Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
On This Day 2025
Hello, … Welcome to day 322 of the year.

Tuesday, November 18th Daily Prep.

Known as Mickey Mouse Day, National Princess Day. Your star sign is Scorpio and your birthstone is Topaz.
1987 – The worst fire in the history of the London Underground killed 30 people. The blaze began in the machinery below a wooden escalator in King’s Cross Underground station and soon filled the tunnels with dense, choking smoke and intense heat.
The worst fire in the history of the London Underground killed 30 people.
Today’s birthdays
1952 – John Parr (73), English musician, singer, and songwriter, best known for his 1985 single “St. Elmo’s Fire” for the 1985 film St. Elmo’s Fire, born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

1960 – Kim Wilde (65), English pop singer (“Cambodia”), best known for her 1981 debut single “Kids in America”, born in Chiswick, London.

1963 – Peter Schmeichel (62), Danish former goalkeeper (Manchester United, Denmark), born in Gladsaxe Municipality, Denmark.
1964 – Nadia Sawalha (61), English actress (Eastenders) and television personality (Loose Women), born in Wandsworth, London.
1968 – Owen Wilson (57), American actor (Marley and Me, Behind Enemy Lines, Wedding Crashers, Shanghai Noon), born in Dallas, Texas, United States.
1975 – Ant McPartlin (50), English television presenter (I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!), former singer (PJ and Duncan) and actor (Byker Grove), born in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Famous deaths
2015 – Jonah Lomu (b. 1975), New Zealand professional rugby union player, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport.

2017 – Malcolm Young (b. 1953), Scottish born Australian musician who was a founding member and backing vocalist of the hard rock band AC/DC.

The day today
1916 – General Douglas Haig called off the Battle of the Somme in Europe after five months of futile battle, a battle which included the first use of tanks. In 141 days the British had advanced just seven miles and failed to break the German defence. The Allied advance claimed 420,000 British and 195,000 French casualties. German losses were over 650,000.
1926 – George Bernard Shaw refused to accept the money for his Nobel Prize, saying, ‘I can forgive Alfred Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.’ The Nobel prize is awarded annually for outstanding contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physiology or Medicine, and Economic Sciences.
1967 – A ban on the movement of farm animals across the whole of England and Wales came into effect at midnight. This measure was imposed in an attempt to control a widespread foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemic.
1987 – The worst fire in the history of the London Underground killed 30 people. The blaze began in the machinery below a wooden escalator in King’s Cross Underground station and soon filled the tunnels with dense, choking smoke and intense heat.
1991 – Church envoy Terry Waite was freed by the Islamic extremists who kidnapped him in Beirut in 1987.
2002 – United Nations weapons inspectors arrived in Iraq. It had been alleged that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction but no evidence was ever found. Nevertheless, on 20th March 2003, an alliance of primarily U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq with the authority of President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
2003 – The UK’s repealed anti-gay amendment, Section 28, came to a complete end in the UK. Section 28 of the Local government Act 1986 stated authorities “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.”, It was repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland and was fully repealed for the UK
2011 – After two and a half years of Alpha and Beta development, the full version of Minecraft was released. Markus “Notch” Persson came up with the idea for Minecraft during his “off-hours” from work, and after a weekend of programming, he released the first Alpha for private testing on May 16, 2009. After working tirelessly for five years, Persson was rewarded rather well when he sold his shares of Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in 2014.
2012 – Lewis Hamilton won the 2012 United States Grand Prix driving for McLaren. This was the final race win of his career with McLaren before moving to Mercedes.
2014 – Benjy, a bull branded gay, was saved by charity donations, including £5,000 from Sam Simon, the co-creator of the Simpsons. Benjy, from County Mayo, Ireland, had been destined for the abattoir after showing more interest in breeding with other bulls than cows.

2016 – Motoring TV series “The Grand Tour” premieres on Amazon Prime Video, starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

2018 – American missionary John Allen Chau was killed on North Sentinel Island after an illegal attempt to convert the isolated Sentinelese people to Christianity. Chau was killed by arrows, and the Sentinelese tribe reportedly buried his body on the island. The Indian government prohibits contact with the Sentinelese to protect them from diseases to which they have no immunity.
Today in music
1963 – The Beatles received silver LP discs for ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘With the Beatles’ at a ceremony held at EMI House in London. They also received a silver EP for ‘Twist and Shout’ and a silver single for ‘She Loves You’. The band then attend a cocktail party and a formal lunch in the EMI boardroom with company executives and invited guests.

1983 – R.E.M. made their first appearance outside the US when they appeared on Channel 4 UK TV show The Tube. The following night they made their live UK debut when the played at Dingwalls, London.

1992 – Black Sabbath was honoured with a star on Hollywood’s Rock Walk at the Guitar Center. As part of the induction, members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler placed their handprints into cement. The Rock Walk is a hall of fame that recognizes influential musical artists.
2001 – Britney Spears scored her second US No.1 album with ‘Britney.’ The album’s success made her the first female artist in music history to have her first three studio albums to debut at the No.1 spot. This record however would later be broken by Spears herself with her 4th studio album In the Zone which charted in the same position.
2003 – Following allegations of sexual abuse of a 12-year old boy, police raided Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch. Jackson denied the allegations, the search came on the day that his latest greatest hits album, ‘Number Ones’ was released in the US.
2007 – 22 year old X Factor winner Leona Lewis set a British record for the fastest-selling debut album with Spirit. The singer sold more than 375,000 copies in seven days, 12,000 more than the Arctic Monkeys’ 2006 release Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Oasis still had the overall record for the fastest selling British album, selling 813,000 copies in 1997.
2017 – Australian musician and songwriter Malcolm Young died age 64. Young was best known as a co-founder, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for AC/DC. Except for a brief absence in 1988, he was with the band from its November 1973 beginning until retiring permanently in 2014. Young was born in 1953 in Glasgow before his family emigrated to Australia when he was 10. His family confirmed he was suffering from dementia in 2014.
Today in history
1307 – According to legend, it was on this day that the Swiss patriot William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head. After refusing to pay homage to a Hapsburg liege, Tell was forced to submit to the test of marksmanship.
1477 – William Caxton’s book, the “Dictes & Sayengis of the Phylosophers”, was published. It was the first printed book in England bearing a date.
1626 – St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican City was consecrated, becoming the world’s largest Christian basilica. The basilica was called St Peter’s after one of Jesus’s twelve disciples known as Saint Peter, who became one of the founders of the Catholic Church and was executed in Rome and buried where the Basilica now stands.
1720 – The English pirate of the Caribbean, John Rackham (born 26th Dec. 1682) was hanged after being captured by the Royal Navy in mid October. He was often called Calico Jack, from the calico clothing that he wore, while Jack is a nickname for John. He is most remembered for two things: the design of his Jolly Roger flag, a skull with crossed swords, which contributed to the popularization of the design, and for having two female crew members, Mary Read and his lover Anne Bonny.
1852 – The state funeral of the Duke of Wellington took place at St Paul’s Cathedral. It was one of the biggest ever held in London. Known as the Iron Duke, he was Tory Prime Minister from 1828-30. His hereditary title was derived from the Somerset town of Wellington and was created for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington.