Friday, April 11th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 101, known as National Pet Day, National Cheese Fondue Day, Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse. Your star sign is Aries and your birthstone is Diamond.
1951 – The Stone of Scone, (the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned) was found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey in Angus. It had been stolen from Westminster Abbey 107 days earlier by Scottish nationalists.
Todays birthdays
1955 – Neville Staples (70), Jamaican-born British singer known for his work with ska band the Specials (“Ghost Town”), born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica.
1960 – Jeremy Clarkson (65), English television presenter (Top Gear, The Grand Tour) and journalist (The Sunday Times, The Sun), born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
1966 – Lisa Stansfield (59), English singer/songwriter (“All Around the World”, “The Real Thing”, “This Is the Right Time”), born in Manchester.
1969 – Cerys Matthews (56), Welsh singer/songwriter and founding member of Catatonia (“Road Rage”, “Mulder and Scully”, “Dead from the Waist Down”), born in Cardiff, Wales.
1970 – Whigfield born Sannie Charlotte Carlson (55), Danish singer and former model (“Saturday Night”, “Sexy Eyes”), born in Skælskør, Zeland, Denmark.
1987 – Joss Stone (38), English singer/songwriter (“Right to Be Wrong”, “Super Duper Love”), born in Dover, Kent.
1996 – Dele Alli (29), English professional footballer (Milton Keynes Dons, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, England national team), born in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
Famous deaths
2001 – Harry Secombe (b. 1921), Welsh actor (Oliver), comedian (The Goon Show), singer and television presenter (Highway).
The day today
1936 – Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp at Skegness. The camp was officially opened by Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
1951 – The Stone of Scone, (the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned) was found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey in Angus. It had been stolen from Westminster Abbey 107 days earlier by Scottish nationalists who wanted it returned to Scotland. In 1996, in a symbolic response to growing dissatisfaction among Scots, the Conservative Government decided that the Stone should be kept in Edinburgh Castle when not in use at coronations.
1961 – The trial began, in Israel, of Adolf Eichmann, accused of helping Hitler in his plan to exterminate the Jews. He faced 15 charges, including crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and war crimes.
1970 – Apollo 13 was launched successfully but ran into difficulties two days later. The famous line “Houston, we’ve had a problem here” was said and is usually misquoted today.
1981 – The arrest of a black man led to hundreds of youths rampaging through the streets of Brixton in south London. Over a 100 vehicles were burned and almost 150 buildings were damaged. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved.
1983 – The film Gandhi, directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, won eight Oscars, the most any British film has ever won. In October 2004 a four feet high bust of Gandhi was erected in the city of Hull, donated by Hull’s Indian community . The chair of the ceremony, pointed out that no other city in the world had, within half-a-mile, the statues of Wilberforce, Mandela and Gandhi who devoted their lives to fight against slavery, racism and colonialism.
Today in music
1963 – Gerry and the Pacemakers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘How Do You Do It” The group’s first of three UK No.1’s.
1964 – The Beatles set a new chart record when they had 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs ranged from ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ at No.1 to ‘Love Me Do’ at No. 81.
1966 – Frank Sinatra recorded his hit “Strangers in the Night.”
The album reached number one on the Billboard list that year.
1994 – Oasis released their first single ‘Supersonic’ which peaked at No.31 on the UK charts. However, over time it has amassed sales of over 215,000, making it their 13th biggest selling single ever in the UK. ‘Supersonic’ was also the band’s first single to chart in the United States, where it peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
2001 – Robbie Williams raised £165,000 at a charity auction with the money going to his old school in Stoke to build a performing arts block. The items sold were Robbie’s personal possessions, including a toilet from a stage show, a Union Jack bikini, Tiger’s head briefs, a Millennium jet pack and the hand written lyrics to ‘Angels’ which sold for £27,000.
2014 – Nirvana were enlisted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside the likes of Kiss and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. REM’s Michael Stipe inducted the group, saying: “Nirvana tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard. Nirvana were kicking against the mainstream. They spoke truth and a lot of people listened.”
2017 – British musician Toby Smith died aged 46. He was most famous for being the keyboardist and co-songwriter for Jamiroquai from 1992 until his departure in 2002. He was music producer and manager for The Hoosiers and in 2013, Smith co-produced Matt Cardle’s third album Porcelain.
Today in history
1471 – The War of the Roses ended with King Henry VI surrendering to King Edward IV in London.
1606 – The Union Flag, precursor to the Union Jack, was adopted as the national flag of Great Britain. The original Union Flag was introduced as a maritime flag and in 1634, a Royal Proclamation laid down that the Union Flag was reserved for His Majesty’s Ships of War. When the ‘Union Jack’ was first introduced in 1606, it was known simply as ‘the British flag’ or ‘the flag of Britain’.
1689 – William III (Prince of Orange and champion of Protestants) and Mary II were crowned joint monarchs by the Bishop of London. The Archbishop of Canterbury refused to officiate.
1713 – France handed over Gibraltar and Newfoundland to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht.
1755 – James Parkinson, the English physician who discovered Parkinson’s disease was born. His observations were so detailed and complete that they laid the foundation for all subsequent research.
1855 – Britain’s first pillar boxes were put up in London (Fleet Street, The Strand, Pall Mall, Picadilly and Rutland Gate in Kensington). They were rectangular, sage green and with a large ball on top. It was not until 1874 that they were painted the familiar red.