On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 32 of the year.

Sunday, February 1st

Today is National Yorkshire Pudding Day, Dark Chocolate Day, Robinson Crusoe Day, National Baked Alaska Day and Grammy Awards Day. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1979 – Trevor Francis, aged 24, became the first £1m footballer in England, signing for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. Francis justified the record fee by scoring the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup final.
Trevor Francis, aged 24, became the first £1m footballer in England, signing for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.
Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
Today’s birthdays
1964 – Linus Roache (62), English actor (son of William Roache) known for his role as Ecbert, King of Wessex in Vikings and ADA Michael Cutter in Law & Order, born in Manchester
1969 – Gabriel Batistuta (57), Argentine former professional footballer (Fiorentina, Inter Milan), regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, born in Reconquista, Argentina.
1982 – Gavin Henson (44), Welsh former professional rugby union player (Swansea RFC, London Welsh, Bath, Bristol and the Dragons), born in Pencoed, Bridgend, Wales.
1987 – Ronda Rousey (39), American professional wrestler (WWE), mixed martial artist (UFC) and actress (Furious 7, Mile 22), born in Riverside, California, United States.
1994 – Harry Styles (31), English singer and former member of One Direction (“What Makes You Beautiful”, “Story of My Life”), born in Redditch, Worcestershire.
Famous deaths
1851 – Mary Shelley (b. 1797), English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein and The Modern Prometheus.
2019 – Clive Swift (b. 1936), English actor best known to television viewers for his role as Richard Bucket in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.
The day today
1910 – The first 80 Labour Exchanges opened in Britain to try and find jobs for the unemployed.

1939 – A British White Paper proposing the formation of the Home Guard (which became better known as Dad’s Army because of the average age of the volunteers) was published. The hugely popular TV series of Dad’s Army was first aired on 31st July 1968 and ran for 9 series until 13th November 1977. The 2016 Dad’s Army film had its premiere on 26th January 2016. Principal filming took place on the beach at North Landing (Flamborough Head) and at nearby Bridlington.

1951 – An atomic bomb explosion was broadcast on television for the first time when KTLA in Los Angeles aired a live, early-morning detonation from Frenchman Flat, Nevada. The 31-kiloton “Charlie” shot, dropped from a B-50 Superfortress, was broadcast nationally, showing the mushroom cloud and causing an optical malfunction on cameras due to the intense light.
1952 – The first TV detector van was demonstrated. It enabled the BBC to track down users of unlicensed television sets in Britain.
1958 – Manchester United defeated Arsenal 5-4 at Highbury in what is considered one of the greatest matches in English football history. This thrilling victory was the final match the “Busby Babes” played on British soil before the tragic Munich air disaster, which occurred five days later on February 6.
1964 – French sisters Christine Goitschel (gold) and Marielle Goitschel (silver) become first female siblings to win Olympic gold and silver in the same event when they dominate the slalom in Innsbruck.
1965 – Prescriptions on the NHS became free of charge and remained so until June 1968.
1974 – Escaped Great Train Robber Ronald Biggs was arrested by Brazilian police in Rio. He escaped extradition because he was the father of a child by his Brazilian girlfriend.
1978 – Film director Roman Polanski skips bail in the US and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl. He remains a fugitive from the U.S. justice system. Subsequently, allegations of abuse have been made by several women.
1979 – Trevor Francis, aged 24, became the first £1m footballer in England, signing for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. Francis justified the record fee by scoring the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup final.
1984 – Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, announced that the halfpenny coin would cease to be legal tender. Its fate was sealed when it became more expensive to make than its face value.
2003 – The first reusable spacecraft called “Space Shuttle Columbia” broke apart when returning to Earth, and all seven astronauts on board died. This disaster led to suspended flights for two years while NASA investigated what happened.
2004 – Janet Jackson’s breast is exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to FCC censorship guidelines.
2005 – Arsenal’s English Premier League record 33-game unbeaten streak at home ends when the Gunners go down, 4-2 to Manchester United at Highbury.

2005 – The Civil Marriage Act was introduced, making same-sex marriage legal in Canada.

