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 310 of the year.

Thursday, November 6th Daily Prep.

Known as National Saxaphone Day, National Nachos Day, International Stout Day. Your star sign is Scorpio and your birthstone is Topaz.
1991 – The last of the Kuwaiti oil fires set by retreating Iraqi troops was extinguished on November 6, 1991, marking the end of the disaster which had been battled by an international team of firefighters for months.
The last of the Kuwaiti oil fires set by retreating Iraqi troops was extinguished on November 6, 1991, marking the end of the disaster which had been battled by an international team of firefighters for months.
Today’s birthdays
1947 – Jim Rosenthal (78), English sports presenter and commentator (Athletics, World Cup, Rugby World Cup, x2 Olympic Games and x150 Formula One races), born in Oxford.
1951 – Nigel Havers (74), English actor (Chariots of Fire, The Whistle Blower, A Passage to India) and presenter (The Bidding Room), born in Edmonton, London.
1970 – Ethan Hawke (55), American actor (Training Day, Dead Poets Society, Day Breakers, Lord of War), born in Austin, Texas, United States.
1972 – Thandiwe Newton (53), English actress (Mission Impossible 2, The Chronicles of Riddick, Interview with the Vampire), born in Westminster, London.
1973 – Nell McAndrew (52), English former glamour model, TV presenter and fitness trainer, born in Belle Isle, Leeds, West Yorkshire.
1988 – Emma Stone (37), American actress (La La Land, Cruella, Zombieland, The Help), born in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States.
Famous deaths
1893 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (b. 1840), Russian composer (Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, 1812 Overture).
2004 – Fred Dibnah (b. 1938), English steeplejack and television personality.

2012 – Clive Dunn (b. 1920), English actor better known as Lance Corporal Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad’s Army, which ran for nine series and 80 episodes between 1968 and 1977.

2024 – Tony Todd (b. 1954), American actor (Candyman, Final Destination, The Crow, Platoon), known for his distinctly deep and gravelly voice, he amassed numerous credits on screen and in video games since the 1980s.

The day today
1935 – The RAF’s first monoplane fighter, the ‘Hawker Hurricane’ made its maiden flight. Although largely overshadowed by the Spitfire, the aircraft became renowned during the Battle of Britain, and accounted for 60% of the RAF’s air victories.
1970 – Three times Grand National hero Red Rum, the greatest ever steeplechaser, won his first ever race, a novice event at Doncaster with the odds of 100/7.
1986 – Forty five people died after a Chinook helicopter carrying oil rig workers plunged into the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. It is the deadliest civilian helicopter crash on record.
1991 – The last of the Kuwaiti oil fires set by retreating Iraqi troops was extinguished on November 6, 1991, marking the end of the disaster which had been battled by an international team of firefighters for months. An international coalition of firefighters worked to cap the burning wells, with the last well being capped nearly nine months after the conflict officially ended.
2004 – The death, aged 66, of Fred Dibnah MBE – Bolton born steeplejack, industrial historian, mechnical engineer, steam engine enthusiast and television presenter. His coffin was towed through the centre of Bolton by his restored traction engine, driven by his son, followed by a cortège of steam-powered vehicles.
2005 – The fourth movie of J.K. Rowling’s novel series, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” premiered in Leicester Square, London and becomes the most successful film of the year.
2011 – Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated 25 years as manager of Manchester United, making him the longest serving manager in their history and the longest serving manager in English League football. He was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game and also holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.
2014 – The Government announced that new road signs showing height and width restrictions using both imperial and metric measurements were to be introduced. “Imperial only signs can remain in place only until such time that they become life-expired, or replaced during routine maintenance.”
Today in music
1964 – During their first promotional visit to the UK, The Beach Boys appeared live on ITV’s Ready Steady Go! playing ‘I Get Around’ and ‘When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)’. Ready Steady Go! was one of the UK’s first rock/pop music TV programmes which ran from August 1963 until December 1966.
1968 – Joe Cocker was at No.1 in the UK singles chart with his version of The Beatles song With a Little Help from My Friends.
1971 – Cher started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves’, the singer’s first US solo No.1, it made No.4 in the UK. The song earned Cher a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category.

1977 – ABBA started a four week run at No.1 on the UK single chart with ‘The Name Of The Game’, the group’s 6th No.1. The song was first called ‘A Bit Of Myself.’

1982 – Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ achieved the longest unbroken run on the UK charts when it logged its 43rd week in the Top 100.
1990 – Madonna released ‘Justify My Love’, the first VHS video single in the US. (Queen released ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’ as a Video Single in the UK four years earlier). Co written by Lenny Kravitz, the song became Madonna’s ninth No.1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No.2 in the United Kingdom.
2003 – Winners at this years MTV awards included Christina Aguilera for Best female, Coldplay won Best group, Justin Timberlake won Best album for ‘Justified’, The Panjabi MC won best dance act. Best R&B act went to Beyoncé. Eminem won the best hip-hop act award for the fifth year running. Reggae artist Sean Paul took the best new act award and best video was won by Sigur Ros. An estimated one billion people in 28 countries watched the show, which was held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the first time.
2005 – The Official UK Charts announced that Robbie Williams had sold the most albums in the UK so far this century with sales of 6.3m. Coldplay were at number two, with sales of 6.2m albums and Dido was in third place 5.7m albums sold. The figures were based on albums sold in the UK from 1st January 2000 to 11th October 2005 excluding greatest hits, live albums and downloads.
2007 – Meat Loaf cancelled his European tour after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal cords. The 60-year-old had already scrapped two gigs on doctor’s orders. Speculation had surrounded the tour after he cut short a gig in Newcastle, telling the audience it is “the last show I may ever do in my life”.
2014 – Taylor Swift’s latest album 1989 debuted at No.1 on America’s Billboard albums chart selling 1.287 million copies in its first week. Swift was now the only act to earn three million-selling weeks with an album. Before 1989, Red sold 1.208 million in it’s first week, while Speak Now clocked up 1.047 million sales.
Today in history
1282 – Battle of Menai Straits (Moel-y-don): forces of Edward I defeated as they try to cross a pontoon bridge during their reconquor of Wales.
1429 – Seven-year-old Henry VI was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, just over a year after becoming the youngest monarch to ascend to the throne at just nine months old following his father Henry V’s death. He later also became the only English monarch to be crowned in both England and France, being crowned King of France in Paris in 1431.
1638 – Birth of James Gregory, Scottish mathematician and astronomer who described the first practical reflecting telescope and contributed towards the discovery of calculus.
1856 – The first work of fiction by the author Mary Anne Evans (later known as George Eliot) was submitted for publication. The title was ‘Scenes of Clerical Life’. Her 1872 book, Middlemarch, has been described as the greatest novel in the English language.
1892 – Birth of Sir John Alcock, English aviator who flew the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic in 1919 with Sir Arthur Whitten-Brown.