February 6th "2024" daily prep
Welcome to day 37, known as Bob Marley Day (Jamaica and Ethiopia), Frozen Yogurt Day and Pay a Compliment Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of May 16th. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1958 – Seven Manchester United footballers (Busby’s Babes) died in their Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador when the plane crashed in thick snow on the runway at Munich airport during its third attempted take off.
Todays birthdays
1940 – Jimmy Tarbuck (84), English comedian (Sunday Night at the London Palladium) and game show host (Winner Takes All), born in Liverpool.
1962 – Axl Rose (62), American rock singer-songwriter (Guns & Roses – “Welcome to the Jungle”), born in Lafayette, Indiana, United States.
1966 – Rick Astley (58), English singer (“Never Gonna Give You Up”, “Together Forever”), born in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside.
1982 – Alice Eve (42), English actress (She’s Out of My League, Star Trek Into Darkness, Men in Black 3), born in London.
1994 – Charlie Heaton (30), English actor (Stranger Things, Rise Of The Footsoldier II) and musician, born in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
The day today
1952 – Queen Elizabeth succeeded to the British throne. The Queen and Prince Philip were on tour in Kenya when they heard the news of the death of her father, King George VI.
1958 – Seven Manchester United footballers (Busby’s Babes) died in their Airspeed AS-57 Ambassador when the plane crashed in thick snow on the runway at Munich airport during its third attempted take off. The team had just beaten Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup quarter-final. Duncan Edwards survived the crash but died 15 days later in hospital. Manager Matt Busby was seriously injured, but survived. Of the 44 passengers and crew on board, 8 United players were killed and there were 15 other fatalities, including 8 journalists.
1988 – Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring Air Jordan and the Jumpman logo.
2005 – Tony Blair marked 2,838 days in his post at Number 10, making him the Labour Party’s longest-serving prime minister. He would only surpass Margaret Thatcher’s 11 years if he was still Prime Minister at the end of 2008 and he was not!
2015 – 26 year old Royal Marine, Andy Grant, woke up from an operation to remove his leg below the knee and found a key word missing from his You’ll Never Walk Alone tattoo. He used the new wording “You’ll Never Walk” as the inspiration for his rehabilitation. The marine learnt to walk and run, won two gold medals at the Invictus Games, abseiled the Shard and went on to work as a motivational speaker.
Today in music
1965 – The Righteous Brothers (who were not related in any way) started a run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Phil Spector produced ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’. The song was also No.1 in the US.
1967 – Pink Floyd were photographed for the weekly British girls magazine Jackie. The magazine was the best-selling teen magazine in Britain for ten years. The best-ever selling issue was the 1972 special edition to coincide with the UK tour of American singer David Cassidy.
1982 – Kraftwerk were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Model / Computer Love’, the first German act to score a UK No.1 single. The single spent 21 weeks on the UK chart.
2005 – Eminem was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Like Toy Soldiers’, the rappers 6th No.1, taken from the album Encore. The track featured samples from ‘Toy Soldiers’ by Martika and ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ by Paul Simon.
2014 – Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was named as the greatest song of all time by NME. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was one of the last songs written for Nirvana’s breakthrough album, ‘Nevermind’, which was released in 1991. The rest of the top five tracks were: 5: ‘Last Nite’, The Strokes, 4: ‘How Soon Is Now?’, The Smiths, 3: ‘I Feel Love’, Donna Summer, 2: ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, Joy Division.
Today in history
1649 – The claimant King Charles II of England and Scotland was declared King of Great Britain, by the Parliament of Scotland. This move was not followed by the Parliament of England nor the Parliament of Ireland.
1665 – The birth of Queen Anne, the last Stuart ruler and second daughter of James II. She bore Prince George of Denmark 17 children, but 16 died in infancy and the remaining child died when aged 12. Her desire for national unity led to the union of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707.
1685 – Charles II, King of Great Britain and Ireland, died after several days of revelry with his concubines and his favourite mistresses. Charles acknowledged at least 12 illegitimate children by various mistresses, but as illegitimate children were excluded from the succession, he was succeeded by his brother James. On his deathbed Charles asked his brother to look after his mistresses and told his courtiers: ‘I am sorry, gentlemen, for being such a time a-dying.’
1804 – The death of Joseph Priestley (FRS) the 18th-century English theologian and chemist born in Birstall near Leeds, West Yorkshire. Priestley is credited with his independent discovery of oxygen by the thermal decomposition of mercuric oxide, having isolated it in 1774.
1840 – The Treaty of Waitangi was signed, giving Britain sovereignty over New Zealand.
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