February 4th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 35, known as World Cancer Day, Homemade Soup Day, Stuffed Mushroom Day. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1911 – Rolls-Royce commissioned their famous figurehead “The Spirit of Ecstasy”. He used Lord Montague’s mistress, Eleanor Thornton, as his model.
Todays birthdays
1948 – Alice Cooper (77), American rock singer known as “The Godfather of Shock Rock” (“Poison”, “School’s Out”), born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
1960 – Tim Booth (65), English singer-songwriter and co-founder of the indie rock band, James (“Sit Down”), born in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
1972 – Dara Ó Briain (53), Irish comedian and television presenter (Mock the Week, Go 8 Bit), born in Bray, Ireland.
1975 – Natalie Imbruglia (50), Australian singer (“Torn”, “Wrong Impression”) and actress (Neighbours, Johnny English), born in Sydney, Australia.
1982 – Kimberly Wyatt (43), American singer and former dancer with The Pussycat Dolls (“Don’t Cha”, “Buttons”), born in Warrensburg, Missouri, United States.
Famous deaths
2017 – Gorden Kaye (b. 1941), English actor best known for his role as René Artois in the British sitcom television series, ‘Allo ‘Allo!
The day today
1911 – Rolls-Royce commissioned their famous figurehead “The Spirit of Ecstasy” (originally called the “Spirit of Speed”) by Charles Sykes. He used Lord Montague’s mistress, Eleanor Thornton, as his model. 60 years later to the day, Rolls-Royce was declared bankrupt due to a disastrous contract to supply aero engines to Lockheed. The British government came to its rescue.
1920 – Norman Wisdom, actor & star of many comedy films, was born. In 1995 he was given the Freedom of the City of London and also Tirana in Albania where the population were devoted to him and referred to him as ‘Pitkin’. He received an OBE in the same year and was knighted in 2000. He retired from acting at the age of 90 after his health deteriorated and died in October 2010.
1968 – The world’s largest hovercraft, weighing 165 tonnes, was launched at Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The Hovertravel service from the mainland to the Isle of Wight is the world’s longest running commercial hovercraft service and is now the only scheduled passenger hovercraft service in Europe.
2008 – The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme began to operate, with hefty fines for the owners of polluting vehicles.
2013 – A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park in August 2012 was confirmed as that of King Richard III. He was the last king of the House of York and died in 1485.
Today in music
1977 – Fleetwood Mac released Rumours. The songs ‘Go Your Own Way’, ‘Don’t Stop’, ‘Dreams’, and ‘You Make Loving Fun’ were released as singles. Rumours is Fleetwood Mac’s most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the record has sold over 45 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
1978 – ‘Up Town Ranking’ by Althia and Donna was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. It was the Jamaican duo’s only hit, making the teenagers One Hit Wonders.
1995 – Celine Dion started a seven-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Think Twice’. The song peaked at No.95 on the US chart. ‘Think Twice’ received an Ivor Novello Award for the Song of the Year in 1995.
2017 – Black Sabbath the band credited with inventing heavy metal music, played their last concert. The two-hour gig at the NEC Arena in their home city of Birmingham saw the rock veterans play 15 songs ending with their first hit, ‘Paranoid’. Ticker tape and balloons fell as singer Ozzy Osbourne, thanked fans for nearly five decades of support. Sabbath’s The End Tour began in the US in January last year and took in 81 dates across the world.
2021 – Sir Elton John said he had “very positive” talks with British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden about EU travel for UK musicians, but said visa-free touring was not currently “on the cards”. John was one of many stars that had signed a letter demanding action to cut red tape and fees for musicians after Brexit saying that the matter was “swept under the carpet” before the UK left the EU.
Today in history
211 AD – The death in York, (formerly know as Eboracum), of the Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus whilst preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. He left the empire in the control of his two quarrelling sons, Caracalla and Geta.
1194 – A ransom of 100,000 pounds of silver is paid for the release of Richard I, King of England, to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, king of Germany and later king of Sicily.
1555 – John Rogers is burned at the stake, becoming the first English Protestant martyr under Mary I of England.
1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin were sentenced to ritual suicide (seppuku) as recompense to avenge their master Asano Naganori’s death.
1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest known copies of the bible was discovered in Egypt.