Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
On This Day 2025
Hello, … Welcome to day 363 of the year.

Monday, December 29th Daily Prep.

Today is International Cello Day. Your star sign is Capricorn and your birthstone is Blue Topaz.
1940 – London suffered its most devastating air raid when Germans firebombed the city. Hundreds of fires caused by the exploding bombs engulfed areas of London, but fire fighters showed a valiant indifference to the bombs falling around them and saved much of the city from destruction.
London suffered its most devastating air raid when Germans firebombed the city. Hundreds of fires caused by the exploding bombs engulfed areas of London, but fire fighters showed a valiant indifference to the bombs falling around them and saved much of the city from destruction.
Today’s birthdays
1938 – John Voight (87), American actor (Mission Impossible, Enemy of the State, The Odessa File), born in Yonkers, New York, United States.

1947 – Ted Danson (78), American actor (Three Men and a Baby, Sam Malone – Cheers, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), born in San Diego, California, United States.

1965 – Martin Offiah (60), English former professional rugby league and rugby union player (Widnes, Wigan, London Broncos), born in Hackney Central, London.
1970 – Aled Jones (55), Welsh singer (“Walking in the Air”), radio and television presenter (Songs of Praise), born in Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales.
1972 – Jude Law (53), English actor (Enemy at the Gates, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Existenz, Sherlock Holmes), born in Lewisham, London.
Famous deaths
1986 – Harold Macmillan (b. 1894), English statesman and Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963.

2003 – Bob Monkhouse (b. 1928), English comedian, actor, and game show host (The Golden Shot, Celebrity Squares, Family Fortunes and Wipeout).

2022 – Pelé (b. 1940), Brazilian footballer regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century.

2022 – Vivienne Westwood (b. 1941), English fashion designer (British Fashion Designer of the Year 1990, 1991, 2006).

The day today
1940 – London suffered its most devastating air raid when Germans firebombed the city. Hundreds of fires caused by the exploding bombs engulfed areas of London, but fire fighters showed a valiant indifference to the bombs falling around them and saved much of the city from destruction. The next day, a newspaper photo of St. Paul’s Cathedral standing undamaged amid the smoke and flames seemed to symbolize the capital’s unconquerable spirit during the Battle of Britain.
1965 – “Thunderball”, 4th James Bond film starring Sean Connery and Claudine Auger premieres in Tokyo, Japan.
1975 – New legislation introducing a woman’s right to equal pay and status in the workplace and in society, came into force in the UK.
1987 – Ballon d’Or: Milan’s Dutch midfielder Ruud Gullit wins best football player in Europe award ahead of Paulo Futre (Porto/Atlético Madrid) and Real Madrid striker Emilio Butragueño.
1996 – The Guatemalan Civil War came to an end after 36 years of bloody conflict. The civil war was fought between the Guatemalan government and armed leftist groups, who were supported by the nation’s indigenous Maya population. Up to 200,000 people lost their lives during the war, with countless human rights atrocities conducted by the Guatemalan government.

2002 – China’s Shenzhou spacecraft launched on its fourth and final uncrewed flight. This final uncrewed launch, specified as mission Shenzhou 4, was used to test the last few pieces of technology required for a crewed flight, with the most critical piece of tech being the life support systems. The flight test was a complete success, with no significant changes happening to the spacecraft before its crewed launch.

