Sunday, August 17th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 229, known as Black Cat Appreciation Day, I Love My Feet Day. Your star sign is Leo and your birthstone is Peridot.
1979 – “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” directed by Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, & John Cleese, premieres in the US (8th November 1979 in the UK). “Wait till Biggus Dickus hears of this!”
Todays birthdays
1943 – Robert De Niro (82), American actor (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull), known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, born in Greenwich Village, New York, United States.
1953 – Kevin Rowland (72), English singer and musician best known as the frontman for the pop band Dexys Midnight Runners (“Come On Eileen”), born in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton.
1957 – Robin Cousins (68), British former competitive figure skater who was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980, born in Bristol.
1958 – Belinda Carlisle (67), American singer and songwriter (“Heaven Is A Place On Earth”),
1960 – Sean Penn (65), American actor and film director (Mystic River, Carlito’s Way, The Thin Red Line), born in Santa Monica, California, United States.
1977 – Thierry Henry (48), French professional football coach, pundit, former player (Arsenal) and a sports broadcaster, born in Les Ulis, France.
1977 – Claire Richards (48), English singer and member of the pop group Steps (“Last Thing on My Mind”), born in Hillingdon, Uxbridge.
Famous deaths
1964 – Ian Fleming (b. 1908), British writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels.
2015 – Stephen Lewis (b. 1926), English actor and screenwriter best known for his roles as Inspector Blake in On The Buses and as Smiler in Last of the Summer Wine.
2021 – Una Stubbs (b. 1937), English actress, TV personality, and dancer (Till Death Us Do Part, In Sickness and in Health).
The day today
1939 – Musical film “The Wizard of Oz”, starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, and Margaret Hamilton opens at Loews Capitol Theatre, NYC.
1943 – World War II: The Royal Air Force began ‘Operation Hydra’, the first air raid of the Operation Crossbow strategic bombing campaign against Germany’s V-1 flying bombs.
1945 – George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” was first published in the United Kingdom. The novella is an allegorical and satirical work that reflects the events leading up to the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist era in the Soviet Union.
1979 – “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” directed by Terry Jones, starring Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, & John Cleese, premieres in the US (8th November 1979 in the UK).
1990 – The National Trust for Scotland admitted that the Glenfinnan monument, marking the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745 was almost certainly in the wrong place and was probably chosen for its scenic value.
1998 – Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony he had an “improper physical relationship” with the intern and on the same day admits before the nation he “misled people” about the relationship.
2008 – American swimmer Michael Phelps became the first person to win eight gold medals at one Olympic Games.
2017 – Younes Abouyaaqoub drove a van into pedestrians on La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain, killing 14 people and injuring at least 130 others.
The 22-year-old attacker then killed another person in order to steal the victim’s car to make his escape.
Today in music
1965 – The Byrds were forced to cancel a concert during their UK tour at The Guildhall, Portsmouth when only 250 of the 4,000 tickets had been sold.
1974 – Eric Clapton started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 461 Ocean Boulevard, a No.3 hit in the UK.
1991 – Nirvana shot the video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ at GMT Studios in Culver City, California, costing less than $50,000 to make, the shoot features real Nirvana fans as the audience. The video won Nirvana the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Group awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2000 the Guinness World Records named ‘Teen Spirit’ the Most Played Video on MTV Europe.
1999 – Led Zeppelin topped a chart of Britain’s most bootlegged musicians, compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), after identifying 384 bootleg titles featuring Led Zeppelin performances. The Beatles came in second with 320 entries, other acts listed included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd.
2002 – Darius was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Colourblind’. The third “Pop Idol” finalist to get a number one. He’d originally lost out on “Popstars”, failing to get a place in the group Hear’Say, and then came third in “Pop Idol”.
Today in history
1483 – The “Princes in the Tower,” Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, are believed to have been murdered in the Tower of London. They disappeared from the Tower in 1483, and while their fate remains one of history’s great mysteries, it is widely assumed they were killed.
1796 – English ships, under the command of Admiral George Keith Elphinstone, were responsible for trapping the Dutch Fleet in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, paving the way for South Africa becoming part of the British Empire.
1836 – Under the Registration Act, the compulsory registration of births, deaths and marriages was introduced in Britain.
1869 – The first international boat race took place on the River Thames when Oxford beat Harvard.
1877 – American astronomer, Asaph Hall discovered Mars’ second moon, called Phobos. The discovery came just six days after he discovered the first of the two moons named Deimos.
1896 – Mrs. Bridget Driscoll of Croydon, Surrey, became the first pedestrian in Britain to die after being hit by a car. It is said she froze in panic at the sight of the oncoming car, which was travelling at just four miles per hour.