April 25th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 116, known as World Malaria Day, National Library Workers Day, National Lingerie Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of August 2nd in the previous year. Your star sign is Taurus and your birthstone is Diamond.
2012 – A new initiative paired the Scottish hamlet of Dull with an American town named Boring. The Dull and Boring plan was hatched after a resident of Dull, near Aberfeldy in Perthshire, cycled through Boring in Oregon.
Todays birthdays
1932 – William Roache (92), English actor, best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, born in Basford, Nottingham.
1940 – Al Pacino (84), American actor (The Godfather, Scarface, Donnie Brasco, Carlito’s Way), born in East Harlem, New York, United States.
1964 – Andy Bell (60), English singer best known as the lead vocalist of the synth-pop duo Erasure (“Love to Hate You”, “A Little Respect”), born in Peterborough.
1969 – Renee Zellweger (55), American actress (Bridget Jones Diary, Me, Myself and Irene), born in Katy, Texas, United States.
1981 – Felipe Massa (43), Brazilian racing driver (11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums), born in São Paulo, State of São Paulo, Brazil.
Famous deaths
2004 – Estée Lauder (b. 1906), American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies.
The day today
1915 – World War I – 90,000 Australian, New Zealand, British and French forces began landing on the Gallipoli Peninsular to attack Turkish positions. The Lancashire Fusliers won “6 VC’s before breakfast” storming the Gallipoli beach. The victory came at a high price, with as many as 700 members of the regiment killed or wounded.
1953 – Two Cambridge University scientists published their answer to how living things reproduced. In an article published in Nature magazine, James D Watson and Francis Crick described the structure of a chemical called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. Their achievement was recognized in 1962 when they received the Nobel Prize for Physiology.
1969 – The BBC Radio serial Mrs. Dale’s Diary ended after 21 years and more than 5,400 episodes. Her final words were: “I’m rather worried about Jim….”
2012 – A new initiative paired the Scottish hamlet of Dull with an American town named Boring. The Dull and Boring plan was hatched after a resident of Dull, near Aberfeldy in Perthshire, cycled through Boring in Oregon.
2016 – The High Street chain BHS went into administration after 88 years trading. Subsequent rescue bids failed and 11,000 jobs were lost, 22,000 pensions were affected and 164 stores closed. It was the biggest retail failure since Woolworths folded in 2008 with the loss of almost 30,000 jobs.
Today in music
1954 – Johnnie Ray was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Such A Night.’ The singer’s first of three UK No.1’s. He became deaf in his right ear aged 13 after an accident and would later perform wearing a hearing aid. Dexys Midnight Runners’ 1982 music video for ‘Come On Eileen’, used footage of Ray from 1954. The lyrics of the song say, “Poor old Johnnie Ray sounded sad upon the radio / he moved a million hearts in mono”.
1970 – The Jackson Five started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘ABC’. It was the group’s second US No. 1, a No.8 hit in the UK.
1979 – The Police made their debut on BBC TV’s Top Of The Pops performing ‘Roxanne’. The single which was taken from their album Outlandos d’Amour was written from the point-of-view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute.
1982 – Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Ebony And Ivory.’ This was McCartney’s 24th No.1 hit single as a songwriter. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say “black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony folks!”. It was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.
1987 – Madonna went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘La Isla Bonita.’ The fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, made her the only female artist to score four UK No.1 singles. The song had been offered to Michael Jackson for his Bad album.
Today in history
1284 – The birth, at Caernarfon Castle in Wales, of King Edward II, who became the first heir-apparent to bear the title Prince of Wales. King from 1307, he ruled during a period of pestilence, famine and defeats at the hands of the Scots, and was eventually murdered.
1599 – The birth of Oliver Cromwell, Protector of England who led his ‘Ironsides’ in the English Civil War against the ‘Cavaliers’ of King Charles I. Cromwell’s victories enabled him to have the King tried and beheaded, after which he established a republic.
1719 – Robinson Crusoe first appeared in paperback. Written by Daniel Defoe it was based partly on the story of Alexander Selkirk who was marooned on a Pacific island for four years.
1829 – Admiral Charles Fremantle arrived in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for Britain.
1859 – British and French engineers broke ground for the creation of the Suez Canal. The excavation took some 10 years and altogether more than 1.5 million people from various countries were employed.