January 16th "2024" daily prep
Welcome to day 16, known as National Nothing Day, International Hot and Spicy Food Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of April 25th. Your star sign is “Capricorn” and your birthstone is Garnet.
1979 – The natural history series “Life on Earth,” presented by David Attenborough, aired on BBC One in the UK for the first time.
Todays birthdays
1948 – John Carpenter (76), American filmmaker and composer (Big Trouble in Little China, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween), born in Carthage, New York, United States.
1959 – Sade [Helen Folasade Adu] (65), Nigerian-born British singer (“Smooth Operator”, “The Sweetest Taboo”), born in Ibadan, Nigeria.
1963 – James May (61), English television presenter (Top Gear, The Grand Tour) and journalist, born in Bristol.
1974 – Kate Moss (50), British model. Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend, born in Croyden.
1987 – Charlotte Henshaw (37), British Paralympic full-time athlete across multiple disciplines, born in Mansfield.
The day today
1930 – Frank Whittle submitted his first patent for a jet engine ( British Patent No. 347,206 – granted in 1932). He had his first engine running by April 1937.
1945 – Adolf Hitler moved into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker. It was located beneath Hitler’s New Reich Chancellery in Berlin and was the last of the Führer Headquarters to be used by Hitler. It became the epicentre of the Nazi regime and it was here during the last week of April 1945 that Hitler married Eva Braun shortly before they committed suicide.
1950 – Listen With Mother began on radio with the words “Hello children. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin”. When the series ended in 1982 there was a national outcry.
2001 – Mitchell Quy, a former casino croupier from Southport, who made television appeals for his ‘missing’ wife Lynsey to get in touch admitted killing her, cutting up her body with DIY tools and then dumping her dismembered body on waste ground. She was missing for 18 months before police discovered her torso in a shallow grave near a roller-coaster at the seaside resort. Her arms and legs were found a day later, dumped in bushes next to a railway line but her head and hands were never located.
2015 – Nursery and Son, who had been manufacturing sheepskin coats for 169 years, including sheepskin coats for David Jason (‘Del Boy’) in TV’s Only Fools and Horses, closed its doors for the last time.
Today in music
1957 – The Cavern Club opened in Liverpool, England. It became the home of many Liverpool bands including The Beatles who appeared at the club 292 times. Over the years a wide variety of popular acts appeared at the club, including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Hollies, The Kinks, Elton John, Black Sabbath, Queen, The Who and John Lee Hooker.
1987 – TV presenter Jools Holland was suspended from Channel 4’s UK music show The Tube for 6 weeks, after using the phrase ‘groovy fuckers’ during a live trailer broadcast in children’s hour.
1988 – 24 years after The Beatles first topped the chart, George Harrison went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ an old favorite of George’s that was originally recorded by James Ray in 1962. In the UK, Harrison’s version spent four weeks at No.2.
2000 – It was reported that Mick Jagger had lost the chance of a knighthood because of his errant ways, British Prime Minister Tony Blair having doubts about the message it would give about family values. This decision was changed and on 12 December 2003, Mick Jagger was made a Knight Bachelor by The Prince of Wales for services to music, as Sir Michael Jagger.
2005 – The Killers started a two week run at No.1 on the UK charts with their debut album ‘Hot Fuss.’ The Las Vegas band also entered the UK singles chart at No.3 with ‘Somebody Told Me’. Green Day were at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘American Idiot.’
Today in history
1572 – Thomas Howard, the Fourth Duke of Norfolk and second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I was tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to assassinate the Queen, replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots and restore Catholicism in England. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto di Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel and gather support without attracting too much suspicion. Norfolk was later executed at the Tower of London for his involvement but Ridolfi lived out his life in Florence until his death in 1612.
1581 – The English Parliament outlawed Roman Catholicism throughout the country during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. From that time on, Catholicism declined in England until the Catholic Emancipation of the late 18th century.
1604 – At the Hampton Court Conference, John Rainolds presented to King James I the motion ‘…that there might bee a newe translation of the Bible.’ Approved the next day, Rainolds’ motion led to the 1611 publication of the King James Bible.
1707 – The Act of Union was passed, merging the English and Scottish parliaments and paving the way for the new country of Great Britain.
1769 – One of the worst riots in theatre history occurred at the Haymarket Theatre, London. Crowds had packed out the venue to see a conjuror who claimed he would get himself into a quart tavern bottle. The conjuror never arrived, and the crowd erupted.
Fact of the day
Even though smoking has been banned on airplanes, ashtrays are mandatory on every plane. This is for safe disposal in case someone breaks the law.