On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 56 of the year.

Wednesday, February 25th

Today is National Pink Shirt Day, Inconvenience Yourself Day and Chocolate Covered Nuts Day. Your star sign is Pisces and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1939 – The first Anderson air raid shelters appeared. Between then and the outbreak of the war in September, around 1.5 million shelters were distributed to people living in areas expected to be bombed by the Luftwaffe. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected.
The first Anderson air raid shelters appeared.
Today’s birthdays
1945 – Elkie Brooks (81), English rock, blues and jazz singer (“Sunshine After the Rain”), born in Broughton, Salford, Greater Manchester.
1949 – Ric Flair (77), American former professional wrestler recognized by WWE as a 16-time world champion, born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.

1957 – Stuart John “Woody” Wood (69), Scottish musician, songwriter and guitarist with rock band Bay City Rollers (“Bye Bye Baby”, “Shang‐A‐Lang”), born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1964 – Lee Evans (62), English stand-up comedian (Big Live At The O2) and actor (The Fifth Element, There’s Something About Mary), born in Avonmouth, Bristol.
1967 – Nick Leeson (59), English rogue trader, responsible for the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995, born in Watford, London.
1971 – Daniel Powter (55), Canadian singer and musician (“Bad Day”), born in Vernon, Canada.
1971 – Sean Astin (55), American actor (Mikey in “The Goonies”, Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings trilogy”), born in Santa Monica, California, United States.
1975 – Naga Munchetty (51), British television presenter, newsreader and journalist (BBC Breakfast), born in Streatham, London.
1986 – James and Oliver Phelps (40), English actors and twin brothers (Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter film series), born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.
1986 – Jameela Jamil (40), English actress (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) and TV/Radio Presenter (The Official Chart – BBC Radio 1), born in Hampstead, London.
Famous deaths
2017 – Bill Paxton (b. 1955), American actor (Aliens, Tombstone, Apollo 13).

2025 – Henry Kelly (b. 1947), Irish radio and television broadcaster (Going for Gold, Game for a Laugh).

The day today
1913 – English suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst went on trial for a bomb attack on the home of David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
1932 – Adolf Hitler, an Austrian-born immigrant who was stateless since 1925, officially obtained German citizenship. This was achieved by his appointment as a civil servant for the Free State of Brunswick, a maneuver orchestrated by Nazi interior minister Dietrich Klagges, enabling Hitler to run for Reich President. After moving to Germany in 1913 and serving in the Bavarian Army, Hitler renounced his Austrian citizenship in 1925 but failed for seven years to secure German citizenship. Ironically, one of Hitler’s first actions as Chancellor was to eliminate the very regulations that allowed such appointments.
1939 – The first Anderson air raid shelters appeared. Between then and the outbreak of the war in September, around 1.5 million shelters were distributed to people living in areas expected to be bombed by the Luftwaffe. During the war a further 2.1 million were erected.
1953 – An inquest heard that the Princess Victoria, a ferry which sank off Belfast drowning 133 people had met ‘a howling gale and an horrific rolling sea that attacked the ship from all sides.’ When the decision was made to turn back towards Stranraer a huge wave forced open the stern doors on the car deck, buckling them in the process and flooding the car deck which caused the ship to roll over and sink.
1955 – The fourth HMS Ark Royal (pennant number R09) was commissioned as the Royal Navy’s largest and most advanced carrier at the time. Built by Cammell Laird, she was the first to be designed with an angled flight deck and steam catapults to handle jet aircraft. She served for 24 years before being scrapped in 1980.
1978 – Ian Botham scored his first test match century, scoring 103 against New Zealand.
1982 – The European Court of Human Rights ruled that corporal punishment in schools (if it was against the parents’ wishes) was a violation of the Human Rights Convention.
1995 – The 1995 WBC super-middleweight title fight between British champion Nigel Benn and American challenger Gerald McClellan is widely regarded as one of the most brutal and tragic encounters in boxing history, resulting in life-altering injuries for McClellan. In the tenth round, McClellan voluntarily took a knee, took the count, then took a knee again, allowing referee Alfred Asaro to count him out at 1:46. Moments after the stoppage, McClellan collapsed in his corner, having suffered a 6cm by 8cm blood clot on his brain. McClellan spent two weeks in a coma and was left with severe permanent damage: he is blind, nearly 80% deaf, has mobility issues, and requires 24-hour care.
1998 – Switzerland’s first legal brothel, “Petite Fleur,” opened in the Zurich suburb of Wollishofen. Following the 1992 legalisation of brothels in Switzerland, this 30-room facility offered a controlled, legal environment for sex workers. It marked a significant shift in regulation, focusing on safety rather than prohibition.
1999 – British chef Gordon Ramsay comes to prominence appearing in the TV documentary “Boiling Point” detailing the opening of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
2012 – The World Health Organization (WHO) officially removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries, after the country went one full year without a new case. The last reported wild poliovirus case was on January 13, 2011, in West Bengal, marking a historic milestone for global eradication efforts. Following this, India was officially certified polio-free by the WHO in March 2014.
2013 – British born actor Daniel Day-Lewis made Oscar history by becoming the first person to win the best actor prize three times. He was rewarded for his role in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’. His two prior Best Actor Oscars were for My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood,
2015 – Ministers confirmed that they would be changing the law to make it easier to levy tough penalties (up to £500,000) on companies that were behind persistent phone calls and texts that promised compensation for payment protection insurance, mis-selling and cold calls promoting solar panels.
2017 – 88 year old Brian Matthew hosted his last Sounds of the 60s on Radio 2. He had presented the popular show for 27 years and in October 2016 he became the oldest regular broadcaster on BBC radio. 74 year old Tony Blackburn took over as presenter of the show on 4th March 2017.
2018 – The 2018 Winter Olympics (XXIII Olympic Winter Games) officially closed in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Norway led the total medal tally with 39, followed by Germany at 31 and Canada at 29. Great Britain came 19th on the table (5 medals) with the only Gold coming from Lizzy Yarnold in the womens Skeleton.
2021 – Hasbro announced that their Mr. Potato Head brand was changing its name to be gender inclusive. The brand changed from Mr. Potato Head to just Potato Head.
2021 – Thierry Henry resigned as CF Montreal head coach to return to London, citing the need to be closer to his family after being separated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arsenal legend managed the MLS side for one season, leading them to the playoffs.
2025 – A nationwide blackout in Chile left over 90% of the country without power. A state of emergency was declared, and the military was deployed nationwide to enforce an overnight curfew while the power grid was restored. At least 8 million homes were affected, along with Chile’s copper mines, the largest in the world.
Today in music
1957 – ‘Jump’, by Van Halen started a five-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart, (a No.7 hit in the UK). Singer David Lee Roth wrote the lyrics after seeing a television news report about a man who was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off a high building. Roth thought that one of the onlookers of such a scene would probably shout “go ahead and jump”.
1964 – The Beatles finished recording their next single ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, at Abbey Road studios, London, (they had first recorded the song on 29 January 1964 at Path Marconi Studios in Paris). They also recorded the B-side, ‘You Can’t Do That’ and another new song ‘I Should Have Known Better’.
1972 – Written after the ‘Bloody Sunday Massacre’, in Northern Ireland Paul McCartney and Wings released ‘Give Ireland Back To The Irish.’ The song was banned by the BBC and the IBA. It peaked at No.16 in the UK and No.21 in the US.

