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 293 of the year.

Monday, October 20th Daily Prep.

Known as World Osteoporosis Day, World Toy Camera Day, International Chef Day, World Statistics Day. Your star sign is Libra and your birthstone is Pink Tourmaline.
1946 – ‘Muffin the Mule’, a wooden puppet operated by Annette Mills (sister of actor Sir John Mills) first appeared in a children’s television programme on BBC TV.
‘Muffin the Mule’, a wooden puppet operated by Annette Mills (sister of actor Sir John Mills) first appeared in a children’s television programme on BBC TV.
Today’s birthdays
1956 – Danny Boyle (69), English director and producer (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, The Beach, 127 Hours), born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.
1958 – Viggo Mortensen (67), American actor (Green Book), best known for his role as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, born in Watertown, New York, United States.
1961 – Ian Rush (64), Welsh former professional footballer (Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996), born in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales.
1967 – Susan Tully (58), English actress known for her roles as rebellious teenager Suzanne Ross in Grange Hill and as Michelle Fowler in EastEnders, born in Highgate, London.
1971 – Dannii Minogue (54), Australian singer (“This Is It”), television personality, and actress (Home and Away), born in Melbourne, Australia.
1971 – Snoop Dogg (54), American rapper (“Drop It Like It’s Hot”, “The Next Episode”, “Gin and Juice”) and actor, born in Long Beach, California, United States.
Famous deaths
1988 – Sheila Scott (b. 1922), English aviator who broke over 100 aviation records through her long-distance flight endeavours, which included a 34,000-mile (55,000 km) “world and a half” flight in 1971. On this flight, she became the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft. She was also the first European woman to fly solo around the world.
The day today
1915 – Prime Minister David Lloyd George granted women their ‘Right to Serve’, thus opening up many new areas of employment for women. Trade Unionists were concerned that the move would depress wages.
1946 – ‘Muffin the Mule’, a wooden puppet operated by Annette Mills (sister of actor Sir John Mills) first appeared in a children’s television programme on BBC TV.
1955 – The Return of the King, the third installment in The Lord of the Rings book series by J. R. R Tolkein, was published.
1973 – Queen Elizabeth II opened the new Sydney Opera House in Australia, designed by Danish architect John Utzon.
1977 – A chartered Convair CV-240 aircraft carrying the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd ran out of fuel and crashed in a wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi. The crash killed six people, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and vocalist Cassie Gaines.
1988 – The British Government announced plans to change the law so that remaining silent could incriminate rather than protect a suspect.
1996 – Oscar winners ‘Wallace and Gromit’ disappeared after being left in a taxi in New York. Both the life-size plastic models from Britain’s award winning animation film were later found safe and well!
1991 – Brazilian McLaren driver Ayrton Senna clinches his 2nd straight, and 3rd overall F1 World Drivers Championship by finishing 2nd in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
1997 – ‘Brown Monday’ on the London Stock Exchange with £10 billion being wiped off the value of shares after British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown failed to clarify his Government’s stance on the European single currency.
2002 – Motoring TV series “Top Gear” premieres on the BBC, starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and Jason Dawe (replaced after the first season by James May).

2022 – At 1:35pm, Liz Truss resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and ultimately as Prime Minister. She was appointed as Prime Minister a mere 45 days previous. Liz Truss was the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the UK’s history.

Today in music
1960 – Roy Orbison had his first UK No.1 single with ‘Only The Lonely’ and his first of 33 hits. The song was turned down by The Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley so Orbison decided to record the song himself.
1964 – The Rolling Stones played their first live concert in France when they appeared at the Paris Olympia.
1984 – Wham! started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Freedom’, the duo’s second No.1. The song was used in a Japanese commercial for Maxell audio cassettes, with altered lyrics.
2003 – Amy Winehouse released her debut album Frank, (named after Frank Sinatra). The album went on to sell over one million copies in the UK alone.
2003 – A jury finds Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy guilty of assaulting a nightclub worker. The singer was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid community service and ordered to pay her victim £500 compensation, plus £3,000 prosecution costs.
2006 – George Michael openly smoked a cannabis joint during an interview on a TV show. The singer was filmed backstage in Madrid, Spain where the drug is legal. Michael said “It’s the only drug I’ve ever thought worth taking, this stuff keeps me sane and happy.”
Today in history
1632 – The birth of English architect Christopher Wren. He was responsible for the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral following the Great Fire of London.
1634 – King Charles I levied “Ship Money” on all English and Welsh counties, extending a tax that was once limited to coastal areas for naval defense. He first applied it to inland counties while ruling without Parliament, collecting significant funds annually until it became unpopular and was eventually declared illegal.
1714 – The Coronation of King George I. There were several riots in the South and West of England to protest George’s accession.
1822 – The British newspaper The Sunday Times was first published and has a history of innovation stretching from a female proprietor in 1887 and a female editor in 1894, through to pioneering the publication of large illustrations, book serialisations, separate sections and the first colour magazine supplement in 1962.
1827 – Greek War of Independence: In the Battle of Navarino, a combined Turkish and Egyptian fleet is defeated by British, French and Russian naval forces in the last significant battle fought with wooden sailing ships.
1890 – The death of Sir Richard Francis Burton, English explorer, writer, soldier and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa and the discovery of Lake Tanganyika. Burton was one of the first non Muslims to enter the secret cities of Mecca and Medina.