August 15th "2023" daily prep

Welcome to day 227 of the year! Known as Lemon Meringue Pie Day & Relaxation Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of November 22nd 2022 and have the star sign “Leo”. People born in August all have the Peridot birthstone.
1988 – Glasgow passport office started to issue the new EEC passports. It was the first office to be computerised to dispense the burgundy coloured documents, which replaced the traditional blue ones.
Todays birthdays
1935 – Jim Dale MBE (88), English actor and one of the last surviving actors to appear in multiple Carry On films, born in Rothwell, Northamptonshire, England.
1946 – Tony Robinson (77), English actor (Blackadder), author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter (Time Team), and political activist, born in Homerton, London, England.
1968 – Debra Messing (55), American actress (Will and Grace, Along Came Polly), born in Brooklyn, New York, United States
1972 – “Mikey” Graham (51), Irish singer-songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as a member of boy band Boyzone, born in Raheny, Ireland.
1990 – Jennifer Lawrence (33), American actress (The Hunger Games, X-MEN, Red Sparrow), born in Indian Hills, Kentucky, United States.
The day today
1947 – Pakistan was founded when British rule over the region ended. India gained independence from Britain, and the Union Jack was lowered in New Delhi for the last time. Pandit Nehru became India’s first Prime Minister.
1985 – Richard Branson’s speedboat Virgin Atlantic Challenger capsized off the south-west of England. He was just two hours short of completing the fastest-ever Atlantic crossing.
1987 – Caning was officially banned in British schools (excluding independent schools).
2011 – A teenager who stole a laptop from a west London flat during the riots was traced on Facebook by the computer’s owner. Greg Martin, an information security professional and former Nasa and FBI employee had installed a tracking device on the laptop and got the suspect’s ID from the social networking site. The information included the man’s name, school, address in west London and information about his wireless internet connection. Soheil Khalilfar, 18, was later charged with handling stolen goods.
2013 – Google announced that it was to loan out its Trekker wearable backpack to the Canal & River Trust, who would use it to capture footage of some of most scenic parts of Britain’s 200-year old waterway network.
Today in music
1987 – Michael Jackson had his third UK No.1 with the single ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’, a duet with Siedah Garrett. It was originally intended to be a duet between Jackson and either Barbra Streisand or Whitney Houston. Session singer Siedah Garrett also worked with Madonna.
1998 – Boyzone scored their fourth UK No.1 single with ‘No Matter What’, making them the first Irish group to have four No.1 singles. Also Boyzone became the first act in history to reach the Top 5 with their first 12 single releases. The song came from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ‘Whistle Down The Wind’.
2000 – David Bowie and his wife Iman celebrated the birth of their first child a baby girl named Alexandria Zahra Jones.
2009 – U2’s first UK gig on their current tour broke the attendance record for a Wembley Stadium concert. Over 88,000 people attended the show.
2020 – Taylor Swift was at No.1 on the UK album chart her eighth studio album Folklore. Upon release, Folklore broke the Guinness World Record for the biggest opening day on Spotify for an album by a female act. Three of its tracks reached the top 10 of the official charts in eight countries. It was Swift’s seventh consecutive No.1 album on the US Billboard 200 and became the best-selling album of 2020.
Historical events
1599 – Nine Years’ War: Battle of Curlew Pass: Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O’Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.
1842 – The first regular British detective force was formed as a division of the Metropolitan Police, under the joint command of Inspector Pearce and Inspector John Haynes. In 1878 it became known as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
1872 – The first voting by ballot in Great Britain took place in a by-election at Pontefract, when Hugh Childers, a Liberal MP and minister was re-elected
1899 – Fratton Park football ground in Portsmouth, England is officially first opened.
1939 – The Cunard liner Queen Mary recaptured the Blue Riband from the SS Normandie, crossing the Atlantic in 3 days, 22 hours and 40 minutes.
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