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 281 of the year.

Wednesday, October 8th Daily Prep.

Known as Dyslexia Day, National Salmon Day, World Octopus Day. Your star sign is Libra and your birthstone is Pink Tourmaline.
1990 – Women were first officially deployed to sea in the Royal Navy when 20 Wrens officers and ratings joined the Type 22 frigate HMS Brilliant.
Women were first officially deployed to sea in the Royal Navy when 20 Wrens officers and ratings joined the Type 22 frigate HMS Brilliant.
Today’s birthdays
1939 – Paul Hogan (86), Australian actor (Lightning Jack) best known for his role as Mick Dundee in the Crocodile Dundee film trilogy, born in Sydney, Australia.

1943 – Chevy Chase (82), American comedian, actor (National Lampoons, Caddyshack, Fletch) and writer, born in Lower Manhattan, New York, United States.

1945 – Ray Royer (80), English guitarist and backing vocalist of progressive rock band, Procol Harum (“A Whiter Shade of Pale”), born in Essex.
1949 – Sigourney Weaver (76), American actress (Alien franchise, Ghostbusters, Avatar franchise, Gorillas in the Mist), born in Manhattan, New York, United States.
1970 – Matt Damon (55), American actor (Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Identity, Ford Vs Ferrari, Martian), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.

1970 – Sadiq Khan (55), British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016, born in Tooting, South London.

1965 – Ardal O’Hanlon (60), Irish comedian, actor, and author best known for his role as Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted, born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, Ireland.
1985 – Bruno Mars (40), American pop and R&B singer-songwriter (“Just the Way You Are”, “The Lazy Song”; “Uptown Funk”), born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Famous deaths
1967 – Clement Attlee (b. 1883), English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1945 – 1951).
The day today
1915 – The Battle of Loos, one of the fiercest of World War I, ended with virtually no gains for either side. Almost 430,000 French, British and Germans were killed. The British used poison gas for the first time in the battle.
1927 – “The Second Hundred Years” silent short film is released, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the first Laurel and Hardy film with them appearing as a team

1928 – The birth of the actor Bill Maynard. He appeared with comedians Terry Scott and Ronnie Barker, played in some of the Carry On films and for 9 years he was the old rogue Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the popular and long-running television series Heartbeat.

1945 – Inventor Percy L. Spencer patented the Microwave Oven. Although microwaves were already being used for other purposes, Spencer wanted to change the frequency so that the oven could cook food in a timely, cost-effective, and efficient manner.
1952 – 112 people were killed and 340 injured when two express trains collided at Harrow & Wealdstone, in NW London, and a third train ran into the wreckage. The driver of the Perth train had passed a caution signal and two danger signals before colliding with the local train, which accelerated the introduction of a system that warned drivers that they had passed an adverse signal.
1959 – The Conservative Party led by Harold Macmillan win the British general election, a landslide victory with a majority of 100 seats. This was their third election victory in a row.
1965 – London’s Post Office Tower, once Britain’s tallest building, opened. Prime Minister Harold Wilson made the first telephone call.
1973 – Britain’s first independent radio station began broadcasting today on VHF and medium wave. LBC (London Broadcasting Company) joined the airwaves with a signature tune followed by a two hour ‘news-feature’ programme presented by former BBC reporter David Jessel.
1980 – British Leyland launched the Austin Mini Metro. The launch of the Metro was a critical moment, with the car seen as the potential savior of British Leyland.

1982 – After its London premiere, Cats opens on Broadway and runs for nearly 18 years before closing on September 10, 2000.

1990 – Women were first officially deployed to sea in the Royal Navy when 20 Wrens officers and ratings joined the Type 22 frigate HMS Brilliant, serving during the Gulf War. The WRNS was officially disbanded in 1993, and women were fully integrated into the Royal Navy.
1994 – The Sunday Times alleged that Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark, had received £12 million commission from a £20 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, negotiated whilst she was Prime Minister.
Today in music
1954 – Dean Martin’s song “Sway” was released in the UK, reaching number 6 on the Official Singles Chart. The song, originally “Quien Sera” in Spanish, became an international success after English lyrics were written.

1964 – Roy Orbison was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Oh Pretty Woman’, his third UK No.1. The title was inspired by Orbison’s wife Claudette interrupting a conversation to announce she was going out; when Orbison asked if she was okay for cash, his co-writer Bill Dees interjected “A pretty woman never needs any money.”

1977 – One half of TV cop show “Starsky & Hutch”, David Soul was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Silver Lady’, his second and last UK No.1 single.
1987 – The three members from ZZ Top made advance bookings for seats on the first passenger flight to the Moon. The boys are still waiting for confirmation of the trip.
1988 – Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon finally left Billboard’s Hot 200 Album Chart after a record breaking 741 weeks.
2000 – Arctic Monkeys were named the best act in the world at this year’s Q Awards held in London. Best album went to Amy Winehouse for Back to Black and Muse won Best live act. The icon of the year went to Sir Paul McCartney, former Blur frontman Damon Albarn took the prize for inspiration, Classic songwriter award went to Billy Bragg and Lifetime achievement award went to Johnny Marr. The late Tony Wilson, founder of Manchester’s Factory Records was named Q’s hero.
2000 – Radiohead started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart their fourth studio album ‘Kid A’. The album became the first Radiohead release to debut at No.1 in the US.
2003 – Coldplay singer Chris Martin asked Australian police to drop a charge of malicious damage after allegedly attacking a photographer’s car. Martin was charged in July after breaking a windscreen with a rock after being photographed surfing.
Today in history
1200 – Isabella of Angoulême (in western France) was crowned Queen consort of England as the second wife of King John until John’s death in 1216. She had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III. In 1220 she remarried and had a further nine children.
1604 – Kepler’s Supernova was discovered. This was the second supernova to be discovered within a generation. The supernova was named after German astrologer Johannes Kepler.
1769 – Captain James Cook landed on Poverty Bay, New Zealand, where he studied and explored the land. Many consider him to be the first European discoverer of the country, though he wasn’t officially the first to sight it. Over a century before, in 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman had sighted New Zealand but did not set foot on the ground.
1806 – Napoleonic Wars: British forces laid siege to the port of Boulogne by using Congreve rockets, invented by Sir William Congreve. His effective rockets were made up of an iron case containing black powder for propulsion and a conical warhead.
1829 – Stephenson’s Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials (a competition that ran from the 6 to 14 October 1829, to test George Stephenson’s argument that locomotives would have the best motive power for the then nearly-completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway).