On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 41 of the year.

Tuesday, February 10th

Today is National Umbrella Day, Safer Internet Day and Teddy Day. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1972 – David Bowie appeared at the Tolworth Toby Jug, London, on the opening date of his Ziggy Stardust tour playing to around 60 people in the room.
David Bowie appeared at the Tolworth Toby Jug, London, on the opening date of his Ziggy Stardust tour playing to around 60 people in the room.
Today’s birthdays
1930 – Robert Wagner (96), American actor (Hart to Hart, Two and a Half Men, The Pink Panther), born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
1939 – Peter Purves (87), English former television presenter (Blue Peter, Kick Start) and actor (Doctor Who), born in New Longton, Preston, Lancashire.
1947 – Nicholas Owen (79), English journalist (BBC News), television presenter and radio presenter (Classsic FM), born in London.
1950 – Mark Spitz (76), American former swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion setting 7 world records at the 1972 Munich Olympics, born in Modesto, California, United States.
1976 – Keeley Hawes (50), English actress (Spooks, Ashes to Ashes, Bodyguard, Line of Duty), born in Paddington, London.
1981 – Holly Willoughby (45), English television presenter (This Morning, Dancing on Ice), author and model, born in Brighton, Brighton and Hove.
1997 – Chloe Grace Moretz (29), American actress (Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, Carrie (2013), The Equalizer), born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Famous deaths
2008 – Roy Scheider (b. 1932), American actor (Blue Thunder and 2001: A Space Odyssey) best known for his role as police chief Martin Brody in Jaws and Jaws 2.
2019 – Jan-Michael Vincent (b. 1944), American actor best known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the television series Airwolf (1984–87).
The day today
1906 – Britain’s first modern & largest battleship, HMS Dreadnought, was launched. It established the pattern of the turbine-powered, “all-big-gun” warship, a type that dominated the world’s navies for the next 35 years.
1940 – Tom and Jerry, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera made their debut appearance. The duo was shown for the first time in a short animation called “Puss Gets the Boot.”
1988 – Sir John Gielgud made theatrical history when, after an absence of ten years from the stage, he played the longest role ever for an actor of his age. Just weeks away from his 84th birthday he played Sydney Cockerell in The Best of Friends by Hugh Whitmore at the Apollo.
1990 – Perrier announced a massive global recall of its mineral water, removing roughly 160 million bottles from shelves across 120 countries after small amounts of benzene, a known carcinogen, were detected. While initially detected in North America, the recall became worldwide to maintain the brand’s image of purity.
1996 – A computer defeated world champion chess player Gary Kasparov for the first time. The battle, which took three hours to complete, was won by an IBM computer called Deep Blue.
2005 – Clarence House announced the engagement of HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, to Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles, 35 years after they first met. The couple married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005, followed by a blessing at St. George’s Chapel.
2006 – The XX Winter Olympic Games opened in Turin, Italy, featuring the final public performance of legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti. He performed his signature aria, “Nessun dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot, concluding the opening ceremony at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino. Although it marked his last public performance before his death in 2007, it was later revealed the performance was lip-synched due to the extreme cold.
2013 – The Department for Transport announced that TV advertisements, which have been shown since the 60s, with characters such as Tufty the squirrel and the Green Cross Code Man would no longer be broadcast because of ‘re-prioritised’ budgets.
2014 – Jenny Jones from Bristol won bronze in the women’s snowboarding slopestyle event. Not only was it Britain’s first medal of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, but it was Britain’s first ever medal on snow. Aged 33 she was also the oldest in the competition.
2020 – The heaviest rainfall in 30 years extinguished over 30 New South Wales bushfires, effectively ending Australia’s “Black Summer” season. This catastrophic season, fueled by extreme drought and heat, burned roughly 46 million acres (18.6 million hectares), killed an around 34 people, and destroyed over 3,000 homes. The fires created an ecological disaster, killing or harming an estimated 3 billion animals.

2021 – The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Carnival festival in Rio occurred in 1723. Rio’s Carnival is a yearly event that starts on the Friday preceding Lent and ends on Ash Wednesday.

