and all the musicians went down with the ship. They were recognised for their heroism and bandleader Wallace Hartley aged 33, from Colne in Lancashire, is commemorated in a memorial in the town’s centre.

1923 – The first FA Cup final at the original Wembley Stadium in London took place attended by King George V. Huge overcrowding saw a mounted policeman on a white horse restore order, giving the match its nickname (“White Horse Final”). Bolton Wanderers F.C. defeated West Ham United F.C. 2–0.
1941 – The Belfast Blitz, during which two-hundred bombers of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacked Belfast in Northern Ireland, killing one thousand people.
1942 – The island of Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI of England. At the height of World War II, Malta held off Axis forces time and time again until all but the last scraps of fuel and food were left. Malta was awarded the George Cross, the highest non-military honor, for the heroism and devotion of its people during this siege.
1945 – British troops entered the Belsan concentration camp after negotiating a truce with the German commandant. Soldiers found piles of dead and rotting corpses and thousands of sick and starving prisoners. Freddie Gilroy, a former miner and 23 year old soldier from County Durham was one of the first allied troops to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. A statue by sculptor Ray Lonsdale which overlooks the North Bay of Scarborough depicts Freddie Gilroy, who participated in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, sitting on a bench in his old age.
1952 – The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber (not to be confused with The Stratolaunch), successfully completed its first flight. The B-52 Stratofortress entered service in 1955 and, following extensive upgrades, is planned to remain in service with the U.S. Air Force into the 2050s, marking nearly a century of operation.
1953 – Reis Leming, a 22-year-old US airman stationed in Britain was presented with the George Medal. He had rescued 27 people in East Anglia during winter floods. The award was the first given to a foreigner during peacetime.
1955 – McDonald’s corporation officially dates its founding when Ray Kroc opened his first franchised restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. While the McDonald brothers founded the original restaurant in 1940 and developed the system in 1948, Kroc’s 1955 opening marked the start of the modern McDonald’s Corporation, which later bought out the brothers. The 2016 film, The Founder starring Michael Keaton depicts the story of his creation of the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant chain.
1984 – Much loved English comedian and magician Tommy Cooper tragically collapsed and died from a heart attack at age 63. The incident occurred live on television, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television variety show Live From Her Majesty’s, in front of millions of viewers.
1989 – The Hillsborough disaster occurred. 97 children, women and men lost their lives as a result of the disaster at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium.
2010 – All flights in and out of the UK and several other European countries were suspended as ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland moved south. The cloud triggered the UK’s worst airspace restriction in living memory and brought much of Europe to a standstill.
2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 281 others. Self-radicalised brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs that detonated near the finish line of the race 14 seconds and 210 yards (190 m) apart. The 2016 film, Patriots Day starring Mark Wahlberg, is based on the Boston Marathon bombings.
2014 – In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, more than 400 civilians are gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.
2019 – The historic Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire during a restoration campaign. The blaze destroyed most of the cathedral’s roof and the 19th-century spire.
2019 – Measles cases rise 300% globally in first few months of 2019.
2024 – Donald Trump becomes the first former US President to stand trial on criminal charges as his hush money case begins in New York.
Today in music
1957 – Jerry Lee Lewis released ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ on Sun Records. Written by Dave “Curlee” Williams the song was first recorded by American R&B singer Big Maybelle. The record reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart, No. 1 on the country charts, and No. 8 in the UK.
1964 – The Beatles filmed outside shots at the Scala Theatre in Tottenham Street London for their forthcoming movie ‘A Hard Day’s Night’.
1965 – The birth of Linda Perry, songwriter, producer, singer with 4 Non Blondes, (1993 UK No.2 single ‘What’s Up’, 1993 UK No. 4 album ‘Bigger Better Faster More!). Wrote ‘Beautiful’ for Christina Aguilera. She also wrote for Courtney Love, Gwen Stefani, Sugababes, Robbie Williams, Melissa Etheridge and Gavin Rossdale.
1972 – Roberta Flack started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart (No.14 in the UK) with ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’.
1989 – American all girl group The Bangles started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Eternal Flame.’ Also a No.1 in Australia (biggest selling single of 1989) and the United States.

1999 – The body of Tammy Wynette was exhumed from her grave in an attempt to settle a dispute over how the country music legend died. A new autopsy was conducted on her a week after three of her daughters filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor and her husband and manager, George Richey, claiming they were responsible for her death 12 months ago. Richey said he had requested the autopsy because of the allegations made against him.

2001 – Punk pioneer Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman) singer of the Ramones died after losing a long battle with lymphatic cancer aged 49. On November 30, 2003, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place.

2003 – Beyoncé was sued by the Wilhemina Artist Agency who claimed she hadn’t paid them the commission for her L’Oreal ads. The agency claimed the singer refused to pass on the 10 percent of the deal that was brokered by the agency.

2022 – Coachella Valley music festival returns after a two-year hiatus with Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Swedish House Mafia with The Weeknd as headliners.
Today in history
1452 – The birth of Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance, renowned as a painter, inventor, anatomist, and engineer. Widely considered one of the greatest painters in history, he created iconic works like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

1534 – Thomas Cromwell is appointed Chief Secretary to King Henry VIII of England.

1654 – The Treaty of Westminster, negotiated by Oliver Cromwell and the Dutch States General was signed, officially ending the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) between the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands.
1755 – Samuel Johnson’s “A Dictionary of the English Language” published in London.
1802 – William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy see a “long belt” of daffodils, inspiring the poet to pen “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”.
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Three hours later, Vice President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as president.
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