October 26th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 300 of the “leap” year! Known as National Pumpkin Day, Muddy Dog Day, National One United Race Day, Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night. Your star sign is Scorpio and your birthstone is Pink Tourmaline.
1918 – Stonehenge was given over to the British Government by its private landowner. Cecil Chubb donated the monument to the government and was the last private individual to own Stonehenge.
Todays birthdays
1946 – Keith Hopwood (78), British rock guitarist (Herman’s Hermits – “I’m Into Something Good”), born in Urmston, Manchester.
1966 – Judge Jules, born Julius O’Riordan (58), British dance music DJ (Ibiza Anthems) and record producer voted best DJ in the world by DJ Mag in 1995, born in London.
1973 – Austin Healey (51), English former rugby union player (Leicester Tigers, England and the British & Irish Lions), born in Wallasey, Borough of Wirral, Merseyside.
1973 – Seth MacFarlane (51), American animator, television producer (American Dad!, Family Guy) and filmmaker (Ted), born in Kent, Connecticut.
1982 – Nicola Adams (42), British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the World Boxing Organization female flyweight title in 2019, born in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Famous deaths
2023 – Bobby Charlton (b. 1937), English footballer and manager (member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup).
The day today
1929 – London’s world famous buses were painted red. When the LGOC (The London General Omnibus Company) took over Vanguard in 1908, the red livery, the ‘General’ fleet name and the wheel symbol came together to form a powerful brand. Red has been the colour of London buses ever since, becoming famous around the world.
1950 – The first sound and vision broadcast from the House of Commons was broadcast, showing George VI reopening the chamber after repair work carried out on damage sustained during the war.
1986 – Leading politician Jeffrey Archer was forced to resign from the deputy chairmanship of the Conservative party following allegations that he made a payment to a prostitute to avoid a scandal. He denied the allegations and later fought a successful libel case.
1992 – The London Ambulance Service was thrown into chaos after the failure of a new Computer Aided Dispatch system. Its poor design and implementation led to significant delays in the assigning of ambulances, with reports of 11 hour waits. Media reports at the time claimed that up to 30 people may have died as a result of the chaos. The then-chief executive, John Wilby, resigned shortly afterwards.
2017 – A statue was unveiled in the Community Garden, Congleton in Cheshire, for a military dog who was awarded the Dickin Medal (the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross). Treo, who died in 2015, saved many lives by uncovering improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during his time serving in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Today in music
1958 – Bill Haley and his Comets played the first rock ‘n’ roll concert in Germany. Over 7,000 rock ‘n’ roll fans turned the show into a riot
1985 – Whitney Houston went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Saving All My Love For You’, also a No.1 hit in the US.
1996 – The Spice Girls had their second UK No.1 single when ‘Say You’ll Be There’ started a two-week run at the top of the charts. The song included a harmonica solo, played by Judd Lander who also played the harmonica solo on Culture Club’s 1984 hit ‘Karma Chameleon’.
2008 – AC/DC went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Black Ice’ the bands fifteenth studio album which went on to become a No.1 hit in 29 different countries and the second-best selling album of 2008.
2011 – A coroner’s inquest on the death of Amy Winehouse reached a verdict of misadventure. The report explained that Winehouse’s blood alcohol content was 416 mg per decilitre at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. According to the coroner ‘The unintended consequences of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden death’.
Today in history
899 AD – King Alfred the Great, Saxon King of Wessex is believed to have died on this date. A soldier and scholar, he fought against the invading Danes and formed England’s first navy. His son, Edward the Elder became King. Winchester was Alfred’s capital, and he developed the town and to keep it safe from attack.
1640 – The Treaty of Ripon was signed, by Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Scottish Covenanters. It was a major setback for Charles, and its terms were humiliating. It stipulated that Northumberland and County Durham were to be ceded to the Scots as an interim measure, that Newcastle was to be left in the hands of the Scots, and that Charles was to pay them £850 a day to maintain their armies there.
1775 – King George III went before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.
1859 – The Royal Charter steam clipper was wrecked in Dulas Bay, off the coast of Anglesey, with almost 460 dead, the highest death toll of any shipwreck off the Welsh coast. The exact number of dead was not verified as the passenger list was lost in the wreck.
1881 – The most famous western gunfight happened at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. The fight lasted 30 seconds between a posse of Lawmen involving Wyatt Earp and a group of outlaws. Three men died from gunshot wounds.