2023 – A World War II era bomb found in Great Yarmouth (7th February), explodes in an “unplanned” detonation as Army specialists attempt to disarm it. Members of the public reported a huge bang and felt buildings shake when the bomb exploded, and the reverberations were felt up to 15 miles away. Norfolk Police confirmed that all Army and emergency services personnel have been accounted for.
2025 – World leaders from over 100 countries gathered in Paris to discuss and promote the responsible development of AI. During the AI Action Summit, leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and India’s Narendra Modi, pledged to invest billions and issued a joint declaration on the governance of inclusive AI.
Today in music
1942 – ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’ by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra became the first recording to be awarded a Gold record. It was actually just a master copy of the disc sprayed with gold lacquer by RCA as a publicity stunt. The actual award recognized today as a Gold Record would not be initiated for another sixteen years when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) borrowed the idea and trademarked the Gold Record. The first Gold single was awarded to Perry Como in 1958 for ‘Catch A Falling Star’ and the first Gold album was given to Gordon McRae for the soundtrack to ‘Oklahoma’.
1968 – The Four Tops ‘Greatest Hits’ was at No.1 on the UK album chart, the first No.1 album for the Tamla Motown label.
1972 – David Bowie appeared at the Tolworth Toby Jug, London, on the opening date of his Ziggy Stardust tour playing to around 60 people in the room. The character of Ziggy was initially inspired by British rock ‘n’ roll singer Vince Taylor. The Ziggy Stardust tour played a total of 182 dates.
1973 – Elton John had his first UK No.1 album when Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player started a six-week run at the top of the charts. The title of the album came from comic actor Groucho Marx of The Marx Brothers who referred to him as ‘John Elton’ whilst holding out his middle and index finger in the style of a pistol. Elton then retaliated saying “Don’t shoot me, I’m only the piano player” at Marx’s gun imitation.
1979 – Rod Stewart started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’, his third US No.1. (and a No.1 hit in the UK). Also today Rod started a three-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Blondes Have More Fun.
1980 – The Pretenders were at No.1 on the UK chart with their debut studio album. The album features the hit singles ‘Stop Your Sobbing’, ‘Kid’ (written by Ray Davies for the The Kinks’ debut album) and ‘Brass in Pocket’. The album also made the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
1984 – Frankie Goes To Hollywood were at No.1 on the UK singles chart for the third week with ‘Relax.’ Eurythmics had the UK No.1 album with ‘Touch.’
1990 – Paula Abdul started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Opposites Attract’, her fourth US No.1, a No.2 hit in the UK.
1997 – Blur released their eponymous fifth studio album. As well as lead single, ‘Beetlebum’, reaching the top of the UK charts the album also reached the top 20 in six other countries. The success of ‘Song 2’ led to Blur becoming the band’s most successful album in the US where the Britpop scene had been largely unsuccessful.
2004 – Diana Ross was sentenced to two days in jail after pleading ‘no contest’ to a drink driving charge. She was allowed to enter her plea over the telephone from New York; her lawyer said the singer would serve her term at a prison near her Los Angeles home. Ross was arrested in December 2002 after tests indicated she was twice over the drink- drive limit.
2005 – Who singer Roger Daltrey was awarded the CBE by The Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to the music industry.
2008 – Amy Winehouse won five prizes at this year’s Grammy Awards, including song of the year and record of the year, both for her single ‘Rehab’, and best new artist. The UK singer was not at the Los Angeles ceremony to collect them due to visa problems.
2023 – Miley Cyrus was at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Flowers’. The track broke several records on Spotify, earning over 7.7 million plays in its first 24 hours. It was the best-selling global single of 2023, earning 2.7 billion streams making it Cyrus’s most successful single worldwide. In the United States, the single debuted at No.1 and spent eight non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song also topped the UK charts for ten consecutive weeks.
Today in history
1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murdered John Comyn, his leading political rival, sparking revolution in the Scottish Wars of Independence.
1355 – The St. Scholastica’s Day Riots began in Oxford when University students clashed with townspeople in a three-day street battle, following a dispute about beer in The Swindlestock Tavern. 64 students were killed and 30 locals. The dispute was settled in favour of the university with a special charter. Annually thereafter, on 10th February, the town mayor and councillors had to march bareheaded through the streets and pay to the university a fine of one penny for every scholar killed. The penance ended in 1825 when the mayor refused to take part.
1567 – An explosion destroyed the Kirk o’ Field house in Edinburgh, Scotland. The second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, (Lord Darnly) was found strangled, in what many believe to be an assassination.
1840 – Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, both aged 20, were married in St James’ Palace, London. This was the first marriage of a reigning English Queen since Queen Mary in 1554.
1894 – The birth of Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, who, as British Prime Minister after Eden’s resignation following the Suez crisis, claimed ‘You’ve never had it so good’ and warned South Africa that ‘the wind of change’ was blowing through the continent. He was nicknamed ‘Supermac’.