Thursday, June 26th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 177, known as National Work From Home Day, Forgiveness Day, National Handshake Day. Your star sign is Cancer and your birthstone is Pearl (Alexandrite and Moonstone is also recognised).
1999 – The National Stadium of Wales (also known as the Millennium Stadium and Principality Stadium) held its first major event, an international rugby union match, when Wales beat South Africa in a friendly by 29–19 before a test crowd of 29,000.
Todays birthdays
1955 – Mick Jones (70), British musician, singer and co-founder of The Clash (“I Fought the Law”, “Rock the Casbah”, “Should I Stay or Should I Go”), born in Wandsworth, London.
1961 – Terri Nunn (64), American singer with the 1980s new wave and synth-pop band Berlin (“Take My Breath Away”), born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
1969 – Colin Greenwood (56), English bassist and a member of the rock band Radiohead (“Creep”, “Paranoid Android”, “Karma Police”), born in Oxford.
1970 – Chris O’Donnell (55), American actor (Vertical Limit, Batman and Robin, Batman Forever, NCIS: Los Angeles), born in Winnetka, Illinois, United States.
1984 – Aubrey Plaza (41), American actress (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Parks and Recreation, Dirty Grandpa), born in Wilmington, Delaware, United States.
1993 – Ariana Grande (32) American singer (“Side to Side”, “One Last Time”, “No Tears Left to Cry”), born in Boca Raton, Florida, United States.
Famous deaths
2009 – Michael Jackson (b. 1958), American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (Thriller, Moonwalker).
2015 – Patrick Macnee (b. 1922), English actor (best known as John Steed in The Avengers).
The day today
1939 – Britain’s first National Serviceman, Private Rupert Alexander, signed up for the Middlesex Regiment. His service number was 10000001.
1945 – Delegates from nations around the world signed the United Nations Charter, designed to help ensure future world peace. The first meeting of the U.N. General Assembly occurred in London early the following year.
1974 – Actor Richard Burton divorced his wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor for the first time. They remarried on 10th October 1975 and divorced for the second time on 29th July 1976.
1977 – Peter Sutcliffe (the Yorkshire Ripper) killed 16 year old Jayne MacDonald in Leeds. She was the fifth of his 13 victims. Her murder changed public perception of the killer, as she was the first victim who was not a prostitute. In 1981 Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking 7 others.
1986 – Entrepreneur Richard Branson set off on his second attempt to claim the transatlantic powerboat record for Britain. He smashed the previous record by two hours but was denied the Blue Riband by the trustees of the award because he had broken two rules of the competition; he had stopped to refuel and his vessel did not have a commercial maritime purpose.
1997 – The first Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” hit the shelves in the UK. The film of the same title (in the UK) was released 16 November 2001.
2012 – A gas explosion in a house in Shaw, Lancashire, killed two-year-old Jamie Heaton who was discovered in the rubble of the adjoining property. The blast also caused £1.2million of damage along the street and a number of houses had to be demolished. 28-year-old Andrew Partington was arrested two days later and jailed for 10 years after it was proved that he had cut the gas pipes in his terraced home following an argument with his girlfriend.
2014 – David Greaves, 43, who took two cash tills and three plasma televisions from The Railway pub in Accrington, Lancashire, lost his stolen goods when two other opportunistic thieves took them as he went back to steal more. Greaves was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
Today in music
1974 – Cher divorced Sonny Bono after 10 years of marriage. Four days later, Cher married guitarist Gregg Allman, the couple split 10 days after that, got back together and split again. They stayed married for three years, producing Elijah Blue Allman.
1976 – TV talent show winners from Liverpool The Real Thing were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You To Me Are Everything’, the group’s only No.1 hit. It was the first single by a Black British band to top the UK charts.
1988 – Bros were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I Owe You Nothing’. It was the only No.1 for the Boy band comprising of twins Luke & Matt Goss and Craig Logan.
1993 – Gabrielle started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Dreams’. The single entered the British charts at No.2 which was the highest chart entry for a debut act. Jamiroquai started a three-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Emergency On Planet Earth’.
2008 – Total Guitar magazine voted Celine Dion’s rendition of the AC/DC track ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ as the world’s worst cover version ever. In the best cover versions list, Jimi Hendrix was voted into first place with his version of the Bob Dylan song ‘All Along the Watchtower,’ The Beatles rendition of Twist and Shout (first recorded by the Top Notes), was in second place, followed by the Guns N’ Roses version of the Wings song ‘Live and Let Die’.
2012 – Hundreds of fans were set to miss The Stone Roses’ reunion concerts in Manchester this weekend, after websites took their money, but failed to deliver tickets. Two sites, Aossatickets.com and theticketwebsite.net, who had sold tickets had since disappeared. Several major tours had been targeted by ticket fraudsters in recent years, with fans of Take That, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna and Michael Buble among those who found themselves out of pocket.
Today in history
1483 – Richard III was crowned King of England. Richard’s older brother, Edward IV, had previously been the King of England. When Edward IV died, his 12-year-old son, Edward V, was in line to become the next king. However, Richard managed to convince the lords of England that Edward IV’s marriage wasn’t legitimate, making Richard III next in line for the throne instead of Edward V.
1498 – The emperor of China patented the toothbrush using coarse boar bristles.
1553 – Christ’s Hospital in London, was granted a charter by King Edward VI to house and teach children of the poor.
1830 – William IV became king of The United Kingdom and Hanover until his death in 1837.
1857 – The first investiture ceremony for Victoria Cross awards took place in Hyde Park, London. Queen Victoria presented 62 servicemen with Britain’s highest military honour.
1862 – Joseph Wells (father of writer H.G. Wells) was a Kent cricketer and became the first man to take four first class wickets with four consecutive balls, playing against Sussex.