Monday, May 26th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 146, known as World Redhead Day, World Dracula Day, Spring Bank Holiday, The Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling. Your star sign is Gemini and your birthstone is Emerald.
1897 – Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker was published. The town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, has associations with Bram Stoker as he based much of his Dracula novel here whilst staying in Whitby in 1890.
Todays birthdays
1948 – Stevie Nicks (77), American singer-songwriter known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac (“Dreams”, “Everywhere”), born in Phoenix, Arizona, United States.
1953 – Michael Portillo (72), English journalist, broadcaster (Great Railway Journeys) and former Conservative politician, born in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
1964 – Lenny Kravitz (61), American singer-songwriter (“Fly Away”, “American Woman”), and actor (The Hunger Games), born in Manhattan, New York, United States.
1966 – Helena Bonham Carter (59), English actress (Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, Planet of the Apes), born in Islington, London.
1972 – Patsy Palmer (53), English actress known for her role as Bianca Jackson in EastEnders (British Soap Award for Best Actress), born in Bethnal Green, London.
1975 – Lauryn Hill (50), American rapper best known as a member of The Fugees (“Killing Me Softly With His Song”) and actress, born in Newark, New Jersey, United States.
Famous deaths
2022 – Andy Fletcher (b. 1961), English musician and founding member of the electronic band Depeche Mode (“Personal Jesus”, “Just Can’t Get Enough”).
The day today
1913 – Emily Duncan became Britain’s first woman magistrate.
1923 – The first-ever Le Mans 24 hour endurance race began. This endurance race bases winners on who can cover the farthest distance in 24 hours. Winners of the inaugural race were André Lagache and René Léonard.
1940 – At 18:57 the signal was received to start ‘Operation Dynamo’, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and French troops from Dunkirk’s beaches. Besides the efforts of the Royal Navy, 700 small ships were assembled in Sheerness dockyard before making the hazardous crossing to Dunkirk. In total, 338,226 troops were safely returned to England between 27th May and 4th June.
1972 – State-owned travel firm Thomas Cook & Son was sold to a consortium of private businesses headed by the Midland Bank.
1989 – The BBC broadcast the 10,000th episode of the daily radio serial The Archers.
1999 – Manchester United became the first British club to win the European Cup for 15 years, beating Bayern Munich 2-1 in the final in Barcelona. This gave them the coveted ‘treble’ – the Premier League, the FA Cup and the European Cup.
2012 – The seemingly never-ending task of painting the Forth Bridge was finally completed, following a 10-year programme of work and 240,000 litres of ‘epoxy glass plate paint’ that should last for 20 years. More than 1,500 people worked on the bridge during its restoration, with as many as 400 workers on the bridge in a single day at the peak of activity.
Today in music
1966 – The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Paint It, Black’, their sixth UK No.1 single. It was originally titled ‘Paint It Black’ without a comma. Keith Richards has stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca. It was the first No.1 single to feature a sitar on the recording.
1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono began an eight-day ‘bed in’, in room 1742 of The Hotel La Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, Canada, to promote world peace. They recorded ‘Give Peace a Chance’ in the hotel room (Petula Clark can be heard on the chorus). The song was credited to Lennon & McCartney, even though Paul had nothing to do with the record.
1972 – David Bowie offered Mott The Hoople two of his new songs, ‘Suffragette City’, which they turned down and ‘All The Young Dudes’, which they recorded. The song gave the group a No.3 UK and US Top 40 hit.
1979 – ‘Sunday Girl’ gave Blondie their second UK No.1 hit single. The track was taken from the group’s ‘Parallel Lines’, which went on to become the biggest selling album of 1979.
1984 – Former backing singer with Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams started a 2 week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’, taken from the film ‘Footlose’, a No.2 hit in the UK.
1996 – A fire at the home of Eric Clapton caused over one and a half million pounds worth of damage; Firemen arrived on the scene to find Clapton braving the blaze to save his collection of guitars.
2022 – The four members of Abba made their first public appearance in 14 years as they attended the premiere of their Abba Voyage show in London, UK. Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Bjorn reunited for the opening night of the concert, which featured digital versions of the band. The concert had been in the works since 2016 and featured ground-breaking new technology that recreated the sight of Abba in their 1970s prime.
Today in history
604 AD – St. Augustine, the first archbishop of Canterbury died.
735 AD – The death of Bede, an English monk and an author and scholar. He was one of the greatest teachers and writers of his age and his most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, gained him the title “The Father of English History”.
1670 – Charles II and Louis XIV signed a secret treaty in Dover, ending hostilities between England and France.
1798 – Income Tax was introduced into Britain – a 10% tax on all incomes over £200 a year.
1868 – In the last public execution in England, Irish terrorist Michael Barrett was hanged outside Newgate Prison for causing an explosion in London which left 13 dead.