Thursday, September 11th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 254, Known as National Make Your Bed Day, No News is Good News Day, Are You Okay Day. Your star sign is Virgo and your birthstone is Sapphire.
2001 – Hijackers crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and thousands of those working in the buildings. Both towers collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others.
Todays birthdays
1958 – Mick Talbot
(67), English rock keyboardist and co-founder of the Style Council (“You’re The Best Thing”) with Paul Weller, born in Wimbledon, London.
1965 – Moby, born Richard Melville Hall (60), American singer-songwriter, musician, and DJ (“Porcelain”, “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?”), born in Harlem, New York, United States.
1967 – Harry Connick Jr. (58), American singer (“I’ll Dream Of You Again”) and actor (Memphis Belle, Copycat), born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
1971 – Richard Ashcroft (54), English musician, singer, and songwriter (The Verve – “Bitter Sweet Symphony”), born in Higher End, Orrell, Greater Manchester.
1977 – Chris “Ludacris” Bridges (48), American rapper (“Act a Fool”) and actor (Fast and Furious Franchise), born in Champaign, Illinois, United States.
1977 – Jonny Buckland
(48), British musician, songwriter and co-founder of Coldplay (“Viva la Vida”), born in Islington, London.
Famous deaths
1988 – Roger Hargreaves (b. 1935), British cartoonist, illustrator, writer of children’s books and creator of the Mr. Men and Little Miss series.
The day today
1942 – The popular children’s book “Five on a Treasure Island” featuring the “Famous Five,” written by Enid Blyton, was published.
1942 – The housing charity, Shelter, said up to three million people in Britain were living in damp, overcrowded slum conditions.
1951 – Florence Chadwick an American long distance and open water swimmer, became the first female to swim across the English Channel and back.
As part of her training, she endured a grueling 10-hour swim in the Persian Gulf. She broke the world record English Channel swim in 16 hours and 22 minutes.
1978 – Janet Parker became the last person to die of smallpox in Birmingham, United Kingdom. During the 20th Century, the smallpox virus killed around 300 million people in total.
1987 – Four men were arrested on charges of plotting to steal a dolphin worth £25,000 from the Marineland Oceanarium in Morecambe, Lancashire.
1997 – In a national referendum on devolution, the people of Scotland voted ‘Yes’ to creating their own Parliament, for the first time in more than 300 years.
2001 – The ‘911’ terrorist attacks in New York. In the aftermath, Prime Minister Tony Blair deployed British troops in the invasion of Iraq (March 2003), supporting the US President George Bush and his ‘War on Terror’. Hijackers crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and thousands of those working in the buildings. Both towers collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. A third airliner was crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth plane was redirected towards Washington, D.C., targeting either the Capitol Building or the White House, but it crashed in a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control of the airliner. There were no survivors from any of the flights.
2014 – The Society of Biology stated that warm temperatures had prompted flying ants to leave their nests early, Subsequently, seagulls had become more agressive, after getting ‘drunk’ by the formic acid in the ants’ bodies.
2019 – NASA revealed that water vapor was discovered in the atmosphere of an Earth-size planet, the exoplanet K2-18b. K2-18b is a super-Earth about 111 light-years away from our solar system. It was discovered in 2015 by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. Astronomers say it’s “the best candidate for habitability that we know right now.”
Today in music
1967 – Filming began for The Beatles ‘Magical Mystery Tour’. There was no script, nor a very clear idea of exactly what was to be accomplished, not even a clear direction about where the bus was supposed to go. The ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ bus set off for the West Country in England stopping for the night in Teignmouth, Devon were hundreds of fans greeted The Beatles at their hotel.
1976 – KC and the Sunshine Band went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘(Shake Shake Shake), Shake Your Body’, the group’s third US No.1, a No.22 hit in the UK.
1977 – David Bowie recorded a guest appearance on ‘Bing Crosby’s ‘Merrie Olde Christmas’ TV show duetting with Crosby on ‘Peace On Earth – Little Drummer Boy. The track became a UK No.3 hit five years later in 1982.
1987 – Level 42’s ‘It’s Over’, became the first CD video single to go on sale in the UK. It contained twenty minutes of music and five minutes of video (which remained unseen until CDV players went on sale).
1988 – Michael Jackson appeared at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England on his Bad World Tour. Over 3,000 fans were treated by the St. John Ambulance service for passing out, hysteria and being crushed amongst the crowd of 125,000 fans, the largest concert of the 123-date world tour.
1993 – Mariah Carey started a eight week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Dreamlover’. Also on the same day her fourth album ‘Music Box’ went to No.1 in the UK.
2001 – Walking to work in New York (as a comic book illustrator) Gerard Way witnessed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. The day’s events inspired him to start a band, which became My Chemical Romance with Gerard becoming their lead singer.
2015 – Mark Ronson’s hit ‘Uptown Funk!’ became the fifth biggest-selling single in British chart history with over two million UK sales and overtaking Paul McCartney & Wings’ 1977 chart-topper ‘Mull Of Kintrye/Girls’ School’.
Today in history
1297 – Scottish hero William Wallace defeated the English at Stirling Bridge. Wallace’s statement before the battle was – ‘We come here with no peaceful intent, but ready for battle, determined to avenge our wrongs and set our country free.’
1777 – American troops led by George Washington were defeated by the British at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, in the American War of Independence.
1836 – Register Office marriages were introduced in Britain.
1841 – The commuter age began for the south-east of England when the London to Brighton commuter express train began a regular service, taking just 105 minutes.
1879 – 268 miners died in an explosion at the Prince of Wales Colliery, at Abercarn, South Wales.
1895 – The prestigious FA Cup trophy was stolen from football outfitters William Shillock of Birmingham. 68 years later an 83 year old man confessed he’d melted it down to make counterfeit halfcrown coins.