Wednesday, July 23rd "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 204, known as National Gorgeous Grandma Day, Vanilla Ice Cream Day. Your star sign is Leo and your birthstone is Ruby.
1997 – It was a significant event for hen harrier conservation in Derbyshire. The reintroduction of hen harriers to the Peak District, specifically 1500 feet above the Goyt Valley near Buxton, marked the first time in 127 years that these birds had been successfully raised in that area.
Todays birthdays
1947 – David Essex (78), English singer (“Hold Me Close”, “Silver Dream Machine”, “A Winter’s Tale”), born in Plaistow, London.
1953 – Graham Gooch (72), English former cricketer, captain of England and Essex, opening batsman and prolific run scorer, born in Whipps Cross University Hospital, London.
1957 – Jo Brand (68), English comedian, writer, presenter and actress (Through The Cakehole, QI, Taskmaster), born in Wandsworth, London.
1961 – Martin Gore (64), English musician, songwriter and a founding member of Depeche Mode (“Just Can’t Get Enough”), born in Dagenham, East London.
1961 – Woody Harrelson (64), American actor (Woody Boyd in Cheers; White Men Can’t Jump, Zombieland), born in Midland, Texas, United States.
1965 – Slash, born Saul Hudson (60), English rock guitarist and songwriter (Guns N’ Roses – “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, “Welcome To The Jungle”), born in Hampstead, London.
1973 – Fran Healy (52), Scottish musician and the lead singer and lyricist of the band Travis (“Driftwood”, “Why Does It Always Rain On Me”), born in Stafford, Staffordshire.
1989 – Daniel Radcliffe (36), English actor (Harry Potter, Escape from Pretoria, The Woman in Black), born in London.
Famous deaths
2011 – Amy Winehouse (b. 1983), English singer-songwriter (“Back to Black”, “Tears Dry on Their Own”).
The day today
1901 – Tennis player Tim Henman’s great-grandmother (Ellen Stawell Brown) became the first woman to serve overarm at the All England Tennis Club.
1940 – The Local Defence Volunteers were renamed the Home Guard by Winston Churchill.
1956 – USAF Lieutenant Colonel Pete Everest became the fastest man in the world. Everest flew the Bell X-2 Rocket at an incredible Mach 2.87, which is equivalent to 2,202 miles per hour! This earned him the title of “Fastest Man Alive.”
1984 – A government report into cancer levels near the controversial nuclear plant at Sellafield in Cumbria confirmed suspicions of higher than-normal levels of leukaemia in the area, but said it could not definitely link this to the nuclear plant itself.
1986 – Prince Andrew, the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey. Their divorce in May 1996 attracted a high level of media coverage.
1997 – It was a significant event for hen harrier conservation in Derbyshire. The reintroduction of hen harriers to the Peak District, specifically 1500 feet above the Goyt Valley near Buxton, marked the first time in 127 years that these birds had been successfully raised in that area. This event was a positive development for the species, which is critically endangered in England.
2000 – The 87th Tour de France came to an end with the winner losing his title.
Although Lance Armstrong finished in first place, the Anti-Doping Agency disqualified him.
2008 – ‘Back-from-the-dead’ canoeist John Darwin and his wife Anne were jailed for more than six years for fraudulently claiming £250,000. The couple had conned family, friends, police and insurance companies into believing that Mr Darwin drowned in the North Sea off Teesside in 2002.
2014 – The 20th Commonwealth Games opened in Celtic Park, Glasgow.
Today in music
1969 – The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Honky Tonk Women,’ the group’s eighth and last UK No.1. The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while on holiday in Brazil.
1983 – Paul Young had his first UK No.1 single with his version of the Marvin Gaye song ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat, (That’s My Home.)’ The song title was parodied by the UK indie band Super Furry Animals with their 1999 song ‘Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home)’.
2001 – 59-year-old Paul McCartney, who lost his first wife Linda to cancer three years previous, became engaged to 33-year-old Heather Mills, an activist for the disabled. It was the first marriage for the 33-year-old Mills, a former swimwear model whose left leg was amputated below the knee after she was run down by a police motorcyclist in 1993.
2005 – Queen’s 1985 Live Aid performance was voted the best rock concert ever by over 7,000 UK Sony Ericsson music fans. Radiohead were voted the best festival act for their 1997 Glastonbury performance and Bob Dylan’s 1966 Manchester Free Trade Hall gig won the best ever solo gig.
2006 – George Michael was accused of engaging in anonymous public sex, after being photographed in London’s Hampstead Heath with a 58-year-old unemployed van driver. Despite stating that he intended to sue both the News of the World tabloid who photographed the incident and van driver Norman Kirtland for slander, Michael stated that he openly cruised for anonymous sex and that this was not an issue in his relationship with partner Kenny Goss.
2011 – Amy Winehouse was found dead at her north London home, she was 27. A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that a 27-year-old woman had died in Camden and that the cause of death was as yet unexplained. London Ambulance Service said it had been called to the flat at 1554 BST and sent two vehicles but the woman died. The troubled singer had a long battle with drink and drugs which overshadowed her recent musical career.
Today in history
1579 – After sailing up the coast of North America, Francis Drake landed near present-day San Francisco to repair his ship, the Golden Hind, and prepare for a Pacific crossing. He claimed the land, naming it Nova Albion, before departing across the Pacific in July. He then sailed to the Moluccas, Celebes, Java, and around the Cape of Good Hope, returning to England in 1580.
1599 – Italian Artist Carrivagio signed his first commission contract to paint the Contarelli Chapel in the French church in Rome.
1745 – Charles Stuart, the ‘Young Pretender’ landed in the Outer Hebrides in his attempt to win back the throne for the Stuarts.
1813 – Sir Thomas Maitland is appointed as the first Governor of Malta, transforming the island from a British protectorate to a de facto colony.
1886 – Arthur Whitten Brown, British aviator was born. He was the navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight, (14th June 1919), with John Alcock as pilot.