2012 – Bradley Wiggins, who won the Tour de France and an Olympic gold, was knighted in the New Year Honours list. Paralympic cyclist Sarah Storey, born in Disley (Cheshire) became a dame after taking four gold medals. The most decorated sailor in Olympic history, Ben Ainslie, was also knighted. In all, 78 awards were linked to the 2012 Olympics or Paralympics.
2013 – A painting bought for £400 and featured on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow was revealed to be a Van Dyck portrait worth about £400,000. Father Jamie, who runs a retreat house in Whaley Bridge, on the edge of the Peak District, said that he was planning to sell the piece by the 17th Century Flemish artist to buy new church bells.
2013 – Former F1 motor racing champion Michael Schumacher suffers a serious head injury in a ski accident in the French Alps. He fell while crossing an unsecured off-piste area and hit his head on a rock, sustaining the injury despite wearing a ski helmet. According to his physicians, he would most likely have died had he not been wearing a helmet.
2015 – The Ebola epidemic in Guinea was declared by The World Health Organization. Two thousand five hundred people died over the course of two years.
2016 – US President Barack Obama retaliates against Russia for hacking American computer systems and trying to influence the 2016 presidential election by ejecting 35 Russian spies and imposing sanctions
Today in music
1956 – Elvis Presley made chart history by having 10 songs on Billboards Top 100 for week ending Dec 19th.
1964 – The Liverpool Youth Employment Service announced that some school leavers were finding it difficult to get jobs because their ‘Beatle’ style haircuts and clothing were unacceptable to employers.
1966 – The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their debut on the UK TV show Top Of The Pops performing ‘Hey Joe’.
1966 – Working at Abbey Road studios, London, Paul McCartney began work on his new song ‘Penny Lane’, recording six takes of keyboard tracks and various percussion effects. The song’s title is derived from the name of a street near John Lennon’s house, in the band’s hometown, Liverpool. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction in the Mossley Hill area to catch a bus into the centre of the city.
1999 – Three ferrets named Beckham, Posh Spice and Baby Spice were used to lay power cables for a rock concert being held in Greenwich, London, England, (workers were not allowed to dig up the turf at the Royal Park). Organizers found that rods could not push the cables through the tiny tunnels, which frequently bend and dog-leg. The ferrets were eased into tiny nylon harnesses with wires which where then attached to a rope, the animals ran into a series of ducts which were under the stage like rabbit runs, leading the cables with them. The ferrets instinctively make for any hole in the ground and are enticed to the end of the duct by a slab of smelly meat. The New Years Eve concert featured Simply Red, Eurythmics and Bryan Ferry.
2012 – According to sales data, Adele’s 21 had overtaken Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? to become the UK’s fourth biggest selling album of all-time. Latest data confirmed that, Oasis’ 1995 second album had sold 4,555,000 copies to date, while Adele’s 21 has surged ahead with sales of over 4,562,000 copies. The news came just over a year since 21 overtook Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black to become the UK’s biggest selling album of the 21st Century.
2019 – Neil Innes, the English writer, comedian and musician died aged 75. He was best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Rutles and collaborating with Monty Python.
Today in history
1170 – Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas à Becket, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights, believing they were acting on direct orders from King Henry II. The disgraced knights and their families did a number of penances, one of which was to build a Chantry chapel in the centre of Watchet and the building of St Decuman’s Church, which Richard Brito and Reginald FitzUrse then gave to Wells Cathedral. Their families went on to give land to atone for their relations’ evil deed.
1675 – Parliament ordered the closing of all coffee houses on the basis that they were centres of malicious gossip about the Government.
1766 – Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and inventor of waterproof clothing (i.e. the Macintosh or simply Mac), was born, in Glasgow. For his various chemical discoveries he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1823.
1809 – The birth, in Liverpool, of William (Ewart) Gladstone, four times British Prime Minister. His first election in 1868 allowed him to carry out major reforms. He was elected once more in 1880 and then again in 1866. When his Home Rule Bill was defeated, he resigned, but became Prime Minister, for a fourth term, in 1892. He resigned again two years later, this time when his Home Rule Bill was rejected by the Lords. He died of cancer on 19th May 1898 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
1860 – HMS Warrior, Britain’s first seagoing iron-clad warship, was launched. She froze to the slipway when she was launched during London’s coldest winter for 50 years and six tugs were required to haul her into the river. In later years Warrior was saved from being scrapped by the efforts of the Maritime Trust. The restoration took 8 years. Today, the ship is used as a venue for special events, and can be privately hired as a wedding venue.
1895 – The beginning of the Jameson Raid into the Transvaal in South Africa. It was intended to trigger an uprising by the primarily British expatriate workers (known as Uitlanders) but no uprising took place, yet it was an inciting factor in the 2nd Boer War.