January 10th "2024" daily prep
Welcome to day 10, known as Houseplant Appreciation Day and National Bittersweet Chocolate Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of April 19th. Your star sign is “Capricorn” and your birthstone is Garnet.
1985 – The C5 electric car, with a top speed of 15 mph (the fastest allowed in the UK without a driving licence) was demonstrated by its inventor, Sir Clive Sinclair. It retailed for £399 but only 17,000 were ever sold.
Todays birthdays
1945 – Rod Stewart (79), British rock and pop singer and songwriter (“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, “Maggie May”), born in Highgate, London.
1949 – George Foreman (75), American former professional boxer (world heavyweight champion 1973-74, 95), born in Marshall, Texas.
1976 – Ian Poulter (48), English professional golfer (3 PGA wins, 12 European Tour wins), born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
1986 – Abbey Clancy (38), English lingerie and catwalk model (runner-up of Britain’s Next Top Model in 2006), born in Liverpool.
1999 – Mason Mount (25), English professional footballer (Manchester United, Chelsea), born in Portsmouth.
The day today
1918 – The House of Lords gave its approval to the Representation of the People Bill, which gave woman over the age of 30 the right to vote, as recognition of the contribution made by women defence workers during the First World War. However, women were still not politically equal to men, who could vote from the age of 21. Full electoral equality wouldn’t occur until the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act of 1928.
1928 – Lieutenant John Moncrieff (born at Lerwick in the Shetland Islands) and Captain George Hood (New Zealander) were pioneers of aviation who disappeared whilst attempting the first Trans-Tasman flight from Australia to New Zealand. Despite a number of alleged sightings in New Zealand and many land searches in the intervening years, no trace of the aviators or their aircraft was ever found.
1979 – ‘Crisis? What Crisis?’ Prime Minister James Callaghan flew back into strike-torn Britain denying allegations that the country was in chaos. Callaghan was the only Prime Minister to have held all three leading Cabinet positions – Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, prior to becoming Prime Minister.
1985 – The C5 electric car, with a top speed of 15 mph (the fastest allowed in the UK without a driving licence) was demonstrated by its inventor, Sir Clive Sinclair. It retailed for £399 but only 17,000 were ever sold and Sinclair Vehicles was put into receivership on 12th October 1985. At the time Sinclair, said ‘it currently remains the best selling electric vehicle of all time,’ but, by November 2011 it had been surpassed by the electric Nissan Leaf that had sold over 20,000 units.
2015 – The Falklands commemorated Margaret Thatcher by unveiling a statue of the late Prime Minister who led the 1982 war that kept the island British. (Note – 10th January is Margaret Thatcher Day on the Falklands.)
Today in music
1957 – Tommy Steele and the Steelmen were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Singing The Blues’. Guy Mitchell had been at No.1 the previous week with his version and then returned to No.1 the following week.
1958 – Jerry Lee Lewis was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Great Balls Of Fire’. Lewis was the only major white rock ‘n’ roll star to play piano rather than guitar.
1981 – John Lennon’s Imagine started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart, 10 years after it was recorded. Lennon had two other songs in the Top 5 this week, ‘Happy Christmas, (War Is Over’) and ‘(Just Like) Starting Over.’ ‘Imagine’ was voted by the viewers of BBC TV as the best lyrics of all time in a poll broadcast in Oct 1999. Also on this day John and Yoko’s ‘Double Fantasy’ album started an eight-week run at No.1 on the US chart. ‘Just Like Starting Over’ was at No.1 on the US singles chart.
1984 – Cyndi Lauper became the first female recording artist since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
2003 – Bee Gee Maurice Gibb was fighting for his life after a heart attack following major stomach surgery. The 53 year-old singer had been rushed to hospital after collapsing at his Florida home. He died two days later on the 12th January 2003 at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, Florida.
Today in history
1645 – The execution of William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was beheaded on Tower Hill after being found ‘guilty of endeavouring to subvert the laws, to overthrow the Protestant religion, and to act as an enemy to Parliament’. The next archbishop was not appointed until fifteen years later, with the Restoration of Charles II.
1806 – Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrendered to the British following the battle of Bloubergstrand. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, Cape Town was permanently ceded to Britain.
1839 – Indian tea was auctioned in Britain for the first time. Previously, only China tea had been available, at great expense. After the introduction of Indian tea, prices fell and tea became so affordable that it was soon the national drink.
1840 – Sir Rowland Hill introduced the Penny Post to Britain. Mail was delivered at a standard charge rather than being paid by the recipient. On its first day, 112,000 letters were posted in London alone.
1863 – The first section of the London Underground railway was opened, by Prime Minister Gladstone. It ran from Paddington to Farringdon Street, stopping at seven stations. The trains ran every fifteen minutes.
Fact of the day
Great Britain briefly had a Cones Hotline in the early 1990s. It was a special number citizens could call if they saw traffic cones on the road for no reason. It was disbanded after three years because almost no one ever called it.