Sunday, March 23rd "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 82, known as World Puppy Day, Chips and Dip Day, Ravenclaw Pride Day, Cuddly Kitten Day. Your star sign is Aries and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1956 – Queen Elizabeth II laid the foundation stone of the new Coventry cathedral. The new building was built next to the remains of the 14th-century cathedral that had been destroyed in the 2nd World War.
Todays birthdays
1952 – Dave Bartram (73) English singer and musician with the revival group Showaddywaddy (“Under The Moon Of Love”), born in Leicester, Leicestershire.
1953 – Chaka Khan (72), American singer known as the Queen of Funk (“I’m Every Woman”, “I Feel For You”, “Ain’t Nobody”), born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
1962 – Steve Redgrave (63), English retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000, born in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
1965 – Marti Pellow (60), Scottish singer and lead singer with Wet Wet Wet (“Love Is All Around”, “Sweet Little Mystery”), born in Clydebank, Scotland.
1968 – Damon Albarn (57), English musician, singer and songwriter with the rock band Blur (“Parklife”, “Song 2”) and virtual band Gorillaz (“Clint Eastwood”), born in London.
1976 – Chris Hoy (48), Scottish former track cyclist (Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games), born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1983 – Mo Farah (42), Somali-born British retired long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time (4 Olympic and 6 World titles), born in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Famous deaths
1999 – Ernie Wise (b. 1925), English comedian and actor best known as one half of the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.
The day today
1956 – Queen Elizabeth II laid the foundation stone of the new Coventry cathedral. The new building was built next to the remains of the 14th-century cathedral that had been destroyed in the 2nd World War.
1966 – The first official meeting between the Catholic and Anglican churches for 400 years took place when Pope Paul VI and Dr. Ramsey, the Archbishop of Canterbury met in Rome.
1985 – Ben Hardwick, Britain’s youngest liver transplant patient at just three years old, died in hospital. He inspired a national fund raising campaign.
1991 – Prime Minister John Major issued his Citizens’ Charter. Failing public service providers would be forced to offer customers cash refunds or face government budget cuts.
1998 – James Cameron’s iconic film “Titanic” won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
2015 – 89 year old British D-Day landings veteran Ted Turner was presented with the Legion d’Honneur (France’s highest honour) at a ceremony at the Royal Marines Museum in Southsea, for his role in the Normandy invasion in the Second World War.
2016 – Ferrybridge coal fired power station near Knottingley produced its last electricity after 50 years in service. SSE (Scottish and Southern Electricity) said that a projected loss of £100m over the following five years made it no longer economical.
2021 – A minute’s silence, held at midday, was part of a day of reflection to mark one year since the first coronavirus lockdown. One year on, the UK’s official death toll had risen from 364 to 126,172.
Today in music
1974 – Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross entered the UK singles chart with ‘You Are Everything’ which was originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. Released as the second UK single from the Diana & Marvin album, the song reached No.5 in the UK Singles Chart in this year.
1991 – R.E.M. scored their first UK No.1 album with their seventh LP Out Of Time featuring the singles ‘Losing My Religion’ (which became R.E.M.’s highest-charting hit in the US, reaching No.4), and ‘Shiny Happy People.’ The video for ‘Losing My Religion’ won two Grammy Awards and six MTV Awards.
1996 – Celine Dion went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Because You Loved Me’, her second US No.1, a No.5 hit in UK. The Diane Warren song was taken from the film Up Close And Personal starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. And on the same day her album ‘Falling Into You’ went to No.1 on the UK album chart.
2005 – (Is This The Way To) Amarillo by Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay was the No.1 UK single, ‘Candy Shop’ by 50 Cent was at No.1 on the US chart and ‘Almost Here’ by Delta Goodrem and Brian McFadden was at No.1 on the Australian singles chart.
2016 – Gloria Gaynor’s hit ‘I Will Survive’ was selected to enter the US National Recording Registry. It joined Metallica’s Master of Puppets and Mahler’s Symphony No 9 on the list of culturally significant recordings.
Today in history
1645 – The birth of William Kidd (later known as Captain Kidd). He was tried and executed for piracy in 1701 after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Despite the legends and fiction surrounding Captain Kidd, his actual career was punctuated by only a handful of skirmishes followed by a desperate quest to clear his name.
1848 – The ship John Wickliffe arrived at Port Chalmers, New Zealand, carrying the first Scottish settlers from Greenock on the Firth of Clyde.
1856 – 18-year-old English chemist William Perkin accidentally produces the first synthetic aniline dye ‘mauveine’ (purple) during his Easter holiday.
1860 – The birth of Horatio William Bottomley, English journalist and financier who wanted a life of luxury but whose grandiose business schemes kept leading to bankruptcy. When found guilty of fraud for a third time, he was sentenced to seven years in jail. He founded the patriotic journal John Bull, had been a Member of Parliament, and had gone through millions of pounds when he died in poverty in 1933.
1861 – London launched its first tram, built by George Francis Train from Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The trams operated from Bayswater and were pulled by horses. His designs had rails that stood above the road surface and obstructed other traffic. Four days later, Mr. Train was arrested and tried for “breaking and injuring” on Uxbridge Road in London.