Wednesday, March 12th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 71, known as Alfred Hitchcock Day, Plant A Flower Day, National No Smoking Day. Your star sign is Pisces and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1941 – Islanders on the Hebrides hid thousands of bottles of shipwrecked whisky from government officials. The episode was celebrated in the film “Whisky Galore.”
Todays birthdays
1946 – Liza Minnelli (79), American actress (Cabaret), singer, dancer and choreographer known for her commanding stage presence, born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
1956 – Steve Harris (69), English musician, backing vocalist, songwriter and founder of heavy metal band Iron Maiden (“The Number of the Beast”), born in Leytonstone, London.
1965 – Coleen Nolan (60), English-Irish singer (“I’m in the Mood for Dancing”) and television personality (Loose Women), born in Blackpool, Lancashire.
1969 – Graham Coxon (55), English musician, singer-songwriter and founding member of Blur (“Parklife”, “Song 2”, “Charmless Man”), born in Rinteln, Germany.
1975 – Kéllé Bryan (50), English singer and former member of girl group, Eternal (“I Wanna Be The Only One”, “Just a Step From Heaven”), born in Plaistow, London.
1979 – Pete Doherty (46), English musician and frontman of indie bands The Libertines and Babyshambles, born in Hexham, Northumberland.
Famous deaths
1913 – Clive Burr (b. 1957), English drummer and member of Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982.
2015 – Terry Pratchett (b. 1948), English journalist, author best known for his 41 comic fantasy novels set on the Discworld.
The day today
1930 – Mahatma Gandhi began his 300-mile march to the sea in protest against the British tax law securing a monopoly for salt. Joined by thousands of protesters, Gandhi and his followers eventually reached the Arabian Sea, where they made their own salt by evaporating sea water. The march, which resulted in the arrest of Gandhi and 60,000 others, earned new international respect and support for the leader and his movement.
1941 – Islanders on the Hebrides hid thousands of bottles of shipwrecked whisky from government officials. The episode was celebrated in the film “Whisky Galore.”
1944 – Britain banned all travel to and from Ireland and Ulster in an effort to prevent German spies operating in neutral Eire from learning of the Allied invasion preparations taking place in Britain.
1950 – The Llandow air disaster occurred near Sigingstone in Wales. 80 people died when their aircraft crashed, making it the world’s deadliest air disaster at the time.
1984 – By the end of 12th March more than half of the country’s 187,000 mineworkers were on strike over job cuts.
2013 – The people of the Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory. Of 1,517 votes cast in the two-day referendum – on a turnout of more than 90% – 1,513 were in favour, while just three votes were against.
2015 – Two of Blackpool’s historic piers (Blackpool Central and Blackpool South), together with Llandudno pier, the longest pier in Wales at almost 2,300 feet long, were put up for sale by Cuerden Leisure. Guide prices were £4.8M, £3.3M and £4.5M respectively.
Today in music
1968 – The Rolling Stones started recording their next single ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ with new producer Jimmy Miller at Olympic studios in London. Keith Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards’ country house, where they were awakened one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded, “Oh, that’s Jack – that’s jumpin’ Jack.”
1977 – The Sex Pistols were involved in a fight at London’s Speakeasy Club with Bob Harris, presenter of BBC 2’s The Old Grey Whistle Test, resulting in one of the shows engineers needing 14 stitches in his head.
1983 – Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler had her only UK No.1 single with a song written by Meat Loaf’s producer, Jim Steinman, ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’. Also No.1 in the US, (the only Welsh artist to score a US No.1), Canada and Australia, the single sold over 5 million copies world wide.
1994 – Swedish group Ace Of Base started a six week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with “The Sign”, a No.2 hit in the UK.
2007 – Amy Winehouse made her US television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman performing ‘Rehab’. The song went on to win three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and also won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.
2012 – Taylor Swift beat Adele and Lady Gaga to be named the highest-earning pop artist of 2011. The 22-year-old earned $35,719,902 (£22.7m) in 2011 from a combination of music sales, royalties and touring. U2 took second place with $32m (£20m) thanks to their 360 tour, seen by more than seven million people while Adele came 10th.
2022 – Stereophonics scored their eighth UK No.1 with their 25th anniversary album Oochya! The achievement made them one of the most successful chart acts of all time, tying with Taylor Swift, Oasis, Kylie Minogue and R.E.M. – who also have had eight chart toppers. The Beatles have the most, with 15, followed by Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams, both of whom have 13.
Today in history
1470 – War of the Roses – The Battle of Losecoat Field (also known as the Battle of Empingham). The outcome was a victory for Yorkists Forces over Lancastrian Forces.
1664 – King Charles II of England gave a land grant to James Duke of York, which meant that New Jersey became a British colony.
1689 – The start of the Williamite War in Ireland; a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland. The War was to have a lasting effect on Ireland, confirming British and Protestant rule over the country for over a century. The iconic Williamite victories of the Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne are still celebrated by the Unionist community in Northern Ireland today.
1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer of Rule Britannia, was born. He also wrote a version of God Save the King, which was to become the British national anthem.
1868 – Henry O’Farrell from Dublin, attempted to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria whilst he was on a tour of Australia. The attack caused great embarrassment in the colony, and led to a wave of anti-Irish sentiment, directed at all Irish people, including Protestant Loyalists.
1881 – Andrew Watson made his Scotland debut as the world’s first black, international football player and captain.