Wednesday, August 27th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 239, known as International Lottery Day. Your star sign is Virgo and your birthstone is Peridot.
1883 – Four enormous explosions almost completely destroy the island of Krakatoa (Indonesia) and cause years of climate change. The biggest explosion the world has ever known, it was an estimated 13,000 times greater than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
Todays birthdays
1945 – Malcolm Allured (80), English musician and founding member of the revival group Showaddywaddy (“Under The Moon Of Love”), born in Leicestershire.
1956 – Glen Matlock (68), English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, born in Paddington, London.
1961 – Mark Curry (64), English actor, television and radio presenter (Blue Peter, Catchphrase), born in Stafford, Staffordshire.
1970 – Peter Ebdon (55), English retired professional snooker player and former World Champion (2002), born in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
1972 – Denise Lewis (53), English sports presenter and former track and field athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon, born in West Bromwich, West Midlands.
1978 – Suranne Jones (47), English actress (Coronation Street, Scott and Bailey, Doctor Foster), born in Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Famous deaths
2004 – Laura Branigan
(b. 1952), American singer (“Gloria”, “Self Control”).
2024 – Sven-Göran Eriksson (b. 1948), Swedish footballer and manager, the first non-British manager of the England football team.
The day today
1900 – Britain’s first long distance bus service began between London and Leeds. The journey took 2 days… how’s that for a fast service?
1955 – The first edition of “The Guinness Book of Records” is published (compiled by student twins Norris and Ross McWhirter) in Great Britain; it quickly proves to be a hit. Now known as the “Guinness World Records” book, the annual publication features a wide range of feats related to humans and animals.
1956 – The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world’s first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale.
1966 – Sir Francis Chichester began the first solo circumnavigation of the world, when he set out from Plymouth in Gypsy Moth IV, a 53 ft ketch that Chichester commissioned specifically to sail single-handed around the globe.
1979 – The death of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Philip’s and the Queen’s cousin (strictly second cousin once removed). The IRA exploded a 50lb, remote-controlled bomb on his boat Shadow V off the coast of County Sligo, Ireland. Lord Mountbatten was a former Admiral of the Fleet, the last Viceroy of India (1947) and the first Governor-General of the independent Union of India.
1996 – Police at Stansted Airport arrested seven Iraqis who had hijacked a Sudanese jet with 199 people on board to London, where they were seeking political asylum. All were arrested and jailed but their convictions were quashed a year later.
1997 – A Cambridgeshire family who sold everything to sail around the world were rescued from their crippled yacht by the Royal Navy in the Bay of Biscay.
2003 – Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years.
The last time it came so close is estimated to have been on September 12, 57,617 BC.
2019 – American professional racer Jessi Combs broke the female fastest land speed record when her jet-powered vehicle reached a speed of 522.783 mph. Sadly Combs died while breaking the record due to a wheel failure.
Today in music
1966 – The Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’ peaked at No.2 on the UK singles chart. The song broke new ground in many ways. It was one of the first commercial songs to use the word ‘God’ in its title and Brian Wilson used many unorthodox instruments, including the French horns that are heard in the song’s famous introduction.
1986 – Tina Turner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Turner began her career with Ike Turner’s band Kings of Rhythm in 1957, under the name Little Ann. Turner has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.
1994 – Boyz II Men started a 14 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I’ll Make Love To You’, a No.5 hit in the UK. The record- breaking 14 week stay came to an end when they knocked themselves from the top with ‘On Bended Knee’.
1999 – The Charlatans, Blur, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Offspring, Catatonia, Reef, The Chemical Brothers, The Divine Comedy, Pavement, Silverchair, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion all appeared at The Carling Reading three day festival, England, tickets, £78.
2004 – Winners at this years Kerrang! awards included The Darkness for best British band and best live band, best band on the planet award went to Metallica. Green Day were inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame, Lostprophets won the best single for ‘Last Train Home’ and best album went to Muse for ‘Absolution’.
2013 – Miley Cyrus’s risque performance at the MTV VMAs drew complaints from a parenting pressure group in the US, which saw her dance suggestively in a nude bikini with singer Robin Thicke. It argued the show should not have been rated as suitable for 14 year olds.
2024 – Almost 15 years to the date of their 2009 split, and two days before the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Definitely Maybe Oasis announced that they would reform for performances in the UK and Ireland in July and August 2025, stating “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”
Today in history
1776 – During the American Revolution, British forces under General William Howe defeated George Washington and the American Continental Army in the Battle of Long Island.
1784 – The first balloon ascent was made in Britain, by James Tytler at Edinburgh. The balloon rose above the city’s skyline to a height of just over 100 metres and landed near Restalrig in the east of Edinburgh.
1883 – Four enormous explosions almost completely destroy the island of Krakatoa (Indonesia) and cause years of climate change. The biggest explosion the world has ever known, it was an estimated 13,000 times greater than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima and could be heard as far away as Perth, Australia (a distance of some 2,800 miles).
1896 – The start (and end) of the Anglo-Zanzibar War. It was the shortest war in world history and lasted for just 38 minutes.
1899 – The birth of C.S. Forester, the English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare; his most notable works being the 12 book Horatio Hornblower series and The African Queen.