February 23rd "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 54, known as World Peace and Understanding Day, Pinocchio Day, Diesel Engine Day. Your star sign is Pisces and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1965 – The death of Stan Laurel, film comedian, born in Ulverston (which was then in Lancashire but now lies in Cumbria) in 1890. In 1961 Laurel was given a Lifetime Achievement Academy Award for his pioneering work in comedy.
Todays birthdays
1971 – Melinda Messenger (54), English television presenter (Fort Boyard) and former glamour model and Page Three girl, born in Swindon, Wiltshire.
1976 – Kelly Macdonald (49), Scottish actress (Trainspotting, Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Line of Duty), born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1983 – Emily Blunt (42), English actress (Sicario, Oppenheimer, Edge of Tomorrow, The Devil Wears Prada), born in the London Borough of Wandsworth, London.
1986 – Skylar Grey (39), American singer and songwriter who co-wrote Eminem and Rihanna’s hit single “Love the Way You Lie”, born in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, United States.
1994 – Dakota Fanning (31), American actress (Man on Fire, The Equalizer 3, War of the Worlds, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), born in Conyers, Georgia, United States.
Famous deaths
1965 – Stan Laurel (b. 1890), English actor and comedian (Laurel & Hardy).
1995 – James Herriot (b. 1916), English veterinarian and author (All Creatures Great & Small).
2000 – Stanley Matthews (b. 1915), English footballer (Stoke City, Blackpool) and manager (Port Vale).
2023 – John Motson (b. 1945), English football commentator (Match of the Day, BBC Radio 5 Live).
The day today
1920 – The first regular broadcasting service in Britain started from Marconi’s studio in Writtle, near Chelmsford. The 30-minute programme was transmitted twice daily. Peter Eckersley opened with ‘Hello! Hello! This is Two-Emma-Toc, Writtle testing.’ Two-Emma-Toc stood for 2MT, the licence granted to Marconi by the General Post Office.
1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim was almost completely destroyed in a raid by 379 British bombers. About one quarter of the town’s population (over 17,000 people) were killed in the air raid. The town was thought by the Allies to be producing precision instruments for use in the German war effort and to be a transport centre for the movement of German troops.
1953 – In Britain, an amnesty offered to World War II deserters brought in applications from more than 3000 servicemen.
2007 – A train derailed on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, killing one person and injuring 22. The accident resulted in hundreds of points being checked throughout the UK as similar accidents had occurred on the Rail Network.
2012 – Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland announced a full year loss of nearly £2bn, further fuelling the debate about bankers’ pay and bonuses. Nevertheless, £390m in bonuses was still paid to RBS’s 17,000 investment bankers.
2014 – The oldest known survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, Alice Herz-Sommer, died in London at the age of 110. She was an accomplished pianist and music teacher and a film about her life was nominated for the best short documentary at the Academy Awards. Born into a Jewish family in Prague in 1903, Ms Herz-Sommer spent two years in a Nazi concentration camp in Terezin.
Today in music
1974 – ‘Rebel Rebel’ by David Bowie entered the UK chart, the single reached No.5 the following month. Originally written for an aborted Ziggy Stardust musical in late 1973, ‘Rebel Rebel’ was Bowie’s last single in the glam rock style that had been his trademark. It was also his first hit since 1969 not to feature lead guitarist Mick Ronson.
1978 – Winners at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards included Fleetwood Mac, Album of the year for Rumours. The Eagles, Record of the year for Hotel California, Best pop vocal performance went to The Bee Gees for ‘How Deep Is Your Love.’ Crystal Gayle won Best Female Country Vocal Performance for ‘Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue’ and Song of the Year went to Barbra Streisand & Paul Williams (songwriters) for ‘Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)’.
1985 – The Smiths scored their first UK No.1 album with Meat Is Murder. The album’s sleeve uses a 1967 photograph of Marine Cpl. Michael Wynn in the Vietnam War, though with the wording on his helmet changed from “Make War Not Love” to “Meat Is Murder”. The original image was used for Emile de Antonio’s 1968 documentary In the Year of the Pig.
2003 – Norah Jones cleaned up at the 45th Grammy Awards, held at Madison Square Garden, New York. The singer, songwriter won, Album of the year and Record of the year, with ‘Don’t Know Why.’ Song of the year, Best new artist and Best female pop vocal for ‘Don’t Know Why’. Other winners included Best male pop vocal, John Mayer, ‘Our Body Is A Wonderland’. Best male rock vocal, Bruce Springsteen, ‘The Rising’, Best female rock vocal, Sheryl Crow, ‘Steve McQueen’, Best rock performance by group, Coldplay ‘In My Place’, Best rap album, Eminem, ‘The Eminem Show’.
2019 – Ariana Grande became the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the US Hot 100 in the same week, a feat previously accomplished only by The Beatles. The songs: No.1: ‘7 Rings’, No.2: ‘Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored’ and at No.3: ‘Thank U, Next’.
Today in history
1633 – The birth of Samuel Pepys, London diarist, Secretary to the Admiralty and creator of the modern Royal Navy.
1820 – British police uncovered ‘The Cato Street Conspiracy’, planned by Arthur Thistlewood, to assassinate Cabinet ministers. Five of the eighteen conspirators were publicly hanged outside Newgate prison on 1st May 1820, six were transported to Australia for life, and the rest were either rewarded or released due to their status as spies, agent provocateurs, or men who had turned King’s Evidence.
1836 – Texas Revolution: The Siege of the Alamo (prelude to the Battle of the Alamo) begins in San Antonio, Texas.
1863 – Lake Victoria, in Africa, was declared to be the source of the River Nile by British explorers John Speke and J.A. Grant.
1874 – Major Walter Clopton Wingfield patented an outdoor game he called ‘Sphairistike’, later known as lawn tennis. Eventually it was adopted by the All England Croquet Club which sponsored the first Wimbledon championships in 1877.