Monday, March 10th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 69, known as International Bagpipe Day, International Wig Day, Mario Day. Your star sign is Pisces and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1914 – Suffragette Mary Richardson slashed Velazquez’s painting – ‘Rokeby Venus’ at London’s National Gallery with a meat cleaver as a protest against the Government’s treatment of Emmeline Pankhurst.
Todays birthdays
1940 – Chuck Norris (85), American martial artist and actor (Walker Texas Ranger, The Way of the Dragon, The Delta Force), born in Ryan, Oklahoma, United States.
1964 – Neneh Cherry (61), Swedish singer and songwriter and rapper (“Buffalo Stance”, “7 Seconds”), born in Stockholm, Sweden.
1977 – Robin Thicke (48), American singer and songwriter (“Blurred Lines”), born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
1983 – Rafe Spall (42), English actor (Hot Fuzz, Prometheus, Life of Pi, The World’s End) and son of Timothy Spall, born in Camberwell, London.
1987 – Emeli Sande (38), English singer and songwriter (“Next To Me”, “I’ll Get There”), born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.
Famous deaths
1997 – Terry Nation (b. 1930), Welsh author and screenwriter who created the Daleks and Davros for Doctor Who and the series, Blakes 7.
1997 – The Notorious B.I.G. (b. 1972), American rapper (“Hypnotize”), songwriter, and actor (City of Lies).
The day today
1922 – Mahatma Gandhi was arrested by the British governors of India and sentenced to six years in prison.
1956 – Peter Twiss, former Brooke Bond tea taster and later a test pilot, became the first man to fly at more than 1,000 mph.
2003 – MP Clare Short threatened to resign from the Cabinet if Tony Blair led the country to war against Iraq without approval from the UN… and she did, on 12th May.
2015 – The Queen officially named the new cruise superliner ‘Britannia’. The 3,600 P&O passenger vessel is the largest cruise ship designed for the British holiday market. Its home port will be Southampton for the summer months, after being built in Italy at a cost of almost £0.5bn.
2017 – The death (aged 83) of the former Formula 1 and motorcycling world champion John Surtees. Surtees is the only man to have won the grand prix world championship on both two wheels and four. He won four 500cc motorcycling titles – in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960 – and the F1 crown with Ferrari in 1964.
2023 – Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Edward would be the new Duke of Edinburgh. King Charles gave the title to his youngest brother on Prince Edward’s 59th birthday. The title is strongly associated with their father, Prince Philip, who was Duke of Edinburgh for more than 70 years, up until his death in 2021.
Today in music
1967 – Singer Sandy Shaw released her record ‘Puppet on a String’ which won the Eurovision Song Contest for Britain.
1979 – Gloria Gaynor started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘I Will Survive’, also a No.1 in the UK. The song was originally released as the B-side to a song first recorded by The Righteous Brothers called ‘Substitute.’
1996 – Alanis Morissette won Best Album for Jagged Little Pill, Best Female singer, Best Rock Album, Best songwriter and best single at the 25th Juno Awards held in Canada.
1997 – The Spice Girls made pop music history by becoming the first group to top the charts with every one of their first four singles (“Wannabe”, “Say You’ll Be There”, “2 Become 1” and the charity double A-side “Mama/Who Do You Think You Are?”
2005 – A survey carried out by Music Choice concluded that ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams was the song Britons would most like played at their funeral. Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ was second and Monty Python’s ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ was voted into third place.
2009 – Tickets for a one-off gig by Sir Paul McCartney in Las Vegas sold out seven seconds after going on sale. The former Beatle was booked to perform at the opening of the New Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on 19 April 2009 in-front of 4,000 fans. Tickets cost $750 each.
Today in history
1536 – The birth of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. He was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I for scheming to marry Mary, Queen of Scots. Following his release, he participated in the Ridolfi plot with King Philip II of Spain to put Mary on the English throne and restore Catholicism in England. He was executed for treason in 1572 and is buried at St. Peter ad Vincula within the walls of the Tower of London.
1629 – Charles I dissolved the Parliament, beginning an eleven year period known as the Personal Rule. He had been harshly criticized by Parliament and realized that, as long as he could avoid war, he could rule without them. It caused discontent among those who provided the ruling classes, although the effects were more popular with the common people.
1787 – The birth, in York, of William Etty, English painter best known for his paintings of nudes. His works are exhibited extensively in major British galleries. He resided in London but when his health failed he returned to York, where he died. This life-size, Portland stone sculpture of Etty is outside the York Art Gallery.
1801 – Britain’s first National Census. A census has taken place every ten years since 1801, with the exception of the 1941 census, cancelled because of World War II.
1886 – Cruft’s Dog Show was held in London for the first time. Previously it had been held in Newcastle. The organizer was Charles Cruft, general manager of a dog biscuit firm.