July 20th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 202 of the year! Known as International Chess Day, Space Exploration Day. If you were born today you were likely conceived the week of October 27th in the previous year. Your star sign is Cancer and your birthstone is Ruby.
1982 – An IRA terrorist bomb in Hyde Park, London, killed 3 members of the Blues and Royals during the Changing of the Guard ceremony. Two hours later 8 bandsmen were killed by an IRA bomb planted at the bandstand in Regent’s Park.
Todays birthdays
1947 – Carlos Santana (77), Mexican-American rock guitarist (Santana – “Black Magic Woman”; “Smooth”), born in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico.
1956 – Paul Cook (68), English rock drummer (Sex Pistols – “Anarchy in the U.K.”), born in Hammersmith, London.
1966 – Anton Du Beke (58), British ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter (Strictly Come Dancing), born in Tonbridge, Kent.
1971 – Sandra Oh (53), Canadian actress (Grey’s Anatomy) and the first Asian woman to be nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress for her role in the BBC drama “Killing Eve”, born in Nepean, Ontario.
1980 – Gisele Bündchen (44), Brazilian supermodel (Victoria’s Secret), born in Horizontina, Brazil.
Famous deaths
1973 – Bruce Lee (b. 1940), American actor and martial artist (Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury).
2017 – Chester Bennington (b. 1976), American singer and lead vocalist of the rock band Linkin Park (“Numb”, “New Divide”).
The day today
1944 – World War II: Adolf Hitler escaped death after a third attempt on his life when a bomb exploded in Rastenberg.
1969 – Apollo 11 landed on the Moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. At approximately 02:56 GMT on 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man ever to walk on the moon.
1982 – Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent’s Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses.
2000 – Families of the victims of serial killer GP Harold Shipman won their High Court battle for an open inquiry into how their loved ones died.
2003 – The BBC confirms weapons expert Dr David Kelly, found dead two days earlier, was the source for reports that the government “sexed up” a dossier on Iraq leading up to the second Gulf War.
Today in music
1968 – Cream started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘Wheels Of Fire’. The double album which consisted of a studio and a live record reached No.3 in the United Kingdom.
1968 – Jane Asher announced on the national British TV show, Dee Time, that her engagement to Paul McCartney was off. Paul reportedly was watching at a friend’s home and was surprised by the news. She was said to have inspired many of McCartney’s songs, such as ‘All My Loving’, ‘And I Love Her’, and ‘We Can Work It Out’. Jane went on to have a career in films and television as well as becoming a successful author and business woman.
1973 – TV talent show Opportunity Knocks winners Peters And Lee were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their first single and only chart topper ‘Welcome Home.’
1986 – The film based on the life of Sex Pistols bassist, Sid Vicious, ‘Sid And Nancy’ premiered in London, England.
1996 – Gary Barlow scored his first UK No.1 single with ‘Forever Love’ taken from his debut album Open Road. Barlow became the first member of Take That to top the charts with a solo record.
Today in history
1304 – The fall of Stirling Castle in the Wars of Scottish Independence. King Edward I of England took the stronghold using the ‘War Wolf’, a type of catapult that used the energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. Ten years later Stirling Castle was recaptured by the Scots, an event that was the immediate cause of the Battle of Bannockburn in which Edward Longshanks’s son, Edward II, came with an army two or three times the Scottish numbers and lost.
1685 – A fortnight after the Battle of Sedgemoor, Lady Alice Lisle sheltered two supporters of Monmouth’s defeated army at her home, Moyles Court in Hampshire. In the morning the men were arrested; she was charged with harbouring traitors and was subsequently executed.
1807 – Round-arm (over-arm) bowling was introduced to English cricket by John Willes in the Kent v England match at Fenenden Heath.
1837 – London’s first railway station opened, in Euston Grove. The new Euston station was described as ‘mightier than the pyramids of Egypt’.
1871 – The English Football Association Challenge Cup Competition was formed, to become better known as the FA Cup. The first final saw the Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers by one goal to nil, watched by a crowd of 2,000.