December 5th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 340 of the “leap” year! Known as Krampusnacht (Krampus Night) and National Blue Jeans Day. Your star sign is Sagittarius and your birthstone is Blue Topaz.
1958 – Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (center) opened the Preston bypass in Lancashire. It was the first stretch of motorway in Britain and is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.
Todays birthdays
1959 – Lee Chapman (65), English former professional footballer (Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday) who played as a striker from 1978 until 1996, born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire.
1963 – Eddie “the Eagle” Edwards (61), English ski jumper and Olympian who in 1988 became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
1969 – Catherine Tate (55), English actress (Doctor Who, The Office), comedian and writer (The Catherine Tate Show), born in Bloomsbury, London.
1969 – Sajid Javid (55), British politician who served as former health secretary, home secretary and chancellor of the exchequer, born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
1975 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (49), English professional snooker player, and current world number one, Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport’s history, born, Wordsley, Stourbridge, West Midlands.
Famous deaths
1997 – Shirley Crabtree (b. 1930), English wrestler (Big Daddy) who was often partnered against Giant Haystacks.
The day today
1958 – Prime Minister Harold Macmillan opened the Preston bypass in Lancashire. It was the first stretch of motorway in Britain and is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.
1974 – The final episode of Monty Python aired, which disbanded due to one member who lost interest and another who struggled with alcoholism.
2005 – The Civil Partnership Act came into effect in the United Kingdom. It gave same-sex couples rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage. In addition a formal process for dissolving partnerships was put in place, akin to divorce.
2008 – Human remains previously found in 1991 are finally identified by Russian and American scientists as those of Tsar Nicholas II. On the same day, O J Simpson is sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery.
2013 – The death, aged 95, of Nelson Mandela, the towering figure of Africa’s struggle for freedom and a hero to millions around the world. There are more streets named after Nelson Mandela in the UK than anywhere in the world outside South Africa. He also shares one of London’s most high profile public spaces in Parliament Square, with his statue alongside great figures from British history, such as former prime ministers Winston Churchill and Robert Peel.
Today in music
1965 – The Beatles played their last ever show in their hometown of Liverpool when they appeared at The Liverpool Empire during the group’s final UK tour. Only 5,100 tickets were available, but there were 40,000 applications for tickets. The group also had the UK No.1 single with ‘We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper.’
1987 – Belinda Carlisle went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Heaven Is a Place on Earth’, the ex Go-Go’s member first solo No.1, also a No.1 hit in the UK.
1992 – Whitney Houston started a ten-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Will Always Love You’. The longest ever run at No.1 for a female artist the Dolly Parton penned song was taken from the Bodyguard soundtrack.
2004 – Band Aid 20 started a four week at No.1 on the UK singles chart with a new version of Do They Know It’s Christmas? The third time the song had reached No.1. The new version featured, Joss Stone, Busted, Chris Martin, Bono, Justin Hawkins, Dizzee Rascal, Tom Chaplin, Ms Dynamite, Beverly Knight, Will Young, Jamelia, Fran Healy, Sugababes, Dido and Robbie Williams.
2011 – After spending 45 weeks at the top end of the UK charts, singer Adele’s second album ‘21’ become the biggest selling LP in Britain this century, surpassing the late Amy Winehouse’s 2006 LP ‘Back to Black’.
Today in history
1697 – The first Sunday service was held in the new St Paul’s Cathedral, London.
1717 – English pirate Blackbeard ransacks the merchant sloop “Margaret” and keeps her captain, Henry Bostock prisoner for 8 hours before releasing him. Bostock later provides first record of Blackbeard’s appearance, and the source for his name.
1766 – James Christie, the founder of the famous auctioneers, held his first sale in London. Christie’s main London salesroom is on King Street in St. James’s, where it has been based since 1823.
1830 – The birth of Christina Georgina Rossetti, the English poet who wrote a variety of romantic and children’s poems. She also wrote the words of the Christmas carol In the Bleak Midwinter.
1839 – The postage rate in Britain was changed to a standard charge of 4d (4 old pence) a half ounce instead of being charged by distance.