April 21st "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 112, known as Big Word Day, National Tea Day, World Curlew Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of July 29th in the previous year. Your star sign is Taurus and your birthstone is Diamond.
1934 – The ‘Surgeon’s Photograph’, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, was published in the Daily Mail. In 1999, it was revealed to be a hoax.
Todays birthdays
1926 – Today we are remembering Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on what would have been her 97th birthday. Thank you for all that you have taught us, for being a steadfast leader and dear friend. You are sorely missed.
1947 – Iggy Pop [James Newell Osterberg] (77), American singer (“The Passenger”, “Lust for Life”, “Real Wild Child”), born in Muskegon, Michigan, United States.
1958 – Andie MacDowell (66), American actress (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Groundhog Day, Sex, Lies, and Videotape), born in Gaffney, South Carolina, United States.
1969 – Toby Stephens (55), British actor (Die Another Day, Hunter Killer, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi), born in London.
1973 – Steve Backshall (51), British naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer, best known for BBC TV’s Deadly 60, born in Bagshot, Surrey.
1979 – James McAvoy (45), Scottish actor (Split, Glass, Wanted, X-Men: First Class, Victor Frankenstein, The Last King of Scotland
), born in Glasgow, Scotland.
Famous deaths
2016 – Prince (b. 1958), American singer-songwriter (“Purple Rain”, “Little Red Corvette”), guitarist, producer, and actor (Purple Rain).
The day today
1916 – Roger Casement, the Irish-born British consular official, landed in Ireland from a German submarine prepared to lead the Sinn Fein rebellion, but was arrested as the ‘Easter Uprising’ took place. The rebellion against the British in Dublin reached its worst level as Irish republicans took over sections of the city, while a Royal Navy gunboat bombarded them from the River Liffey.
1918 – Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary German ace pilot who had destroyed 80 Allied aircraft, was shot down by an RAF fighter and died from the crash behind British lines. He was known as the ‘Red Baron’ because of his distinctive red Fokker tri-plane.
1934 – The ‘Surgeon’s Photograph’, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, was published in the Daily Mail. In 1999, it was revealed to be a hoax.
1964 – BBC television launched Playschool as the opening programme of their second channel. BBC2 actually opened a day late due to a major power failure the previous day.
1983 – One pound coins replaced notes in England and Wales.
Today in music
1984 – Phil Collins started a three week run at No.1 in the US singles chart with the theme from ‘Against All Odds’. It was Phil’s first US No.1, and a No. 2 in the UK.
2002 – Oasis went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Hindu Times’, the bands sixth UK No.1 and the first single to be released from their fifth album Heathen Chemistry.
2013 – Calvin Harris made chart history by becoming the first artist to have eight top 10 hits from one studio album. His track ‘I Need Your Love’, featuring singer Ellie Goulding, climbed to No.7 on the Official UK Chart. The DJ and producer from Dumfries, Scotland had overtaken Michael Jackson, who previously held the record with seven top 10 hits from both his 1987 album Bad and his 1991 record Dangerous.
2014 – Robin Thicke’s controversial hit single ‘Blurred Lines’ was named the UK’s most-downloaded song of all time. The song had sold 1.54 million copies since it was released in May 2013, despite criticisms of its explicit lyrics. About 20 university student unions banned the track, saying it promoted “date rape culture”, an accusation Thicke consistently denied.
2016 – Adele was named as Britain’s richest ever female musician, in the latest Sunday Times Rich List. A list of the top 50 music millionaires in the UK and Ireland placed the singer’s £85m fortune in 30th place – an increase of £35m compared to the previous year.
Today in history
1509 – Henry VIII became King of England following the death of his father, Henry VII.
1671 – The birth of John Law, Scottish economist who believed that money was only a means of exchange that did not constitute wealth in itself. He was a gambler and a brilliant mental calculator who was known to win card games by mentally calculating the odds.
1689 – William III and Mary II were crowned joint king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1750 – Peter Dollond opened a small optical business in Vine Street, near Hatton Garden in London. In 1927 Dollond & Co merged with Aitchison & Co, to form Dollond & Aitchison. On 29th January 2009, it was announced that Boots Opticians were to merge with D&A, forming a chain of 690 stores and 5,000 staff after Boots purchased a controlling share in D&A.
1816 – Charlotte Bronte, eldest of the three literary sisters, was born in Thornton, West Yorkshire. Her publisher rejected her first novel, ‘The Professor,’ but she went on to write her masterpiece, ‘Jane Eyre’.