On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 48 of the year.

Tuesday, February 17th

Today is National Random Acts of Kindness Day, National Cafe au Lait Day and Global Tourism Resilience Day. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1955 – Fanny Cradock’s first cookery programme Kitchen Magic, was broadcast on television. She mostly worked with her then common-law husband Johnny Cradock, adopting his surname long before they married.
Fanny Cradock's first cookery programme Kitchen Magic, was broadcast on television. She mostly worked with her then common-law husband Johnny Cradock, adopting his surname long before they married.
Today’s birthdays
1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips (64), American actor (La Bamba, Young Guns, Stand and Deliver), born in U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, Philippines.

1963 – Michael Jordan (63), American businessman and former professional basketball player (Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls), born in Brooklyn, New York, United States.

1971 – Denise Richards (55), American actress (Starship Troopers, The World Is Not Enough), born in Downers Grove, Illinois, United States.
1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong (54), American singer-songwriter, musician and co-founder of rock band, Green Day (“American Idiot”), born in Oakland, California, United States.
1981 – Paris Hilton (45), American actress (House of Wax, Snakes on a Plane), media personality, businesswoman, and socialite, born in New York, New York, United States.
1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt (45), American actor (10 Things I Hate About You, The Dark Knight Rises, 3rd Rock From the Sun), born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
1989 – Rebecca Adlington (37), English former competitive swimmer (2 x gold medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics), born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
1991 – Ed Sheeran (35), English singer-songwriter (“Shape of You”, “Castle on the Hill”), born in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
1991 – Bonnie Wright (35), English actress best known for her role as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, born in London.
Famous deaths
1909 – Geronimo (b. 1829), Native American military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people.
2013 – Richard Briers (b. 1934), English actor (The Good Life, Monarch of the Glen, Ever Decreasing Circles) and voice actor (Roobarb).
The day today
1925 – The birth of Ron Goodwin, British composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included Where Eagles Dare, Battle of Britain, 633 Squadron and Operation Crossbow.

1938 – A surprise item was shown at the Dominion Theatre, London. It was the first public, experimental demonstration of Baird colour television on a big 12 ft x 9 ft screen. Transmitted from Crystal Palace, the short programme consisted of fashion plates and a cartoon.

