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 337 of the year.

Wednesday, December 3rd Daily Prep.

Today is National Day of Giving, Candle Day and Make a Gift Day. Your star sign is Sagittarius and your birthstone is Blue Topaz.
1992 – The first text message was sent to a mobile phone by Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth in Berkshire. The message which read “Merry Christmas”, was a test of the technology to see if the Short Message Service (SMS) worked.
The first text message was sent to a mobile phone by Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth in Berkshire. The message which read "Merry Christmas", was a test of the technology to see if the Short Message Service (SMS) worked.
Today’s birthdays
1949 – Nicky Stevens (76), Welsh singer and a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man (“Save Your Kisses for Me”), born in Carmarthen, Wales.
1959 – Eamonn Holmes (66), Northern Irish broadcaster and journalist (GB News), born in Belfast, Ireland.
1960 – Daryl Hannah (65), American actress (Kill Bill, Splash, Steel Magnolias, Roxanne), born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
1968 – Brendan Fraser (57), American actor (Bedazzled, The Mummy, George of the Jungle, Encino Man – California Man in the UK), born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
1979 – Daniel Bedingfield (46), New Zealand-British singer, songwriter (“Gotta Get Thru This”, “If You’re Not the One”), born in Auckland, New Zealand.
Famous deaths
1997 – Shirley Crabtree (b. 1930), better known as Big Daddy, an English professional wrestler who worked for Joint Promotions and the original British Wrestling Federation.
The day today
1926 – In an episode as puzzling and intriguing as any in her many novels, Agatha Christie disappeared from her Surrey home and was discovered on the 14th December staying under an assumed name at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate. She said she had no recollection of how she came to be in Yorkshire.
1948 – The birth of John Michael ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne, English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. He rose to prominence as lead singer of the band Black Sabbath and became known as the ‘Prince of Darkness’. He died on 22 July 2025 at the age of 76, just seventeen days after his final live performance with Black Sabbath at the Back to the Beginning farewell concert.
1944 – Britain ‘stood down’ the Home Guard – formed in 1939 to defend Britain from invasion by Germany. They were officially disbanded in December 1945.
1963 – The launch of Britain’s second nuclear submarine, HMS Valiant. While the first British nuclear submarine was HMS Dreadnought (which used an American-designed reactor), HMS Valiant was the first all-British nuclear fleet submarine, featuring a wholly British-designed nuclear propulsion system. HMS Valiant served during the Cold War and participated in the Falklands War in 1982. In April 1967, she set a record for a British submarine by completing a submerged passage of 12,000 miles from Singapore to the UK in 28 days.
1976 – A giant 40ft inflatable pig could be seen floating above London after breaking free from its moorings at Battersea Power Station during a photo shoot for the cover of the next Pink Floyd album Animals. On the same day, an attempt was made on Bob Marley’s life when seven gunmen burst into his Kingston home injuring Marley his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor, the attack was believed to be politically motivated.
1992 – Two bombs exploded in the centre of Manchester injuring 65 people. Miraculously no-one was killed, but much of the city centre had to be rebuilt. The first bomb to explode was inside a car that was parked at Parsonage Gardens in the commercial district of the city. The second bomb exploded on Cateaton Street between a market and Manchester Cathedral.
1992 – The first text message was sent to a mobile phone by Vodafone engineer Neil Papworth in Berkshire. The message which read “Merry Christmas”, was a test of the technology to see if the Short Message Service (SMS) worked.
1992 – The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching La Coruña, Spain from Sullom Voe, Scotland, and spills much of its cargo. A rescue team was sent immediately, and a helicopter was able to rescue all of the thirty-two man crew. However, the ship broke in half, allowing the release of 67,000 tonnes of the crude oil the ship was carrying.
2007 – Gillian Gibbons, a 54 year old teacher from Liverpool was released after eight days in custody and handed over to British officials in Sudan after being jailed for letting her class name a teddy bear Muhammad.
2019 – The 70th anniversary of NATO was marked by a gathering in London of world leaders, followed by a reception by Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
Today in music
1965 – The Who released their debut studio album My Generation in the UK. In the United States, it was released by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation in April 1966, with a different cover and a slightly altered track listing. In 2003 it was named the second greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine.
1965 – The Beatles set out on what would be their last ever UK tour at Glasgow’s Odeon Cinema. Also on the bill, The Moody Blues The Koobas and Beryl Marsden. The last show was at Cardiff’s Capitol Cinema on 12th December.
1976 – An attempt was made on Bob Marley’s life when seven gunmen burst into his Kingston home injuring Marley his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor, the attack was believed to be politically motivated.
1976 – A giant 40ft inflatable pig could be seen floating above London, England after breaking free from its moorings. The pig, nicknamed Algie, was being photographed for the forthcoming Pink Floyd Animals album cover. The Civil Aviation Authority issued a warning to all pilots that a flying pig was on the run, and the pig eventually crashed into a barn in Godmersham, Kent, where the farmer complained of his cows being scared by the incident.
1976 – An estimated three and a half million people applied for ABBA’s forthcoming British Albert Hall concerts, there were just over 11 thousand tickets available.

1977 – Wings started a nine-week run at No.1 in the UK with ‘Mull Of Kintyre’. The first single to sell over 2 million copies in the UK, (it was co-written by Denny Laine who sold his rights to the song when he became bankrupt).

1999 – U2 singer Bono had his missing laptop computer returned after losing it. A young man had bought it for £300 discovered he had the missing laptop, which contained tracks from the forthcoming U2 album.
2006 – The reformed Take That topped the UK singles and album charts simultaneously for the first time ever in their career. The single ‘Patience’ remained at number for the second week, and Beautiful World the group’s new album entered the chart at No.1.
2014 – Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was named the most-streamed artist in the world by Spotify. The 23-year-old had racked up more than 860 million streams on the service, beating Eminem and Coldplay who came second and third respectively. Katy Perry was the year’s most streamed female artist, with Ariana Grande second and Lana Del Rey third.
Today in history
1736 – Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius takes measurements that confirm Newton’s theory that the earth was an ellipsoid rather than the previously accepted sphere.
1795 – Sir Rowland Hill, postal pioneer and founder of the ‘Penny Post’ was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. He is famous for his development of a uniform, prepaid postal system and the introduction of the postage stamp.
1820 – Thomas Beecham, English manufacturer and inventor of Beecham’s pills, was born. The Beecham’s Building on Westfield Street in St. Helen’s is the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical company.
1836 – Three people were killed at Great Corby, near Carlisle in Cumbria, in what is recognised as the first fatal railway derailment. The accident involved a train on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway that was wrongly diverted into a siding, causing it to derail and crash.
1856 – Irishman James Kelly (24) and British soldier Jack Smith (34) fight longest bareknuckle boxing bout lasting 6 hours and 15 minutes, at Fiery Creek, Victoria, Australia.
1894 – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist of Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, died, aged 45 on the island of Samoa.