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 289 of the year.

Thursday, October 16th Daily Prep.

Known as World Food Day, National Liqueur Day, Dictionary Day, World Spine Day, World Allergy Awareness Day. Your star sign is Libra and your birthstone is Pink Tourmaline.
1958 – Britain’s most popular children’s television programme ‘Blue Peter’ was first broadcast on BBC TV. The first presenters were Leila Williams and Christopher Trace.
Britain’s most popular children’s television programme ‘Blue Peter’ was first broadcast on BBC TV. The first presenters were Leila Williams and Christopher Trace.
Today’s birthdays
1959 – Gary Kemp (66), English songwriter, vocalist and lead guitarist with Spandau Ballet (“Gold”, “True”) and actor (The Krays, The Bodyguard), born in Smithfield, London.
1964 – Steve Lamacq (61), English Radio DJ known by his nickname “Lammo” (BBC Radio 6), born in Bournemouth.
1967 – Davina McCall (58), English television presenter (Big Brother, Million Pound Drop, Don’t Try This at Home), born in Wimbledon, London.
1984 – Shayne Ward (41), English singer (“That’s My Goal”) and actor (as Aidan Connor in Coronation Street), born in Tameside, Greater Manchester.
1997 – Charles Leclerc (28), Monégasque racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, born in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Famous deaths
2024 – Liam Payne (b. 1993), English singer-songwriter with pop band One Direction (“What Makes You Beautiful”).
The day today
1902 – Britain opened its first ‘Borstal’ detention centre, at the village of Borstal in Kent. The institution was designed to keep boys, especially first offenders, away from adult criminals in prisons; to teach them a trade and to reward good behaviour.
1946 – The International Military Tribunal (IMT) issues verdicts against leading Nazis at Nuremberg. It sentences 12 leading Nazi officials to death for crimes committed during the Nazi regime. Hermann Goering committed suicide the night before his sentence was to be carried out.
1950 – The first edition of C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is released in London.
1958 – Britain’s most popular children’s television programme ‘Blue Peter’ was first broadcast on BBC TV. The first presenters were Leila Williams and Christopher Trace.
1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis began. President Kennedy was informed of photos taken of missiles placed by the Soviet Union in Cuba which were capable of reaching the United States. The following thirteen days were incredibly tense, with the two nations coming closer than ever to full-scale nuclear war.
1964 – Harold Wilson was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II and formed the first Wilson ministry, a Labour government, which held office with a slim majority between 1964 and 1966. He was the first Labour PM in 13 years.
1979 – Comedy sketch show “Not the Nine o’Clock News” debuts on BBC2, starring Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Gryff Rhys Jones and Pamela Stephenson.
1987 – Southern Britain began a massive clear-up operation after the worst night of storms in living memory. BBC Weatherman Michael Fish faced criticism, as he had reassured viewers that the worst of the stormy weather would be across Spain and France.
1996 – British Home Secretary Michael Howard announced stringent new gun controls following the mass shooting in March 1996 of children at a school in Dunblane, Scotland.
1996 – A stampede of football fans before a World Cup qualifying match in Guatemala City kills 84 people and seriously injures more than 100. The Guatemala national team was set to face off against Costa Rica.
2005 – Renault driver Fernando Alonso wins season-ending Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit becoming the first Spanish Formula 1 World Driver’s Champion.
Today in music
1965 – The Beatles recorded ‘Day Tripper’ at Abbey Road studio’s London in three takes, they then added vocals and other overdubs, completing the song before the end of the day.
1969 – Bobbie Gentry was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song ‘I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,’ the singers only UK No.1.
1972 – Creedence Clearwater Revival split up following the failure of their most recent album, ‘Mardi Gras’.
1982 – Culture Club appeared on UK TV’s Top Of The Pops performing ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’. They were booked on the show thanks to Shakin’ Stevens being ill and not able to appear. The song became a major hit after their memorable performance on the music TV show.
1988 – Whitney Houston had her third UK No.1 single with ‘One Moment In Time.’ The song was recorded to celebrate the Seoul Olympic Games of 1988.
2001 – Two security guards were sacked after refusing to allow Bob Dylan into his own concert. Dylan who had demanded that security on his ‘Love and Theft’ tour should be tighter than ever didn’t have a pass when he arrived backstage.
2017 – Ed Sheeran broke his wrist and elbow in a biking accident, forcing him to cancel dates on his tour of Asia. He called his time off “the most depressing six weeks of my life.”
2024 – Liam Payne, the former One Direction star died aged 31 in Argentina after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. Toxicology tests confirmed the presence of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his body.
Today in history
1555 – English bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burnt at the stake for denying the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. A small area paved with granite setts forming a cross in the centre of the road outside the front of Balliol College marks the site.
1793 – Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, is beheaded aged 37. Antoinette’s trial began on 14 October 1793; she was convicted two days later by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by guillotine at the Place de la Révolution.
1813 – The Battle of Leipzig began. It was the largest European battle before World War I. Also known as The Battle of Nations, it took place in Leipzig, Germany. It was fought between Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, who won against the French Empire and Polish, Italian and German troops.
1834 – The original Houses of Parliament were almost completely destroyed by fire. The blaze, which started from overheated chimney flues, spread rapidly throughout the medieval complex and developed into the biggest conflagration to occur in London since the Great Fire of 1666. Westminster Hall and a few other parts of the old Houses of Parliament survived the blaze and were incorporated into the New Palace of Westminster, which was built over the following decades.
1847 – The English writer Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre” was published by Smith, Elder & Co.