1955 – Fanny Cradock’s first cookery programme Kitchen Magic, was broadcast on television. She mostly worked with her then common-law husband Johnny Cradock, adopting his surname long before they married. The infamous ‘doughnut line’ is often attributed to Johnny Cradock – Quote: ‘You too can have doughnuts like Fanny’s’, but it was almost certainly said by a Scottish continuity announcer.
1958 – The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was formed in Britain.
1965 – The Duke and Duchess of Kent celebrated the end of 300 years of colonial rule in Gambia with 35 Gambian chiefs. Gambia was the first African nation conquered by the British and became the 21st member of the Commonwealth.
1987 – A group of Tamils seeking asylum in Britain protested at Heathrow airport by removing their clothes as they were about to be deported. Amid a frenzied scuffle with security personnel they were forcibly placed onto the awaiting aircraft which was bound for Dhaka. But they were removed soon afterwards after their loud protests onboard drew complaints from fellow passengers and resulted in the pilot refusing to take-off.
1998 – The Pioneer 10 spacecraft passed NASA’s Voyager 1 to become the farthest artificial object in space.
2003 – The London Congestion Charge scheme began, with a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within Charge Zone. The charge aimed to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London’s transport system. Although not the first scheme of its kind in the Britain, it was the largest when introduced, and it remains one of the largest in the world. Several cities around the world have referenced London’s congestion charge when considering their own schemes.
2005 – The Hunting Act 2004, which banned the hunting of most wild mammals (including foxes, deer, hares, and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, came into force at midnight.
2008 – The Republic of Kosovo formally declared its independence from Serbia, following years of tension and UN administration since 1999. Supported by the US and major EU nations, the declaration was opposed by Serbia and Russia, but later deemed not to violate international law by the International Court of Justice.
2012 – Thieves stole up to 68 Olympic artifacts from a museum in Greece. Two masked, armed robbers overpowered the only security guard on duty at the museum (due to government budget cuts at the time), tied her up, and smashed display cases with a hammer. In November 2012, all the stolen artifacts were recovered by Greek police in a major operation. Three Greek suspects were arrested after they attempted to sell the ancient gold ring to an undercover police officer for €300,000. The remaining items were found wrapped in a sack and buried in a field just two miles from the museum.
2013 – The death (aged 79) of Richard Briers, best known for his role in TV’s The Good Life. Two weeks before his death Briers stated that he had smoked about half a million cigarettes before he quit and a routine chest X-ray suggested that he would otherwise soon be in a wheelchair. He had been diagnosed with emphysema in 2008 and died from the effects of a cardiac arrest.
2016 – Oldest known case of human-Neanderthal sex (100,000 years ago) is revealed by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig when a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal woman’s remains from the Altai Mountains show traces of Homo sapien DNA.
2016 – Nike ends endorsement deal with Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao after he made TV comments gay people are “worse than animals.”
2017 – A potential new continent was discovered in the South Pacific. Zealandia is 94% underwater but is close to being recognized as its own continent that would include New Zealand.
2020 – Jeff Bezos announced the launch of the Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion commitment to fight climate change. The fund targets scientists, NGOs, and activists to preserve the natural world and accelerate climate solutions, with grants beginning to be distributed later that year.
2022 – Alexandra Trusova becomes the first female figure skater to land four and five quadruple jumps in the free skate at the Beijing Winter Olympics, winning the silver medal.
Today in music
1960 – Elvis Presley won his first Gold record for his second studio album ‘Elvis’. It spent four weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, making Presley the first recording artist to have both albums go straight to No.1 in the same year.
1966 – Nancy Sinatra was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’, Frank’s eldest daughters first No.1. Written by Lee Hazlewood Sinatra’s recording of the song was made with the help of Los Angeles session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew.
1967 – The Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite’ at Abbey Road studios, London. John’s lyrics for the song came almost entirely from an antique poster advertising a circus performance scheduled to take place in Rochdale, Lancashire, in February 1843.
1975 – AC/DC released their debut album ‘High Voltage’. The album featured a cover of ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’ a blues song first recorded by Big Joe Williams and ‘She’s Got Balls’ which was written about singer Bon Scott’s ex-wife Irene – the first AC/DC song for which he wrote lyrics.
1978 – Kate Bush released her debut studio album The Kick Inside which contained her UK number one hit, ‘Wuthering Heights’, (marking the first time a female singer-songwriter topped the charts with a self-penned song). Bush was just 19 years old and had written some of the songs when she was only 13.
1979 – Blondie scored their first UK No.1 album when ‘Parallel Lines’ started a four-week run at the top of the charts, featuring the singles ‘Heart Of Glass’, ‘Hanging On The Telephone’ and ‘Sunday Girl.’
1989 – David Coverdale married actress Tawny Kitaen (known for her provocative appearances in Whitesnake’s music videos ‘Here I Go Again, ‘Is This Love’ and ‘Still of the Night’). The couple divorced in 1991.
2000 – John Lennon’s Steinway piano, on which he composed ‘Imagine’, went on display at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool, England. The piano was set to be auctioned on the Internet later in the year and was expected to fetch more than £1 million.
2005 – Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand made music history after taking two top prizes at the NME Awards. The band, who won best album and best single, became the first act ever to win the Mercury Music Prize, Brit Awards and NME awards in the same year.
2008 – British soul singer Duffy started a five week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Mercy’, from the Welsh singers debut album ‘Rockferry’. ‘Mercy’ was the UK’S best selling single of 2008, and won Duffy a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
2025 – Rick Buckler, drummer with The Jam died following a brief illness in Woking, Surrey, at the age of 69. The Jam had 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the UK, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four No.1 hits.
Today in history
1461 – Wars of the Roses: In the second Battle of St Albans, the Lancastrian army defeats Yorkists and recaptures King Henry VI.
1753 – Sweden changed their calendar to the Gregorian calendar, making the next day March 1 instead of February 18.
1837 – Charles Lyell makes his presidential address to the Geographical Society, London and announces that Richard Owen has concluded from Darwin’s fossils that extinct species were related to current species in the same locality
1874 – Conservatives, under Benjamin Disraeli (1st Earl of Beaconsfield), won their first majority since 1841.
1882 – Australian cricket opening bowlers Joey Palmer (7/68) and Edwin Evans (3/64) dismiss England for 133 in 2nd Test; first Test match played at Sydney Cricket Ground.
1883 – Arthur Ashwell of Herne Hill, London, patented ‘vacant/engaged’ lock signs for toilet doors.
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