September 28th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 272 of the year! Known as Ask a Stupid Question Day, International Rabbit Day, National Ghost Hunting Day. Your star sign is Libra and your birthstone is Sapphire.
1928 – Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered what later became known as penicillin when he found that a mould had developed on an accidentally contaminated staphylococcus culture plate. His ‘bacteria killer’ discovery changed the world of modern medicine and has saved millions of people around the world.
Todays birthdays
1934 – Brigitte Bardot (90), French actress (Helen of Troy, A Very Private Affair), model, animal activist and sex kitten, born in Paris, France.
1946 – Helen Shapiro (78), British pop and jazz singer (“Walking Back to Happiness”) who was prominent from the 1960s, born in Bethnal Green, London.
1947 – Jon Snow (77), English journalist (longest-running presenter of Channel 4 News) and television presenter (Jon Snow Explains), born in Ardingly, West Sussex.
1950 – Paul Burgess (74), English rock drummer who has been a member of 10cc (“I’m Not In Love”), Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works, born in Manchester.
1960 – Jennifer Rush (64), American pop and rock singer (“The Power of Love”), born in Astoria, New York, United States.
1962 – Peter Hooton (62), English vocalist and founder of Liverpool-based group the Farm (“All Together Now”), born in Everton, Liverpool.
Famous deaths
2022 – Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (b. 1963), American rapper (“C U When U Get There”, “Gangsta’s Paradise”).
The day today
1918 – World War I: The start of the Fifth Battle of Ypres. The British sustained almost 5,000 casualties but advanced the front line by up to 18 miles and captured approximately 10,000 German soldiers, 300 guns and 600 machine guns.
1928 – Parliament passed the Dangerous Drugs Act outlawing cannabis.
1985 – Riots broke out on the streets of south London after a woman was shot and seriously injured in a house search. Local people had already been very critical of police tactics in Brixton and a mood of tension exploded into violence as night fell.
1996 – At Ascot, Frankie Dettori became the first jockey to win all seven races at a meeting. The odds on this happening were 25,095 to 1. Bookmakers lost over £18 million pounds as a result.
2013 – Baroness Thatcher’s ashes were laid to rest in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Lady Thatcher died, aged 87, on 8th April. A simple headstone bore the inscription Margaret Thatcher 1925 – 2013. She was Britain’s first woman prime minister and the longest-serving prime minister of the twentieth century.
Today in music
1980 – The Police were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ the group’s third No.1. Taken from their album ‘Zenyatta Mondatta’ and the best selling single of 1980.
1985 – Kate Bush scored her second UK No.1 album with ‘Hounds Of Love’. The singers second No.1 album featured the tracks ‘Running Up That Hill’, ‘Cloudbusting’, ‘Hounds of Love’ and ‘The Big Sky’.
1991 – Guns N’ Roses released two albums ‘Use Your Illusion I’ and ‘Use Your Illusion II’ which debut at number 1 and number 2 on the UK album chart. Both albums make No.1 & No.2 in the US.
2002 – Madonna was voted the greatest female singer of all-time by 75,0000 music fans in a VH1 poll, but critics and music fans were unhappy with the position of Kylie Minogue who was voted into second place beating Diana Ross, (12th) and Annie Lennox, (14th). The highest placed UK act was Kate Bush who was voted No. 10.
2007 – An ad for P Diddy’s Unforgivable Woman perfume range, featuring a lingerie-clad model cavorting with the rapper in a New York hotel stairwell, was shown on Channel 4 in the UK. The ad had been banned in the US by the Federal Communications Commission, for being too sexually explicit for US audiences.
Today in history
1066 – Claiming his right to the English throne, William, Duke of Normandy (or William the Bastard, as he was often called at the time, due to his illegitimate status ) landed at Pevensey in East Sussex to begin his invasion of England.
1106 – Henry I of England defeated his brother, Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy at the Battle of Tinchebray, in Normandy. It was a decisive victory and the battle lasted just one hour. The Duke was captured and imprisoned in England and then at Cardiff Castle until his death. England and Normandy remained under a single ruler until 1204.
1745 – At the Drury Lane Theatre, London, God Save the King, the national anthem, was sung for the first time. The score used was prepared by Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778) leader of the orchestra and composer of Rule Britannia.
1864 – ‘The First International’ was founded in London, when Karl Marx proposed the formation of an International Working Men’s Association.
1884 – Michael Marks, a Polish immigrant, and Yorkshireman Tom Spencer opened their Penny Bazaar in Leeds, setting the foundations for the Marks and Spencer chain.