December 6th "2023" daily prep
Welcome to day 340 of the year! Known as International Sweater Day, Miner’s Day, Mitten Tree Day, National Gazpacho Day, National Pawnbrokers Day, National Microwave Oven Day, Put on Your Own Shoes Day and Saint Nicholas Day.. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of March 15th. Your star sign is “Sagittarius” and your birthstone is Blue Topaz.
2017 – Scientists discovered the most distant supermassive black hole. It’s estimated to be 13 billion light-years away and 800 million times the mass of our Sun.
Todays birthdays
1958 – Nick Park (65), British filmmaker and animator who created Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep, born in Preston, Lancashire.
1962 – Ben Watt (61), British musician, singer, songwriter, author, DJ, and radio presenter, best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl (“Missing”), born in Marylebone, London.
1966 – Per-Ulrik Johansson (67), Swedish professional golfer, who won six times on the European Tour and played in two winning European Ryder Cup teams, born in Uppsala, Sweden.
1975 – Noel Clarke (48), British actor, producer, screenwriter and director (Kidulthood, Adulthood, Brotherhood), born in London.
1977 – Andrew Flintoff (46), English television and radio presenter, former international cricketer, and coach for the England cricket squad, born in Preston, Lancashire.
The day today
1975 – The Balcombe Street siege in Central London was watched by millions on television. It ended when the four IRA gunmen, who had taken a couple hostage following a gun battle and chase, finally gave themselves up without a shot being fired.
1983 – Surgeons successfully completed the first heart and lung transplant operation to be performed in Britain. Swedish journalist, Lars Ljungberg underwent the transplant, receiving the organs of a woman from the south of England who had died the previous day.
1994 – The Queen gave the go ahead for oil drilling to take place in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The move came after studies showed there could be up to £1bn of oil lying beneath the castle.
2012 – The SA Agulhas set off from London on the start of the world’s first ever attempt to cross the Antarctic in winter. On 25th February 2013, Sir Ranulph Fiennes had to pull out of the expedition due to frostbite. On 18th June 2013, after encountering a crevasse field extending up to 60 miles, with temperatures close to -90c and operating in near permanent darkness the team officially halted its mission and decided to focus only on scientific experiments.
2017 – Scientists discovered the most distant supermassive black hole. It’s estimated to be 13 billion light-years away and 800 million times the mass of our Sun.
Today in music
1986 – Europe were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Final Countdown’. They became only the second Swedish act to score a UK No.1. The song reached No.1 in 25 countries and the song’s lyrics were inspired by David Bowie’s song ‘Space Oddity’
1988 – American singer songwriter Roy Orbison died of a heart attack aged 52. Scored the 1964 UK & US No.1 single ‘Pretty Woman’, plus over 20 US & 30 UK Top 40 singles including ‘Only the Lonely’ and ‘Crying’.
2003 – Elvis Costello married jazz artist Diana Krall in a ceremony at Elton John’s UK mansion. About 150 guests, including Paul McCartney attended the wedding. It was Costello’s third marriage.
2008 – Beyonce went to No.2 on the UK album chart with ‘I Am’ Sasha Fierce’, the singers third studio album. It debuted at No.1 (US), making Knowles the third female artist that decade after Britney Spears and Alicia Keys to have her first three albums debut in the top spot.
2019 – Robbie Williams became the joint most successful solo act in UK album chart history after scoring his 13th No.1, with The Christmas Present – level with Elvis Presley. The Beatles hold the overall record with 15 UK No.1 albums.
Today in history
1421 – Henry VI, youngest King of England to accede the throne (at 296 days), was born.
1732 – The birth of Warren Hastings, first Governor General of Bengal who established the foundations of British administration in India. He was impeached for corruption on his return to England in 1785, but was later acquitted.
1745 – Charles Edward Stewart (commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender) and his army began their retreat from Derby during the second Jacobite Rising.
1786 – The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica was published, in Edinburgh.
1897 – The world’s first fleet of motorised taxi cabs started operating in London.
Fact of the day
There is a village in Peru where people settle the previous year’s grudges by fist fighting. They then start the new year off on a clean slate.