Thursday, July 3rd "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 184, known as National Eat Your Beans Day, Thirsty Thursday, Disobedience Day, International Plastic Bag Free Day. Your star sign is Cancer and your birthstone is Ruby.
1954 – The end of food rationing in Britain, almost 9 years after the end of World War II. Smithfield Meat Market in London opened at midnight instead of 6am to cope with the demand for beef.
Todays birthdays
1958 – Siân Lloyd (67), Welsh meteorologist, TV presenter and the UK’s longest-serving female weather forecaster (1990 until 2014), born in Maesteg, Glamorgan, Wales.
1960 – Vince Clarke (65), English synthpop musician, and songwriter (Depeche Mode – “Personal Jesus”, Erasure – “A Little Respect”), born in South Woodford, East London.
1962 – Tom Cruise (63), American actor (Top Gun: Maverick, Top Gun, Jerry MaGuire, Mission Impossible), born in Syracuse, New York, United States.
1976 – Shane Lynch (49), Irish singer best known as a member of Boyzone (“Words”, “Love Me For A Reason”), born in Dublin, Ireland.
1987 – Sebastian Vettel (38), German racing driver and four-time Formula One world champion (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), born in Heppenheim, Hesse, Germany.
Famous deaths
2016 – Caroline Aherne (b. 1963), English actress and comedian (The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, The Fast Show).
The day today
1940 – World War II: British warships attacked three battleships of the French fleet – Dunkerque, Provence and Bretagne. Fearing that the French ships would fall into Nazi hands, the British Force attempted to coerce the French battleship squadron to join the British cause, surrender their ships in British ports or scuttle their ships. The French Navy refused, as complying with the demand would have violated the Armistice signed with Germany. The British warships opened fire and 1200 French sailors perished, 977 on the Bretagne alone.
1966 – Demonstrators in London were arrested after their protest against the Vietnam War turned violent.
1969 – Brian Jones, a founding member of the British rock group Rolling Stones, drowned in his swimming pool after taking a drug overdose.
1969 – A Soviet N1 rocket failed during its launch, causing the largest rocket explosion in recorded history.
The Soviet Union pinned all their hopes and dreams of landing anything on the moon on their N1 rocket, but time was against them. They tried to launch the N1 four times, but the second launch was the most catastrophic. A few seconds after lift-off, some of its engines failed, and it tipped on its side and crashed on its launch pad, blowing it up completely.
1970 – 112 people died when a British Dan-Air charter, flying a Comet 4 turbojet from Manchester crashed into the sea near Barcelona. There were no survivors and the remains of the wreckage provided no clues as to the cause of the crash.
1996 – It was announced that the Stone of Scone, the symbol of Scottish nationalism, stolen by Edward I of England in 1296, was to be returned to Scotland from Westminster Abbey where it has been used in the coronation of 30 British monarchs.
2004 – Maria Sharapova became the first Russian to win Wimbledon. The 17-year-old Sharapova stunned audiences when she defeated reigning champion Serena Williams, who had remained undefeated at Wimbledon since 2001.
Today in music
1968 – The Equals were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Baby Come Back’. The group’s only UK No.1. The song was first released in 1966 but did not chart. The song was covered by and became a No.1 hit for Pato Banton in 1994, (with Robin and Ali Campbell of UB40).
1969 – Brian Jones drowned while under the influence of drugs and alcohol after taking a midnight swim in his pool, aged 27. His body was found at the bottom of the pool by his Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin. The coroner’s report stated “Death by misadventure”, and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse. Jones was one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones and in the early 60’s used the name “Elmo Lewis.”
1971 – American singer, songwriter and poet, Jim Morrison of The Doors was found dead in a bathtub in Paris, France, the cause of death was given as a heart attack. He co-wrote some of the group’s biggest hits, including ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Love Me Two Times’, and ‘Love Her Madly.’
1973 – David Bowie announced from the stage of The Hammersmith Odeon in London that he was retiring his Ziggy Stardust persona along with his band The Spiders From Mars. Only guitarist Mick Ronson knew beforehand and it came as a complete shock, not only to the audience, but the rest of Bowie’s band and crew.
2008 – Kylie Minogue received an OBE for services to music from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, England. Earlier this year, she was also presented with the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government for her “contribution to the enrichment of French culture”.
2017 – Singer Tony Hadley said he had left 1980s group Spandau Ballet, and “will not be performing” with them in the future. In an oddly-worded statement, the star said: “I am required to state that I am no longer a member of the band”. He did not indicate why he was leaving, but blamed “circumstances beyond my control”.
Today in history
1767 – Pitcairn Island was discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret. The islands are best known as home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, an event retold in numerous books and films. Pitcairn measures about 2 miles across and is the least populated jurisdiction in the world with only 48 inhabitants, from four main families of Bounty descendents.
1767 – During the American Revolution, it was said that British forces massacre 360 men, women and children in Wyoming, Pennsylvania. This was later dubbed as the Wyoming Massacre. Within weeks, a widely distributed but highly inaccurate newspaper report claimed that hundreds of women and children had been massacred. This false version of events was accepted as proven fact by many writers for decades afterwards but has been thoroughly discredited.
1863 – Battle of Gettysburg, largest battle ever fought on the American continent, ends in a major victory for the Union during the US Civil War.
1886 – In Germany, Karl Benz drives the first automobile, known as the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, in Mannheim at a top speed of 16 km/h (10 mph).
1920 – The first Royal Air Force (RAF) air display, known as the RAF Pageant, took place at Hendon Aerodrome near London in 1920. It was a significant event that drew large crowds and became a regular occurrence, eventually evolving into the Royal Air Force Display and later Empire Air Day.