July 30th "2023" daily prep

Welcome to day 211 of the year! Known as International Day of Friendship, Paperback Book Day, Share a Hug Day and Cheesecake Day. If you were born today, you were likely conceived the week of November 6th 2022 and have the star sign “Leo”.
1966 – England won the Football World Cup in London, beating West Germany 4 – 2. This was England’s first (and only) win since the tournament began in 1930. England forward Geoff Hurst became the only man to score a hat-trick in a world cup final.
Todays birthdays
1958 – Daley Thompson (65), British former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. He was unbeaten in competition for nine years. Born in Notting Hill, London.
1961 – Laurence Fishburne (62), American actor (Boyz n the Hood, The Matrix, John Wick). Born in Augusta, Georgia, United States.
1963 – Lisa Kudrow (60), American actress (Friends, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion). Born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
1970 – Christopher Nolan (53), British-American filmmaker (The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Dunkirk). Born in Westminster, London.
1980 – Justin Rose (43), English professional golfer, born in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The day today
1900 – London Underground’s Central Line was opened by the Prince of Wales, with a two pence (tuppence) fare for all destinations.
1935 – ‘Penguin’ paperback books, founded by Allen Lane, went on sale in Britain.
1938 – The first edition of The Beano was published. It is the longest running British children’s comic magazine, published by DC Thomson in Dundee. By April 1950 the weekly circulation was almost 2,000,000. The Beano reached its 4,000th issue on 28th August 2019.
1973 – British victims of the drug Thalidomide were awarded £20 million compensation as their 11 year case against the Distillers company ended in victory.
1991 – Italian tenor Pavarotti celebrated 30 years in opera with a huge, free concert in Hyde Park.
Today in music
1991 – A police officer was forced to tear up a traffic ticket given to the limousine that Axl Rose was travelling in after it made an illegal turn. Rose threatened to pull that nights Guns N’ Roses gig if the ticket was issued.
2003 – The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, The Flaming Lips, Sass Jordan and The Isley Brothers played a benefit concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to prove that the city is safe from SARS. With 450,000 spectators, it was the largest concert in Canadian history.
2006 – British gay magazine Attitude listed the ‘Top 10 Gay Albums’ of all time. No.1 was Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters, 2, Arrival – ABBA, 3, Vauxhall and I – Morrissey, 4, Light Years – Kylie Minogue, 5, Older – George Michael, 6, Welcome To The Pleasuredome – Frankie Goes To Hollywood, 7, Erotica – Madonna, 8, I Am a Bird Now – Antony and the Johnsons, 9, Bad Girls – Donna Summer and No. 10 The Man Who Sold The World – David Bowie.
2006 – Shakira feat Wyclef Jean started a four week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Hips Don’t Lie.’ A remake of Wyclef Jean’s 2004 song ‘Dance Like This’, the song went on to top the charts in over 50 countries. The song is the biggest selling single of the 21st century by a female artist worldwide.
2009 – Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher won his long battle to be recognised as co-writer of the band’s hit ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’. Law Lords ruled that Fisher, who claimed he wrote the song’s organ melody, was entitled to a share of future royalties.
Historical events
1502 – Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage.
1645 – English Civil War: Scottish Covenanter forces under the Earl of Leven launch the Siege of Hereford, a remaining Royalist stronghold.
1746 – The death of Francis Towneley, English Jacobite who was executed for his role in the rebellion of 1745. His head was placed on a pike on Temple Bar, London but was secretly removed and has since been in possession of the Towneley family.
1818 – Emily Brontë, English novelist and author of Wuthering Heights was born in Thornton, West Yorkshire. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother Branwell.
1966 – England won the Football World Cup in London, beating West Germany 4 – 2. This was England’s first (and only) win since the tournament began in 1930. England forward Geoff Hurst became the only man to score a hat-trick in a world cup final.
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