Sunday, July 13th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 194, known as Embrace Your Geekness Day, National Rock Day. Your star sign is Cancer and your birthstone is Ruby.
1943 – The Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history between the forces of Germany and the Soviet Union, involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft, ended in defeat for Germany.
Todays birthdays
1940 – Patrick Stewart (85), English actor best known for his roles as Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Charles Xavier in X-Men, born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
1942 – James Roger McGuinn (83), American musician and singer with the Byrds (“Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”), born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
1942 – Harrison Ford (83), American actor (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, The Fugitive), born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
1960 – Ian Hislop (65), British journalist, satirist, broadcaster (Have I Got News for You), born in Swansea, Wales.
1963 – Neal Foulds (62), English former professional snooker player and six-time tournament winner, born in the London Borough of Ealing.
1988 – Tulisa Contostavlos (37), English R&B/hip hop singer with N-Dubz (“I Need You”) and television personality, born in Camden Town, London.
Famous deaths
2013 – Alan Whicker (b. 1921), Journalist and broadcaster who’s TV career stretched nearly six decades. He was best known for his documentary series, Whicker’s World.
The day today
1919 – The British airship R34 landed in Norfolk, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in a time of 182 hours.
1923 – The famous iconic Hollywood sign was placed in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, US.
The sign originally read “Hollywoodland” until 1949, when the last four letters were removed.
1943 – The Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history between the forces of Germany and the Soviet Union, involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft, ended in defeat for Germany.
1955 – Nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be hanged in Britain. She was executed at Holloway Prison for the murder of her lover David Blakely.
1967 – In the heat of the mountain stage of the Tour de France, British cyclist Tommy Simpson, 29, collapsed and died.
1995 – The first man in Britain to be prosecuted under the War Crimes Act appeared at Epsom Magistrates, when Szymon Serafinowicz, aged 84, was charged with murdering 4 million Jews between 1941 and 1942.
2002 – One man died and at least 100 people were injured in Brighton after more than 200,000 people attended a free concert on the beach, overwhelming emergency services.
2016 – Theresa May, the former Home Secretary, became Prime Minister after David Cameron resigned (24th June) following a referendum that voted in favour of leaving the European Union.
Today in music
1966 – Ike and Tina Turner’s ‘River Deep – Mountain High,’ peaked at No.3 on the UK singles chart, earning them a gig opening for Rolling Stones. Their success had tragic consequences, as Ike became more and more violent toward Tina, who endured years of abuse.
1978 – The BBC announced a ban on The Sex Pistols latest single ‘No One Is Innocent’, which featured vocals by Ronnie Biggs, the British criminal notorious for his part in the Great Train Robbery of 1963. At the time of the recording, Biggs was living in Brazil, and was still wanted by the British authorities, but immune from extradition.
1985 – Two simultaneous ‘Live Aid’ concerts, one in London (Wembley Stadium) and one in Philadelphia, raised over £50 million for famine victims in Africa. Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially opened Live Aid. The 16-hour ‘super concert’ was globally linked by satellite to more than a billion viewers in 110 nations.
1991 – Bryan Adams went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” from the film Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves. It stayed at No.1 for a record breaking 16 weeks, and was also a No.1 in the US and 16 other countries.
2002 – Fatboy Slim brought the Brighton area to a standstill when he threw a free beach party. Organisers had expected 60,000 fans to attend but over 250,000 turned up causing chaos on the roads with traffic jams over ten miles long. Fatboy Slim spent £100,000 of his own money supporting the event after a sponsor pulled out.
2007 – Rod Stewart collected his CBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. The singer who was honoured for his services to music wore a skull and crossbones tie, white trousers and a stripy shirt instead of the conventional morning suit.
Today in history
1643 – English Civil War: Battle of Roundway Down: In England, Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, commanding the Royalist forces, heavily defeats the Parliamentarian forces led by Sir William Waller. It was the greatest cavalry victory of the English Civil War.
1713 – A treaty signed between Great Britain and Spain at Utrecht ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity.
1772 – British explorer Captain James Cook departed on his second voyage from Plymouth. His first stop was Funchal, Madeira Islands, on August 1, 1772.
1811 – The birth, in Glasgow, of James Young a chemist best known for his method of distilling paraffin from coal. His works, at Bathgate in West Lothian became the first truly commercail oil works in the world.
1837 – Queen Victoria inherited Buckingham Palace from her uncle and moved in, becoming the first royal to live on the property.
1878 – The Treaty of Berlin was signed granting Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania independence from Turkey.