June 24th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 176, known as Upcycling Day, International St. John’s Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of October 1st in the previous year. Your star sign is Cancer and your birthstone is Pearl.
2005 – The Glastonbury Festival eventually got under way after suffering serious disruption when storms tore across its site at Pilton, Somerset. Heavy rain flooded parts of the site, with dozens of tents lost under water.
Todays birthdays
1947 – Mick Fleetwood (77), British musician & songwriter best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac (“Go Your Own Way
“), born in Cornwall.
1947 – Peter Weller (77), American actor best known for his role as officer Alex Murphy in Robocop and it’s sequel, born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States.
1950 – Nancy Allen (74), American actress (Dressed to Kill), best known for her role as officer Anne Lewis in Robocop and it’s two sequels, born in The Bronx, New York, United States.
1961 – Curt Smith (63), British singer-songwriter, best known as the co-founder and co-lead vocalist of Tears for Fears (“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”), born in Bath, Somerset.
1987 – Lionel Messi (37), Argentine professional footballer (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami, Argentina), born in Rosario, Argentina.
Famous deaths
1969 – Judy Garland (b. 1922), American actress and singer (The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis).
The day today
1916 – The launch of ‘Wolf Cubs’ by Robert Baden-Powell, for boys aged 8 – 10. It was themed on Jungle Book, by Baden-Powell’s friend and neighbour, Rudyard Kipling. In 1966 the name was changed from ‘Wolf Cubs’ to ‘Cub Scouts’.
1968 – Start of the first Open Wimbledon lawn tennis championships – open to both professional and amateur players.
1974 – The Labour Government admitted that Britain had exploded a nuclear device in the United States a few weeks previously. The announcement sparked a row amongst senior ministers about Britain’s involvement in the arms race.
1981 – The Humber Bridge was opened to traffic but the formal opening by the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was not until 17th July 1981. It connected Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and at the time, was the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge.
2005 – The Glastonbury Festival eventually got under way after suffering serious disruption when storms tore across its site at Pilton, Somerset. Heavy rain flooded parts of the site, with dozens of tents lost under water, while lightning strikes affected the stages and knocked out power lines.
Today in music
1965 – The Hollies were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I’m Alive’, the group’s first of two UK No.1’s and over 25 other Top 40 singles. The Hollies originally passed the song over to another Manchester band, the Toggery Five, before changing their mind and recording the song, which was written for them by the US songwriter Clint Ballard, Jr.
1967 – Procol Harum’s ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ entered the Billboard chart, where it would peak at No 5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group’s organist, Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Orchestral Suite in D’, composed between 1725 and 1739.
1989 – Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Back To Life’. Their only UK No.1 peaked at No.4 on the US chart.
2007 – The White Stripes went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Icky Thump’ the duo’s sixth and final studio album. ‘Icky Thump’ won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2008.
2012 – Billboard.com named Olivia Newton-John’s 1982 hit, ‘Physical’ as The Sexiest Song Of All Time. Other classic Rock songs that made the top ten were Rod Stewart’s ‘Tonight’s The Night’, Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’, Donna Summer’s ‘Hot Stuff’ and another Rod Stewart contribution, ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’.
Today in history
1497 – John Cabot, a Venetian navigator and explorer under the commission of Henry VII, reached America in his ship The Matthew, having set sail in May from Bristol. His precise landing-place is uncertain, with Cape Bonavista or St. John’s in Newfoundland being the most likely sites. To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Cabot’s voyage, a replica of The Matthew was built in Bristol and is on display in Bristol’s floating harbour. In June 2012 she took part in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pageant on the River Thames.
1509 – Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen Consort of England by the Archbishop of Canterbury at a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The coronation was followed by a banquet in Westminster Hall.
1717 – The Grand Lodge of the English Freemasons was founded in London.
1850 – The birth of Horatio Herbert, Earl Kitchener, British field marshal, born in County Kerry. He achieved notable victories in foreign parts fighting for the Empire, and was Secretary of State for War at the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. He mounted a major recruitment campaign and appeared on posters to exhort, ‘Your country needs you!’
1878 – Formation of the St. John Ambulance – originally called the St. John Ambulance Association.