March 16th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 76, known as No Selfies Day, National Panda Day and National Vaccination Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of June 23rd in the previous year. Your star sign is Pisces and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1689 – The 23rd Regiment of Foot (later known as the Royal Welch Fusiliers) was founded to oppose James II and the imminent war with France.
Todays birthdays
1954 – Jimmy Nail (70), English actor (Auf Wiedersehen Pet) and singer (“Ain’t No Doubt”, “Crocodile Shoes”), born in Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne.
1960 – Jenny Eclair (64), English comedian, author (Jokes, Jokes, Jokes: My Very Funny Memoir), and actress (Grumpy Old Women), born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1963 – Jerome Flynn (61), English actor (Soldier Soldier, Game of Thrones, Ripper Street) and singer (“I Believe”, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”), born in Bromley, South London.
1976 – Blu Cantrell (48), American R&B and soul singer (“Hit ‘Em up Style”, “Breathe”), born in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
1989 – Theo Walcott (35), English former professional footballer (Southampton, Arsenal, Everton, England), born in Stanmore, Harrow, Greater London.
Famous deaths
44BC – Julius Caesar (b. 100 BC), Roman general and statesman who was assassinated during a Senate meeting in Rome where senators stabbed him 23 times because they believed Caesar was undermining the Roman Republic.
2003 – Thora Hird (b. 1911), English actress. She is best remembered for her role of almost two decades in Last of the Summer Wine but played many other roles in her long career.
2014 – Clarissa Dickson Wright (b. 1947), English chef, author, and television personality (Two Fat Ladies). A former barrister, Clarissa Dickson Wright was, until 2013 the youngest woman ever to be called to the Bar, passing her exams aged 21.
The day today
1935 – The first driving test pass slip was presented to Mr. R. Beene of Kensington, a pupil of the British School of Motoring. Tests were introduced on a voluntary basis and became compulsory in June.
1942 – The first German V-2 rocket test launch. It exploded at lift-off but eventually over 3,000 V-2s were launched as military rockets by the Germans against Allied targets during the war, mostly London and later Antwerp. The attacks resulted in the death of an estimated 7,000+ military personnel and civilians, whilst 12,000 forced labourers were killed producing the weapons.
1971 – The British heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper announced his retirement after being defeated by Joe Bugner.
1976 – Harold Wilson, Prime Minister for almost eight years, and leader of the Labour Party for 13 years, resigned. He insisted that there were no hidden reasons for his resignation although it was suggested that he might already have been aware of the first stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which was to cause both his formerly excellent memory and his powers of concentration to fail dramatically.
2001 – According to a health survey, 16th March 2001 was the only day between 1993 and 2002 when nobody in the United Kingdom killed themselves.
Today in music
1965 – The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Last Time’, the bands third UK No.1 and first No.1 for songwriters Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
1968 – The posthumously released Otis Redding single ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’ started a five week run at No.1 on the US chart, (a No.3 hit the UK). Otis was killed in a plane crash on 10th December 1967 three days after recording the song. ‘Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay’, became the first posthumous No.1 single in US chart history and sold over four million copies worldwide.
1971 – Winners at this years Grammy Awards included, Simon and Garfunkel who won Record of the year, Song of the year and Album of the year for Bridge Over Troubled Water. The Carpenters won Best new act and Best vocal performance for ‘Close To You’.
1972 – John Lennon lodged an appeal with the US immigration office in New York, after he was served with deportation orders arising from his 1968 cannabis possession conviction.
2010 – ABBA were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Genesis and The Hollies. Abba’s Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad accepted their trophies, in New York.
Today in history
1190 – The Crusaders massacred 150 Jews at Clifford’s Tower, York, following a wave of attacks against Jews that had moved north from London to Stamford, Lincoln, King’s Lynn, Colchester and Bury St. Edmunds before culminating in the bloodiest atrocity of them all, in York. Some Jews committed mass suicide rather than submit to baptism and they set the castle on fire to prevent their bodies being mutilated after their deaths. A few Jews did surrender, promising to convert to Christianity, but 150 were killed by the angry crowd.
1322 – The battle of Boroughbridge (North Yorkshire) resulted in a victory for forces loyal to Edward II and saw the total defeat of rebel forces under the command of Edward’s cousin the Earl of Lancaster. Lancaster and 30 of his followers were executed, including Roger de Clifford, Second Lord of Skipton, who was hung from Clifford’s Tower in York, which now bears his name. The battle allowed Edward to re-establish royal authority and hold on to power for almost five more years.
1485 – The death (aged 28) of Anne Neville, Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was born at Warwick Castle, and was the younger daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and Anne de Beauchamp. Her father was one of the most powerful noblemen in England and the most important supporter of the House of York.
1647 – Harlech Castle surrendered in the English Civil War. It was a Royalist stronghold and the last Welsh castle to be taken by Parliament.
1774 – The birth of Matthew Flinders, English explorer who circumnavigated Australia. The Flinders River in Queensland and the Flinders Range in South Australia are named after him.