Monday, March 31st "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 90, known as Crayola Crayons Day, Eiffel Tower Day. Your star sign is Aries and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1972 – The CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) organises a four day demonstration against nuclear arms including a march to Aldermaston.
Todays birthdays
1943 – Christopher Walken (82), American actor (The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can, Sleepy Hollow, A View to a Kill), born in Astoria, New York, United States.
1948 – Rhea Perlman (77), American actress (Matilda, Taxi), best known for playing head waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom Cheers, born in New York, New York, United States.
1955 – Angus McKinnon Young (70), Scottish born – Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter and the only remaining founding member of the hard rock band AC/DC, (“Thunderstruck”, “Highway to Hell”, “Back In Black”), born in Glasgow, Scotland.
1958 – Patrick McGlynn (67), Scottish musician and former rhythm guitarist for the Bay City Rollers (“Shang‐A‐Lang”), born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1966 – Roger Black (59), English former athlete who competed internationally for Great Britain and England, born in Gosport, Hampshire.
1971 – Ewan McGregor (54), Scottish actor (Trainspotting, Star Wars: Episode I II and III , Black Hawk Down), born in Perth Royal Infirmary, Perth, Scotland.
Famous deaths
1855 – Charlotte Brontë (b. 1816), English novelist and poet (Jane Eyre).
1993 – Brandon Lee (b. 1965), American actor, martial artist (The Crow, Showdown in Little Tokyo) and son of Bruce Lee.
2016 – Ronnie Corbett (b. 1930), Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (The Two Ronnies) and as Timothy Lumsden in Sorry.
The day today
1939 – Britain and France agreed to support Poland if Germany threatened to invade.
1940 – Winston Churchill Warns Against German Invasion. The first sea lord of the admiralty Winston Churchill warned that a million German troops were massed on the borders of Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland ready to strike and that England and it’s allies must be prepared to protect other countries in the forthcoming conflict.
1966 – Harold Wilson wins sweeping victory as the Labour party wins the general election with a majority of about 100 seats in the House of Commons.
1972 – The CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) organises a four day demonstration against nuclear arms including a march to Aldermaston.
1986 – Fire severely damaged a large part of the King’s Apartments at Hampton Court Palace, including the William III state apartments, leading to a major restoration effort that took six years to complete.
1990 – The worst violence seen so far in the series of Anti Poll Tax demonstrations erupted in London during the largest rally when nearly 100,000 people take to the streets in protest at the new government levy. More than 400 were arrested and property was damaged with repairs estimated at £400,000 after the demonstration.
2005 – New laws in the UK now give the right to those born using donor eggs or sperm will have the option to ask for the identity of their donor when they turn 18. The new law is not retrospective, so people who have already donated will not be affected, but those donating from now and the children born through those donations will have the right to trace their biological parent in through the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority the same way as children who are adopted can ask adoption agencies. The new laws are causing some concern by infertility clinics about the future because the number of donors is expected to drop significantly.
2014 – The Hillsborough inquests began, with a jury of 11 people selected from 1,000 who initially received a summons. The inquests into the deaths of the 96 victims of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster were ordered in December 2012, after verdicts of accidental death from a previous inquest were quashed by the High Court in London.
Today in music
1960 – Lonnie Donegan was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘My Old Man’s A Dustman’, his third No.1. Donegan became the first British artist to enter the UK chart at No.1, the only other artist to achieve this feat at this time was Elvis Presley. The song which was recorded live at the Gaumont cinema in Doncaster was a music hall novelty song.
1976 – The Brotherhood Of Man were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, ‘Save Your Kisses For Me.’ The group’s first of three UK No.1’s.
1984 – Kenny Loggins started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Footloose’, the theme from the film with the same name, a No.6 hit in the UK.
1990 – German and Italian production team Snap! had their first UK No.1 single with ‘The Power.’ The track has been featured in many films including Coyote Ugly, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Bruce Almighty soundtrack and The Fisher King.
1992 – Def Leppard released their fifth studio album Adrenalize, the first by the band following the 1991 death of guitarist Steve Clark. Former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell, was brought in as the newest member in April 1992.
2013 – TV hosts Ant and Dec scored their first British No.1 single, with their 1994 hit ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble’. The song made it to No.1 after the duo performed the track on their ITV1 show Saturday Night Takeaway the previous weekend, prompting fans to download it. The duo were also giving all the money they made from sales to the ChildLine charity.
2019 – Elton John joins George Clooney’s call to boycott hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei after Brunei plans new anti-gay laws to make homosexual sex punishable by death.
Today in history
1596 – French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher René Descartes, widely considered the father of modern philosophy and perhaps best known for the famous phrase “I think, therefore I am,” was born.
1657 – The Long Parliament presents the Humble Petition and Advice offering Oliver Cromwell the British throne, which he eventually declines.
1774 – American Revolution: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act.
1750 – The birth of John Stafford Smith, English composer. He is best known for writing the music for the American patriotic song The Star-Spangled Banner following the War of 1812. In 1931 it was adopted as the national anthem of the United States of America.
1837 – The death of John Constable, English painter, best known for his paintings of the English countryside such as Dedham Vale and The Hay Wain. Although his paintings are now among the most popular and valuable in British art, he was never financially successful and did not become a member of the establishment until he was elected to the Royal Academy at the age of 52. In May 2013 Constable’s 1831 masterpiece ‘Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows’ was bought by the Tate Gallery for £23.1m.
1889 – The iconic Eiffel Tower created by Gustave Eiffel to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution, officially opened and was the tallest man-made tower for 41 years.