April 3rd "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 94, known as World Party Day as well as Find A Rainbow Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of July 11th in the previous year. Your star sign is Aries and your birthstone is Diamond.
1933 – Everest was conquered for the first time by plane when 2 specially built British planes made aviation history by flying over the summit. The pilots were the Marquis of Douglas and Clydesdale and Flight Lieutenant David McIntyre.
Todays birthdays
1961 – Eddie Murphy (63), American comedian, actor (Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America), and singer (“Party All the Time”), born in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1964 – Nigel Farage (60), British broadcaster and former politician (UKIP 2006-2009, Brexit Party 2019-2021), born in Farnborough, Orpington, Greater London.
1976 – Will Mellor (48), English actor (Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Hollyoaks), born in Bredbury, Stoackport, Greater Manchester.
1982 – Cobie Smulders (42) Canadian actress (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), born in Vancouver, Canada.
1985 – Leona Lewis (39), British singer/songwriter (“Bleeding Love”) and model, born in Islington, London.
Famous deaths
2022 – June Brown (b. 1927), English actress best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap EastEnders from 1985 to 2020 (2,884 episodes).
The day today
1913 – English suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst was sentenced to 3 years in prison for inciting supporters to place explosives at the London home of British politician David Lloyd George. The Home Secretary banned all future public meetings of suffragettes.
1933 – Everest was conquered for the first time by plane when 2 specially built British planes made aviation history by flying over the summit. The pilots were the Marquis of Douglas and Clydesdale and Flight Lieutenant David McIntyre.
1981 – Mobs of youths went on the rampage in Brixton, South London, throwing petrol bombs and looting shops. Police harassment over a long period was given as the cause.
1993 – The Grand National was declared void after a series of events at the start reduced the world-famous horse race to a shambles. 30 of the 39 riders failed to realise a false start had been called and set off around the racetrack, completing both laps of the course and passing the finish line before they realised their mistake.
2014 – A 25 year old student was fined and given penalty points after he was caught driving a car with all 4 doors removed, along with the headlights, front and rear indicators, bonnet, grille, and rear brake lights which he had removed to sell on-line. He had been attempting to take the car to a recycling centre five miles from his home in Nottinghamshire, to sell for scrap.
Today in music
1964 – Bob Dylan made his first appearance on the UK charts with ‘The Times They Are A-Changin”. Dylan wrote the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the time. In January 1984, a young Steve Jobs recited the second verse of ‘The Times They Are a-Changin” in his opening of the 1984 Apple shareholders meeting, where he famously unveiled the Macintosh computer for the first time.
1993 – 10 years after its first release, The Bluebells had a UK No.1 single with ‘Young At Heart’ after the track was featured on a Volkswagen TV commercial. The song was co-written by Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey. (and recorded by Bananarama). In 2002 session musician Bobby Valentino, who performed the violin solo on The Bluebells version of the song won the right to be recognised as co-author after taking legal action.
2001 – Robbie Williams won the award for the most radio plays in the UK for the third year running. The singer picked up the award at the Radio Academy awards in London.
2007 – Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards denied that he snorted the ashes of his late father. Jane Rose, Richards’ manager, told MTV News the remarks were made ‘in jest’, and she could not believe they had been taken seriously. Richards had said in an interview with the NME: ‘He was cremated and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow.’ But NME interviewer Mark Beaumont was convinced that Richards was not joking when speaking to him about the alleged incident. ‘He did seem to be quite honest about it. There were too many details for him to be making it up,’ he later told BBC news.
2011 – Adele broke the record for the longest time at No.1 in the UK album chart by a female solo artist after her second album, 21 spent 10 consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. The previous record was held by Madonna with her first greatest hits record, The Immaculate Collection, in 1990.
Today in history
1043 – Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England in Winchester Cathedral. He was regarded as one of the national saints of England until King Edward III adopted Saint George as patron saint in about 1350.
1367 – The birth of Henry IV, (son of John of Gaunt). He became the first Lancastrian king of England in 1399 and his reign was marked by many uprisings, both at home and abroad.
1693 – The birth, on the Nostell estate (Wakefield) of John Harrison, self-educated carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer. Harrison’s solution revolutionized navigation and greatly increased the safety of long-distance sea travel. His 300 year old, fully working, almost entirely wooden mechanism clock is at Nostell Priory.
1721 – Sir Robert Walpole was appointed first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, effectively making him Britain’s first prime minister.
1888 – The first of 11 brutal murders of women occurred in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London. The crimes remain unsolved to this day. At various points some or all of the killings were ascribed to the notorious, unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.