September 18th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 262 of the year! Known as National Cheeseburger Day, National Respect Day, Equal Pay Day. Your star sign is Virgo and your birthstone is Sapphire.
2014 – A referendum was held in Scotland, with one single question on the ballot paper – “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The “No” side won, with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour.
Todays birthdays
1947 – Russ Abbot (77), British TV comedian (The Russ Abbot Show, September Song, Boomers), born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
1949 – Peter Shilton (75), English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper (England, West Ham United, Coventry City), born in Leicester.
1971 – Jada Pinkett Smith (53), American actress (The Nutty Professor, The Matrix franchise as Niobe) and talk show host, born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
1974 – Sol Campbell (50), English professional football manager (Southend United) and former player (England, Newcastle United, Arsenal), born in Plaistow, London.
1984 – Dizzee Rascal, born Dylan Kwabena Mills (40), British MC and rapper (“Dance Wiv Me”, “Bonkers”, “£Bassline Junkie”), born in Bow, London.
Famous deaths
2007 – Colin McRae (b. 1968), Scottish race car driver (1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion, and the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship Drivers’ title in 1995.)
The day today
1944 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Tradewind torpedoed Junyō Maru, a Japanese cargo ship used to transport prisoners. It was the world’s greatest sea disaster at the time with 5,620 dead. 723 survivors were rescued, only to be put to work in conditions similar to those of the Burma Railway where death was commonplace.
1949 – The British pound was devalued by 30% by Chancellor Sir Stafford Cripps.
1972 – The first Ugandan refugees fleeing the persecution of the country’s military dictatorship arrived in Britain.
1994 – Warwickshire became the first side to win the County Cricket Championship, the Benson and Hedges Cup and the Sunday League title in one season.
2012 – Two unarmed female police officers PC Nicola Hughes (23) and PC Fiona Bone (32) were killed in a gun and grenade ambush attack in Mottram – Greater Manchester. It led to the arrest of a wanted man Dale Cregan. Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy said it was one of the force’s ‘darkest days’.
Today in music
1970 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix died in his sleep from choking on his own vomit at a house where he was staying in Notting Hill.
1982 – The seven-minute epic by Dire Straits ‘Private Investigations’ went to No.2 on the UK singles chart, held off No.1 by survivors ‘Eye Of The Tiger’.
1993 – Meat Loaf went to No.1 on the UK album chart for the first of five times with Bat Out Of Hell II.
2012 – In a survey of more than 160,000 readers, British music magazine NME named John Lennon as Rock’s ultimate icon. Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher was placed second, followed by David Bowie, Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner and late Nirvana icon Kurt Cobain.
2014 – American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift was at no.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Shake It Off’, becoming Swift’s second No.1 single in the United States and the 22nd song to debut at No.1 in the chart’s history.
Today in history
1502 – During his fourth and final voyage, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived in Costa Rica.
1685 – The Taunton Assize trials came in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England. The trials were led by Lord Chief Justice George Jeffreys. They took place in the Great Hall of Taunton Castle. Of more than 500 prisoners brought before the court, 144 were hanged and their remains displayed around the county.
1809 – The Royal Opera House opened, in Covent Garden, Central London. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House The current building is the third theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1857. There were two performances, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and a musical called The Quaker.
1837 – Tiffany & Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City. The store is called a “stationery and fancy goods emporium”.
1879 – The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time and has been held annually ever since.