October 19th "2023" daily prep

Welcome to day 292 of the year! Known as International Gin and Tonic Day, National Pharmacy Technician Day and Evaluate Your Life Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of January 26th 2023. Your star sign is “Libra”.
1781 – The American War of Independence came to an end when British commander Lord Cornwallis surrendered his 8,000 troops to George Washington at Yorktown, in Virginia, after a three week siege.
Todays birthdays
1945 – John Lithgow (78), American actor (3rd Rock From the Sun, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), born in Rochester, New York, United States.
1954 – Sam Allardyce (69), English football manager and former professional player who was most recently manager of Leeds United, born in Old Park Farm, Dudley, West Midlands.
1960 – Dan “Woody” Woodgate (63), English musician and rock drummer (Madness – “Our House”), born in Kensington, West London.
1962 – Evander Holyfield (61), merican former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011, born in Atmore, Alabama, United States.
1963 – Sinitta (60), British-American singer (So Macho, Toy Boy, Right Back Where We Started From) and former Xfactor judge, born in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The day today
1970 – British Petroleum (BP) announced the first major discovery of oil under the British sector of the North Sea.
1978 – For the first time in Britain, the International Motor Show was held outside London, its new home being the newly-completed National Exhibition Centre (NEC) near Birmingham.
1987 – Black Monday. Millions of pounds were wiped off the value of shares and other financial markets around the world. Wall Street ended the day down 22%, a greater fall than the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
2001 – It was announced that a ‘serious error’ was made by researchers who wasted five years testing the wrong animal brains for BSE!
2013 – The violin that was apparently played to calm passengers on the Titanic as it sank was sold for £900,000 in just 10 minutes at auction in Wiltshire. Bidding started at £50 and the violin had a guide price of £300,000.
Today in music
1961 – Helen Shapiro was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Walkin’ Back To Happiness.’ The singers second and final UK No.1.

1985 – A-Ha went to No.2 on the UK singles chart with ‘Take On Me’. The video for the song featured the band in a pencil-sketch animation method called rotoscoping, combined with live action which won six awards and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

1998 – Cher’s “Believe” was released and became the Billboard 1999 Song of the Year. The album featured some of her most famous singles, such as “Believe” and “Strong Enough.”
2010 – Elton John described today’s songwriters as “pretty awful”, Pop music as “uninspiring” and talent shows like American Idol as “boring” in an interview with UK Radio Times magazine.
2011 – Coldplay released their fifth studio album ‘Mylo Xyloto’ which charted at No.1 in thirty-four countries. In the UK ‘Mylo Xyloto’ became Coldplay’s fifth album to debut at No.1 and became the group’s third to debut at No.1 on the US Billboard 200.
Today in history
1216 – King John died of dysentery at Newark-on-Trent , during a Civil War which was the result of his refusal to recognize the Magna Carta signed the previous year. He was known as John Lackland for losing so much territory to France and was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry.
1649 – New Ross town, in County Wexford, Ireland, surrendered to Oliver Cromwell during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
1745 – Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels (which is a parody of a travel narrative published in 1726), died aged 77. He is buried at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
1781 – The American War of Independence came to an end when British commander Lord Cornwallis surrendered his 8,000 troops to George Washington at Yorktown, in Virginia, after a three week siege.
1914 – World War I – The start of the First Battle of Ypres. It saw the British and French defeat repeated German attempts to break their lines in an attempt to capture the channel ports.
Related posts