Tuesday, May 20th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 140, known as Flower day, National High Heels Day, International Red Sneakers Day, National Quiche Lorraine Day, World Bee Day. Your star sign is Taurus and your birthstone is Emerald.
1913 – The first Chelsea Flower Show was held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, attracting around 200,000 visitors.
Todays birthdays
1946 – Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkasian (79), American singer (“If I Could Turn Back Time”) and actress (The Witches of Eastwick, Mask), born in El Centro, California, United States.
1970 – Louis Theroux (55), British-Singaporean documentarian (Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends), journalist, broadcaster and author, born in Singapore.
1972 – Busta Rhymes, born Trevor George Smith (53), American rapper and songwriter (“Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check”), born in East Flatbush, New York, United States.
1982 – Jessica Raine (43), English actress best known for her role as Jenny Lee in Call the Midwife, born in Eardisley, Herefordshire.
1985 – Chris Froome (40), British professional road racing cyclist (Tour de France, Giro d’Italia), born in Nairobi, Kenya.
1981 – Sean Conlon (44), English singer and a member of boy band Five (“Keep On Movin”), born in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
1992 – Jack Gleeson (33), Irish actor best know for his role as Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones, born in Cork, Ireland.
Famous deaths
1996 – Jon Pertwee (b. 1919), English actor, portrayed the Third Doctor in the Doctor Who series and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge.
2011 – Randy Savage (b. 1952), American wrestler and actor better known by his ring name “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
2012 – Robin Gibb (b. 1949), English singer-songwriter and producer who gained worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees.
2019 – Niki Lauda (b. 1949), Austrian race car driver. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984.
The day today
1903 – King Edward VII opened the Kew Bridge over the River Thames. Its proper name is the Edward VII Bridge.
1913 – The first Chelsea Flower Show was held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, attracting around 200,000 visitors. The show started in 1827, moving to larger venues until it settled in Chelsea.
1932 – Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland. After a flight lasting 14 hours and 56 minutes, she landed in Northern Ireland. This made her the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic.
1965 – The Chief Inspector of Constabularies announced that Britain’s police would be armed with tear gas guns and grenades for use against dangerous criminals, but that it would not be used for crowd control.
1993 – Britain finally ratified the Maastricht Treaty which allowed greater co-operation between members of the European Union.
2013 – The Church of Scotland voted in favour of allowing openly gay men and women to be ministers.
2014 – Det. Chief Supt. David Knopwood was fined £1000 and banned from driving for 12 months after going to the pub (29th April) to ‘unwind’, after officers from his unit had investigated the fatal stabbing of school teacher Ann Maguire by a 16 year old pupil.
2023 – This Morning TV presenter Phillip Schofield resigns after 20 years in the role. It later emerges he was having an affair with a younger colleague and lied about it.
Today in music
1967 – The Beatles new album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band had a special preview on the Kenny Everett BBC Light program, ‘Where It’s At’, playing every track from the album, (except ‘A Day In The Life’ which the BBC had banned saying it could promote drug taking).
1972 – T Rex were at No.1 on the UK singles chart ‘Metal Guru’, the group’s fourth and final No.1. They also had the UK No.1 album with ‘Bolan Boogie’.
1989 – Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey’ by Ferry Aid started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The song was recorded to raise funds for the Hillsborough Football victims, Gerry Marsden, Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson and The Christians all featured on the recording.
1995 – Robson Green and Jerome Flynn started a seven-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their versions of ‘Unchained Melody’ (There’ll Be Blue Birds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover’. Actors Green and Flynn had performed the song in the UK drama series Soldier Soldier.
2005 – Kylie Minogue had a cancerous lump removed from her breast at St Frances Xavier Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The singer had been due to begin the 20-date Australian leg of her current worldwide Showgirl tour in Sydney.
2006 – Heavy metal monsters Lordi became Finland’s first ever Eurovision Song Contest winners after their song Hard Rock Hallelujah won in Athens. The band won the Eurovision public vote after singing their heavy rock anthem dressed in horror costumes.
2007 – Rihanna featuring Jay-Z started a 10 week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Umbrella’ which spent 10 consecutive weeks at No.1 in the UK making it the longest running No.1 single since Wet Wet Wet’s ‘Love Is All Around’. Rihanna and Jay-Z won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for the track.
2009 – Michael Jackson delayed the opening four nights of his ‘This Is It’ UK tour at London’s O2 arena. Concert promoters AEG Live said the delay was necessary because the singer needed more time for dress rehearsals. The first show, on 8 July, was pushed back by five nights. Three other July dates would now not take place until March 2010.
2012 – Bee Gees’ singer Robin Gibb died aged 62 after a lengthy battle with cancer. The group was among the biggest-selling of all time with hits spanning six decades. His twin brother and band partner Maurice died in 2003 aged 53 following complications from a twisted intestine.
Today in history
685 AD – The death, in battle, of Ecgfrith of Northumbria, an Anglo-Saxon King who ruled over Northumbria for 15 years. His reign ended when he fiercely attacked the Picts against all advice. Lured into a narrow mountain pass, (possibly near Forfar) Ecgfrith and his army were slain, marking the beginning of decline in Northumbrian power.
1191 – English King Richard I ‘the Lion Heart’ conquered Cyprus on his way to join the Crusaders in north west Israel.
1497 – The Italian explorer John Cabot, commissioned by England, set sail from Bristol in his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west. At the time, Bristol was the only English city to have had a prior history of undertaking exploration expeditions out into the Atlantic.
1609 – Shakespeare’s Sonnets were first published in London. The publisher, Thomas Thorpe, entered the book in the Stationers’ Register. However, how he acquired the manuscripts is unconfirmed, and it may have been an illegal copy.
1840 – York Minster was badly damaged by fire. The damage was accidentally when a candle left burning in the tower by William Groves, a clockmaker from Leeds who had been called in to carry out repairs, destroyed the belfry in the South West Tower and the Nave roof and vaulting.
1867 – Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the Royal Albert Hall.