April 20th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 111, known as Look-alike Day, Volunteer Recognition Day, Husband Appreciation Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of July 28th in the previous year. Your star sign is Taurus and your birthstone is Diamond.
1981 – Steve Davis became the world snooker champion at 23 years of age, beating Doug Mountjoy at Sheffield.
Todays birthdays
1937 – George Takei (87), American actor best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise, born in Los Angeles, United States
1961 – Nicholas Lyndhurst (63), English actor (Only Fools and Horses, Goodnight Sweetheart, The Two of Us), born in Emsworth, Hampshire.
1964 – Andy Serkis (60), English actor (The Lord of the Rings, Black Panther, Planet of the Apes, Burke & Hare), born in Ruislip Manor, Ruislip.
1969 – Felix Baumgartner
(55), Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper best known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere, born in Salzburg, Austria.
1976 – Shay Given (48), Irish former goalkeeper (Newcastle United, Manchester City, Republic of Ireland), born in Lifford, Ireland.
Famous deaths
1912 – Bram Stoker (b. 1847), Anglo-Irish novelist and critic (Dracula).
2016 – Victoria Wood (b. 1953), British comedian, actress and writer (Dinnerladies, Pat and Margaret).
The day today
1968 – The Conservative right-winger, Enoch Powell, made a hard-hitting speech attacking the government’s immigration policy. Mr Powell said Britain had to be mad to allow in 50,000 dependents of immigrants each year. He compared it to watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre. “Like the Roman, I seem to see the river Tiber foaming with much blood.”
1974 – The conflict in Northern Ireland claimed its 1,000th victim, a petrol station owner from County Fermanagh.
1981 – Steve Davis became the world snooker champion at 23 years of age, beating Doug Mountjoy at Sheffield. On 17th April 2016 he announced his retirement, aged 58.
1989 – Scientists said that the Earth had narrowly missed being struck by a passing asteroid weighing 400 million tons.
2016 – The Queen visited the Royal Mail Windsor delivery office to mark the 500th anniversary of the postal service. (Additional note – In 1516, Henry VIII knighted Brian Tuke, the first Master of the Posts, in an act that was the catalyst for the creation of the Royal Mail).
Today in music
1957 – Elvis Presley started an eight week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘All Shook Up.’ It went on to be the biggest single of 1957 selling over 2 million copies.
1976 – George Harrison, who is good friends with Eric Idle, joined Monty Python on stage at New York’s City Center. Dressed as a Canadian Mountie, Harrison joined the chorus for ‘The Lumberjack Song.’ No mention was made of Harrison’s appearance, and few in the audience recognised him.
1985 – The charity record ‘We Are The World’ by USA For Africa was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The US artists’ answer to Band Aid had an all-star cast including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Paul Simon plus the composer’s of the track, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
1992 – ‘A Concert For Life’ took place at Wembley Stadium as a tribute to Queen singer Freddie Mercury and for aids awareness. Acts appearing included; Elton John, Roger Daltrey, Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), David Bowie, Mick Ronson, James Hetfield, George Michael, Seal, Paul Young, Annie Lennox, Lisa Stansfield, Robert Plant, Joe Elliott and Phil Collen, Axl Rose and Slash.
1996 – English R&B singer Mark Morrison had his first UK No.1 single when ‘Return Of The Mack’ started a two-week run at the top of the charts. A No.2 hit in the US, the beat was sampled from Tom Tom Club’s ‘Genius of Love.’
Today in history
1611 – The first official performance of Macbeth by Shakespeare took place at the Globe Theatre in London.
1657 – The Spanish Fleet was destroyed in the Battle at Santa Cruz by an English Fleet commanded by Admiral Blake.
1689 – The siege of Londonderry began when supporters of James II attacked the city. The population nearly starved to death before the siege was raised on 30th July.
1879 – The first mobile home (horse-drawn) was used in a journey from London to Cyprus.
1918 – Nazi-German ace fighter pilot, The Red Baron, shot down his final two victims.
Manfred von Richthofen earned his nickname not from his bloodlust but from the fact that he painted his plane red, and he was the equivalent of a baron. Richtofen joined the German air force at the age of 23, and within the space of just three years, he shot down eighty Allied planes.