February 14th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 45, known as Valentines Day, Organ Donor Day and International Book Giving Day. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1984 – British ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the ice dance gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, gaining maximum points for artistic expression.
Todays birthdays
1951 – Kevin Keegan (74), English former footballer (Newcastle United, Liverpool) and manager (Manchester City, Newcastle United), born in Armthorpe, Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
1970 – Simon Pegg (55), English actor (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul, The World’s End), born in Gloucester, Gloucestershire.
1978 – Dean Gaffney (47), English actor, known for his role as Robbie Jackson in Eastenders, born in Hammersmith, London.
1985 – Philippe Senderos (40), Swiss retired professional footballer (Arsenal, Fulham, Switzerland), born in Geneva, Switzerland.
1992 – Freddie Highmore (33), English actor (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Good Doctor, Finding Neverland), born in Camden Town, London.
Famous deaths
2012 – Whitney Houston (b. 1963), American singer-songwriter (“I Will Always Love You”), producer and actress (The Bodyguard).
The Feast Day of St. Valentine, patron saint of lovers.
There were fourteen Saint Valentines of ancient Rome. Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on 14th February nothing is known, except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome ‘on this day’. Valentines day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Gretna Green, historically the first village in Scotland, has been performing weddings since 1754. They originated from cross-border elopements stemming from differences between Scottish marriage laws and those in neighbouring countries.
The day today
1946 – The Bank of England was nationalized by the Atlee government.
1984 – British ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the ice dance gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, gaining maximum points for artistic expression.
1989 – The spiritual leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, condemned Salman Rushdie’s award-winning novel, The Satanic Verses, as an insult to Islam and issued a fatwa (edict) calling on Muslims to kill the author for committing blasphemy. Rushdie and his family went into hiding.
1995 – Sizewell B nuclear processing plant in Suffolk, first synchronised with the national grid. It was the UK’s only commercial pressurised water reactor (PWR) power station, with a single reactor.
2006 – Chip and PIN was introduced. UK cardholders had to use their PIN (Personal Identification Number) to be sure that they could pay for goods.
Today in music
1968 – Manfred Mann were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song ‘The Mighty Quinn’ which was also a No.10 hit in the US. Dylan recorded the song in 1967 during the Basement Tapes sessions, but did not release a version for another three years.
1992 – The film Waynes World, which featured appearances from Meat Loaf and Alice Cooper premiered in the US. The use of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in the film propelled the song to No.2 on the US singles charts nearly 20 years after its first release.
1999 – Lenny Kravitz scored his first UK No.1 single with ‘Fly Away’ a No.12 hit in the US. The track had been used on a TV ad for cars.
2007 – Winners at the 27th annual Brit Awards at London’s Earls Court included Muse who won Best British Live Act, British Breakthrough Act went to The Fratellis. Winner of the Best International Breakthrough Act was Orson. Take That won the first-ever live vote, when they took home the Best British Single for ‘Patience.’ Arctic Monkeys were named Best British Group, James Morrison was named Best British Male and Amy Winehouse won Best British Female. Justin Timberlake won Best International Male and Nelly Furtado won Best International female. The Killers won Best International Group and Best International Album for Sam’s Town and Oasis won the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.
2010 – Everybody Hurts, recorded to help Haiti’s earthquake victims went to No.1 on the UK singles chart. The REM cover featured Leona Lewis, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and Take That sold over 453,000 copies in its first week.
Today in history
1400 – The death of King Richard II at Pontefract Castle, Yorkshire (Pontefract Castle was once the most important castle in the whole of Yorkshire). Sources think that the king was either intentionally neglected until he starved to death or that he was cruelly murdered in the dungeons. The once huge castle was intentionally destroyed by Parliament and the will of the locals as it had been a long-time magnet for trouble, death and despair with armies regularly pillaging the castle and generally pillaging the town as well.
1477 – Margery Brews sent a letter to John Paston in Norfolk, addressed – Be my olde Valentine. It is the oldest known Valentine’s Day message in the English language and was uncovered by the British Library.
1566 – Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was declared a heretic. He was tried for treason and heresy after Mary I, a Roman Catholic, came to the throne. Although he apparently reconciled himself with the Roman Catholic Church, on the day of his execution, on 21st March 1556, he dramatically withdrew earlier statements and was thus a heretic to Roman Catholics and a martyr to others.
1779 – Captain Cook, British explorer, navigator and cartographer, was stabbed to death on the beach at Kealakekua (Hawaii) by the Polynesian natives. Numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him, including one at Whitby, North Yorkshire, where James Cook served as a merchant navy apprentice.
1853 – London’s famous children’s hospital in Great Ormond Street accepted its first patient, three year-old Eliza Armstrong. It was the first hospital in the English speaking world providing in-patient beds specifically for children.