2006 – Thierry Henry breaks Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin’s league goals record, bringing his league goal tally to 151.
2009 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay Head of Government in the modern world.
2016 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the rapid spread of the Zika virus, linked to neurological disorders and neonatal malformations, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The declaration followed an increase in cases of microcephaly in babies and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults, particularly in South America.
2018 – The Indian government announces plan to give 500 million people free healthcare.
2020 – Somalia declared a national emergency due to an unprecedented desert locust invasion, deemed the largest in 25 years in the region. These massive swarms threatened food security for humans and livestock in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The infestation, driven by extreme weather, risked destroying harvests before April.
2021 – A bushfire raged outside the Western Australian city of Perth forcing evacuations, as the city remained in a coronavirus lockdown. At least 59 homes were destroyed by the blaze, which was fanned by strong winds.
Today in music
1964 – The Beatles started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with I Want to Hold Your Hand, the first US No.1 by a UK act since The Tornadoes ‘Telstar’ in 1962 and the first of three consecutive No.1’s from the group.
1972 – Chuck Berry had his first UK No.1 single with a live recording of a song he’d been playing live for over 20 years ‘My Ding-a-Ling’. UK public morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse attempted to have the song banned due to its innuendo-laden lyrics.
1980 – Blondie released ‘Call Me’, the main theme song of the 1980 film American Gigolo. It peaked at No. 1 for six consecutive weeks, and became the top-selling single of the year in the United States in 1980.

1992 – George Michael and Elton John went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’. All proceeds from the single went to Aids charities.

1995 – Richey Edwards guitarist with the Manic Street Preachers vanished leaving no clues to his whereabouts. He left The Embassy Hotel in London at 7am, leaving behind his packed suitcase. His car was found on the Severn Bridge outside Bristol, England sixteen days later. Edwards has never been found, despite constant searching, and in November 2008 he was declared officially dead.
2008 – US space agency Nasa announced that ‘Across the Universe’ by The Beatles was to become the first song ever to be beamed directly into space. The track would be transmitted through the Deep Space Network – a network of antennas – on the 40th anniversary of the song being recorded, being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light-years from Earth. In a message to NASA, Paul McCartney said the project was an “amazing” feat.”Well done, Nasa,” he added. “Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul.”
2009 – Bruce Springsteen started a two week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Working on a Dream’ his 16th studio album.
2013 – Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’ topped a list by BBC Radio 6 Music’s top 100 tracks of the past 10 years. More than 100,000 votes were cast in the poll which looked back over the 10 years since the station began in 2002. Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ was voted into second place, and Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ in third.
2023 – Rock singer Ozzy Osbourne announces cancellation of upcoming concerts and his retirement from touring via social media due to health issues.
2023 – Guitars and amplifiers belonging to Dire Straits star Mark Knopfler sold for more than £8m at auction. The sale was led by Knopfler’s 1959 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard, which sold for £693,000, setting a new world auction record for the model. The Red Schecter Telecaster, which Knopfler purchased in 1984 to record the Dire Straits song ‘Walk Of Life’, went under the hammer for £415,800, well above its £6,000 estimate.
Today in history
1327 – Fourteen year old Edward III was crowned King of England, but the country was ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
1587 – Under pressure from her Council, Queen Elizabeth I of England signed the warrant authorising the execution of Mary Queen of Scots.
1622 – A joint force of the English East India Company (EIC) and the Safavid Persian army captured the Portuguese-controlled fort at Hormuz Island after a ten-week siege, ending over a century of Portuguese dominance in the Persian Gulf. This victory, initiated by Shah Abbas I and facilitated by English naval power, significantly altered regional trade, allowing the EIC to open trade routes to Persia and weakening the Portuguese position in India.
1709 – Scotsman Alexander Selkirk was rescued from an uninhabited desert island (Mas à Tierra, off the coast of Chile), inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Defoe lived in Gateshead for 4 years and it is thought that he lived at Hillgate around 1710 with a bookseller named Joseph Button.
1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. James Murray was its most famous editor but he had only reached the letter T after working 44 hours per week for 35 years, so hundreds of people sent in their own contributions.