1984 – ‘Jump’, by Van Halen started a five-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart, (a No.7 hit in the UK). Singer David Lee Roth wrote the lyrics after seeing a television news report about a man who was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off a high building. Roth thought that one of the onlookers of such a scene would probably shout “go ahead and jump”.

1989 – Simple Minds were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Belfast Child.’ The song uses the music from the Irish folk song ‘She Moved Through the Fair’, but has completely different words. At 6 minutes 39 seconds it became the second-longest running No.1 after The Beatles ‘Hey Jude’.
2006 – George Michael was found slumped over in a car in Hyde Park, London. A concerned person spotted the singer and called police who after being checked by paramedics was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs and then released on bail. Michael made a public statement about the incident and said “I was in possession of class C drugs which is an offense and I have no complaints about the police who were professional throughout.” He also said that the event was “my own stupid fault, as usual.”
2009 – Winners at the 2009 NME Awards, held at London’s O2 Academy included Oasis who won best British band, Elbow won the outstanding contribution to British music award. The Killers won best international band and Kings of Leon won best album for “Only by the Night” and The Cure won the godlike genius award.
2009 – President Obama honoured Stevie Wonder his musical hero, with America’s highest award for pop music, the Library of Congress’ Gershwin prize at a ceremony at the White House. The president said the Motown legend had been the soundtrack to his youth and he doubted that his wife would have married him if he hadn’t been a fan. Wonder’s song ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ had been the theme song during Obama’s presidential campaign.
2015 – On what would have been George Harrison’s 72nd birthday, a new tree was planted in his memory in Griffith Park Los Angeles to replace one that was earlier killed (ironically) by a beetle infestation. This new yew tree had been chosen to replace the original, as it was far less susceptible to insects.
2015 – Madonna said she suffered whiplash as a result of her “nightmare” accident at the 2015 Brit Awards. During the act, she was wearing a tight Armani cape and fell backward down a flight of stairs. But Madonna being Madonna, dusted herself off and got on with the show!
2017 – British singer and songwriter Rag’n’Bone Man was at number one on the UK album chart with his debut studio album Human, which became the fastest-selling debut album by a male artist during the 2010s. The album also reached number one in Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland.
2019 – Mark Hollis, English musician and singer-songwriter died age 64. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band Talk Talk. Hollis wrote or co-wrote most of Talk Talk’s music, including hits like ‘It’s My Life’ (1984) and ‘Life’s What You Make It’ (1986).
Today in history
1570 – Queen Elizabeth I was excommunicated by Pope Pius V. He declared her a usurper for her severe persecution of Roman Catholics in England. It was the last such judgment made against a reigning monarch by any pope.
1765 – The birth of Jean Armour, wife of the poet Robert Burns. They had nine children, three of whom survived into adulthood. She was buried beside her famous husband in the mausoleum in Saint Michael’s Cemetery, Dumfries.
1843 – Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet affair.
1890 – The birth of Dame Myra Hess, English pianist. Her fame came during World War II when concert halls were closed at night to avoid being targets of German bombers. For a period of six years she organized some 1700 lunchtime concerts at the National Gallery which had been emptied of its paintings for the duration of the war. For her contribution to maintaining the morale of the people of London, King George VI awarded her the Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1941.
1897 – The birth of Peter Llewelyn Davies, the namesake of Peter Pan. The author, J. M. Barrie publicly identified him as the source of the name for the title character in his famous play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. This identification as ‘the original Peter Pan’ plagued Davies throughout his life.
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