Sunday, August 3rd "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 215, known as National Friendship Day, National Watermelon Day, National Sisters Day, Psychic Day. Your star sign is Leo and your birthstone is Peridot.
1971 – Sanquhar Post Office in Dumfries and Galloway became a Category B Listed Building. It is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest post office in the world and has been in continuous service since 1712.
Todays birthdays
1937 – Steven Berkoff (88), English actor (Beverly Hills Cop, Octopussy, Rambo: First Blood Part II) and theatre director (Decadence), born in Stepney, London.
1963 – Tasmin Archer (62), English pop singer (“Sleeping Satellite”), which reached number one in the UK and Ireland, born in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
1963 – James Hetfield (62), American musician, singer and co-founder of heavy metal band Metallica (“Enter Sandman”), born in Downey, California, United States.
1967 – Skin, born Deborah Anne Dyer (58), English singer (“Weak”, “Hedonism” – Skunk Anansie), songwriter and electronic music DJ, born in Brixton, London.
1970 – Gina G (55), Australian singer (“Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit”) who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, born in Brisbane, Australia.
1971 – DJ Spinderella (54), American DJ, rapper and member of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Peppa (“Push It!”, “Shoop”), born in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
1973 – Stephen Graham (52), English actor (Snatch, This is England, Boiling Point, Adolescence), born in Kirkby, Merseyside.
Famous deaths
2015 – Cilla Black, born Priscilla Maria Veronica White (b. 1943), English singer (“Anyone Who Had a Heart”, “You’re My World”) and television presenter (Blind Date).
The day today
1916 – Sir Roger Casement, Irish nationalist, was hanged in London for treason, following his attempts to induce Germany to support the cause of Irish independence.
1932 – The Los Angeles Olympics were the first to use official automatic timing and a photo-finish camera for track events. This innovation, introduced by Omega, marked a significant advancement in accuracy and fairness for determining race results, particularly in close finishes.
1957 – Footballer John Charles became the first British footballer to be transferred to a foreign club when he was transferred from Leeds to Juventus for a £65,000 fee.
1958 – The world’s first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, becomes the first vessel to complete a submerged transit of the geographical North Pole.
1971 – Sanquhar Post Office in Dumfries and Galloway became a Category B Listed Building. It is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest post office in the world and has been in continuous service since 1712.
1978 – Queen Elizabeth II opened the 11th Commonwealth Games held in Edmonton, Canada.
1997 – Manchester United beats Chelsea 4-2 on penalties to win the Charity Shield. This match was also known for David Beckham having his shirt misspelled as “Beckam”.
2000 – England cricket wicket-keeper Alec Stewart becomes only the 4th batsman to score a century (105) in his 100th Test, during the 3rd Test against the West Indies at Old Trafford.
2002 – The death of Carmen Silvera, Canadian-born British comic actress who starred in the television programme, ‘Allo Allo!’ (written by David Croft & Jeremy Lloyd) as Edith Artois, wife of the cafe owner René.
2012 – American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins the 100m butterfly in London to take his all-time Olympic gold medal tally to a record 17.
2017 – Brazilian footballer Neymar transfers from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record transfer fee of €222m on a 5-year deal.
Today in music
1963 – The Beatles played their last ever performance at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. During their set a power cut silenced their instruments and plunged the Cavern into temporary darkness. Lennon and McCartney performed an acoustic version of ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’, a song they wouldn’t release until 1967, while waiting for the electricity to return.
1971 – Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group Wings with his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine.
1985 – Madonna scored her first UK No.1 single with ‘Into The Groove’. The track was taken from the movie ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ which featured Madonna and Rosanna Arquette. Also on this day, Tears For Fears started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Shout’, the duo’s second US No.1.
1985 – ‘Drive’ by The Cars was re-released following it’s dramatic use on TV during the Live Aid concert. All the royalties from the record went to the Band Aid trust.
1985 – Tears For Fears started a three-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Shout’, the duo’s second US No.1. Released as the second single from their second studio album, Songs from the Big Chair (1985) the video for ‘Shout’ helped to establish Tears for Fears in North America due to its heavy airplay on the music video channel MTV.
1987 – Def Leppard released their fourth studio album Hysteria which became their best selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. The title of the album was thought up by drummer Rick Allen relating to his experiences during the time of his car accident, and the worldwide media coverage that followed.
1996 – Los Del Rio started a 14 week run at No.1 on the singles chart with ‘Macarena’. The song which has sold 11 million copies world-wide was ranked the No.1 Greatest One Hit Wonder of all Time by VH1 in 2002.
2000 – Maurice Kinn died aged 76. The UK publisher launched The New Musical Express in 1953, which instigated the first UK charts based on record sales (first published on 14 November 1952). and organised the annual NME poll-winners concerts between 1963 and 1966.
2007 – Queen guitarist Brian May handed in his astronomy PhD thesis – 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. May had recently carried out observational work in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of “zodiacal dust clouds”.
2008 – Kid Rock was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘All Summer Long’. The song is based on Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves of London’ and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Sweet Home Alabama’.
Today in history
1326 – The death, in the Tower of London, of Roger Mortimer de Chirk, opposer of Edward II during the Despenser War. His nephew Roger Mortimer later led a successful rebellion against the King and completed Chirk Castle.
1460 – James II, King of Scotland, died after being injured by an exploding cannon at Kelso, in the Scottish Borders. Kelso Abbey was the venue for the hasty coronation of the infant king, James III, which quickly followed.
1803 – The birth of Joseph Paxton, English gardener, designer, writer and creator of one of the most famous buildings of Queen Victoria’s reign, the Crystal Palace.
1805 – The first recorded cricket match between English public schools Eton and Harrow.
1856 – London was divided into postal districts, in order to speed up letter deliveries.
1858 – Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, was discovered by the English explorer and military officer, John Speke. He was also the first European to reach Lake Victoria.