Monday, March 24th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 83, known as World Tuberculosis Day, National Cocktail Day, Flatmates Day. Your star sign is Aries and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1989 – The oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. The ecologically sensitive location, season of the year, and large scale of this spill resulted in one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history.
Todays birthdays
1935 – Mary Berry (90), English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter (The Great British Bake Off), born in Bath, Somerset.
1947 – Alan Sugar (78), English business magnate (founder of Amstrad), media personality (The Apprentice UK), author, politician and political adviser, born in Hackney, London.
1951 – Tommy Hilfiger (74), American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, born in Elmira, New York, United States
1960 – Nena (65), German singer who became a UK One Hit Wonder with the 1984 UK No.1 (“99 Red Balloons”), born in Hagen, Germany.
1970 – Sharon Corr (55), Irish singer and violinist with the Celtic folk rock band the Corrs (“Breathless”, “Runaway”), born in Dundalk, Ireland.
1973 – Jim Parsons (52), American actor (Hidden Figures), best known for his role as Sheldon Cooper in the US sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory”, born in Houston, Texas, United States.
1974 – Alyson Hannigan (51), American actress (American Pie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, How I Met Your Mother), born in Washington, D.C., United States.
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
1944 – More than 75 Allied prisoners undertook a daring escape from Stalag luft III, a POW camp in Sagan, Germany. Though most were eventually recaptured; it inspired the classic World War II movie The Great Escape (1963), starring Steve McQueen.
1951 – The Oxford boat sank during the University boat race. Cambridge won the rematch two days later.
1958 – Elvis Presley reported to the Memphis draft board. From there he was taken by bus with other recruits to Kennedy Veterans Memorial Hospital where the singer was assigned army serial number 53310761.
1976 – The death of British Field Marshal Montgomery, one of the outstanding Allied commanders in World War II.
1989 – The oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil. The ecologically sensitive location, season of the year, and large scale of this spill resulted in one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history.
1992 – Punch, Britain’s oldest satirical magazine dating back almost 151 years, announced that it would cease publication because of financial losses.
1999 – A truck carrying margarine and flour caught fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Fire crews were unable to reach the transport truck as vehicles traveling through the tunnel became trapped. Thirty-nine people were killed. Significant changes were made to the tunnel to improve its safety after this.
2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 (a scheduled international passenger flight from Barcelona–El Prat Airport in Spain to Düsseldorf Airport in Germany), crashes in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board.
Today in music
1966 – Simon and Garfunkel made their UK singles chart debut with ‘Homeward Bound.’ Paul Simon is said to have written the song at Farnworth railway station, Widnes, England, while stranded overnight waiting for a train. A plaque is displayed in the station to commemorate this, although memorabilia hunters have stolen it many times. The song describes his longing to return home, both to his then girlfriend, Kathy Chitty in Brentwood, Essex, England, and to return to the United States. The song was also a No.5 hit in the US.
1977 – Fleetwood Mac released ‘Dreams’ from their eleventh studio album Rumours which became their first and only US No.1 hit single. Stevie Nicks wrote the song in early 1976 at the Record Plant studio in Sausalito, California in around 10 minutes, on a day when she wasn’t required in the main studio.
1979 – The Bee Gees started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Tragedy’, the group’s eighth US No.1. and also No.1 in the UK.
1985 – ‘Easy Lover’ by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. Bailey was a former vocalist with Earth, Wind & Fire. Phil Collins produced, drummed and sang on the track. ‘Easy Lover’ won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video.
1990 – Sinead O’Connor went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’, featuring the single ‘Nothing Compares To You. Also No.1 in 13 other countries and six weeks at No.1 in the US.
2002 – Gareth Gates became the youngest male solo artist to score a UK No.1 with his debut release ‘Unchained Melody’ Gates was 17 years and 255 days old and had won second place on TV’s Pop Idol show. This was the fourth time that the song had been at No.1 in the UK.
Today in history
1199 – King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) is wounded by a crossbow bolt while besieging the castle of Châlus in France (leading to his death on April 6) and was succeeded by his younger brother John, who had spent the past five years secretly scheming against his older brother.
1603 – King James VI of Scotland was crowned King James I of England and Ireland. James’ mother was Mary, Queen of Scots, who gave up the Scottish throne to allow him to rule from the young age of thirteen months. James was also the great-great-grandson of King Henry VII, so when Elizabeth I died in 1603 with no rightful heirs, the throne of England and Ireland was left to James. When he became King James of England and Ireland, he remained as King of Scotland, uniting the three nations.
1765 – Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops. The 13 original states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
1829 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
1882 – Dr. Robert Koch (a German physician and microbiologist), discovered Mycobacterium Tuberculosis which is bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB). At this time in history, TB killed one in every seven people in the US & Europe, and Koch’s find went on to help control the disease.