Monday, August 11th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 223, known as National Bakewell Tart Day, Son and Daughter Day, National Face Mask Day. Your star sign is Leo and your birthstone is Peridot.
2016 – Scientists discovered the oldest living Greenland Shark, with an estimated age of 392 years old. The international team of scientists declared the shark the longest-living vertebrate in the world.
Todays birthdays
1942 – Mike Hugg (83), English musician and a founding member of the 1960s group Manfred Mann (“Do Wah Diddy Diddy”), born in Gosport, Hampshire.
1944 – Ian McDiarmid (81), Scottish actor known for his role as Sheev Palpatine in the Star Wars franchise, born in Carnoustie, Scotland.
1966 – Nigel Martyn (58), English football coach and former professional footballer (Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton), born in St Austell, Cornwall.
1973 – Nigel Harman (52), English actor (Hotel Babylon), best known for his role as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, born in London.
1981 – Alexandria Thom (44) Scottish singer-songwriter who became widely known in 2006 for her debut single, “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker”, born in Banff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
1983 – Chris Hemsworth (42), Australian actor (THOR, Avengers, Extraction, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, 12 Strong), born in Melbourne, Australia.
Famous deaths
1994 – Peter Cushing (b. 1913), English actor (Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Hound of the Baskervilles) known for his appearances in horror films from the Hammer studio.
2014 – Robin Williams (b. 1951), American actor and comedian (Mrs Doubtfire, Patch Adams Good Morning Vietnam).
The day today
1918 – World War I: The end of the Battle of Amiens that ultimately led to the end of the First World War. The battle is also notable for the large number of surrendering German forces. It was one of the first major battles involving armoured warfare and marked the end of trench warfare on the Western Front.
1942 – Barnes Wallis patented his ‘bouncing bomb’, used successfully to destroy German dams in the 2nd World War. The ‘Dam Busters’ practiced their techniques at the Derwent Dam in Derbyshire where you can see this memorial to them.
1982 – The notorious East End gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray were allowed out of prison for the funeral of their mother.
1984 – It was a British 1-2 in the 1500m at the Los Angeles Olympics with Sebastian Coe edging teammate Steve Cram to become the only man to successfully defend his Olympic 1500m title.
1994 – The death of Surrey born actor Peter Cushing, OBE. He is known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the distinguished-looking, but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally Vincent Price.
1999 – Up to 350m people throughout Europe and Asia witnessed the last total solar eclipse of the century.
2016 – Scientists discovered the oldest living Greenland Shark, with an estimated age of 392 years old. The international team of scientists declared the shark the longest-living vertebrate in the world.
2021 – Argentinian soccer legend Lionel Messi officially announced his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. Messi ended his 20-year stint with FC Barcelona due to financial constraints at the Spanish football club.
Today in music
1956 – Elvis Presley’s double sided hit ‘Don’t Be Cruel / Hound Dog was released. The single went to No.1 on the US chart, where it stayed for 11 weeks – a record that would not be broken until 1992’s Boyz II Men hit ‘End of the Road’.
1962 – Neil Sedaka started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’, his first US No.1 as an artist. It reached No.7 on the UK chart.
1967 – Small Faces, The Move, Marmalade, Paul Jones, Pink Floyd, Amen Corner, Donovan, Zoot Money, Cream, Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown all appeared at this years UK Reading festival. An advance 3 day ticket cost £2.
1979 – Led Zeppelin played their last ever UK show when they appeared at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire, before over 200,000 fans.
1984 – Ray Parker JR. started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the theme from the film ‘Ghostbusters’. Parker who had been a session guitarist for Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye was accused of plagiarizing the melody from Huey Lewis and the News song ‘I Want a New Drug’, resulting in Lewis suing Parker, the pair settled out of court in 1985.
2002 – Bruce Springsteen started a two week run at No.1 on the US album chart with ‘The Rising’, the singers fifth US No.1. Also No.1 in the UK.
2022 – David Bowie was named Britain’s most influential artist of the past 50 years in the Sky Arts list for his ability to transcend music, film and fashion. Other musicians in the list included the Spice Girls, Sir Elton John, Stormzy and Boy George.
2022 – Scottish singer-songwriter and actor Darius Danesh was found unresponsive in his apartment in Rochester, Minnesota, and he was pronounced dead later that day. He came to prominence after appearing in the first series of UK TV’s Popstars contestant in 2001, famous for his rendition of Britney Spears ‘Baby One More Time’. Darius scored the 2002 UK No.1 single ‘Colourblind’ and later performed the role of Billy Flynn in London’s West End production of Chicago and played the lead role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls.
Today in history
910 AD – The Battle of Tettenhall resulted in the defeat of the last major Viking army to raid England.
1093 – Bishop William of St. Calais demolished the old Saxon church in Durham and laid the foundation for the new Norman Durham cathedral. William of St. Calais was a Norman Monk and was appointed by William the Conqueror to update churches across the UK.
1332 – In the Wars of Scottish Independence, at the Battle of Dupplin Moor, the Scots under Domhnall II, Earl of Mar (and Regent of Scotland for just one week) were routed by Edward Balliol, claimant to the Scottish throne.
1576 – English navigator Martin Frobisher, on his search for the Northwest Passage, entered the bay in Canada now named after him.
1583 – English adventurer Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for the British crown, marking the first English colony in North America.
1858 – The Eiger in the Swiss Bernese Alps was ascended for the first time by Irishman Charles Barrington accompanied by guides Christian Almer and Peter Bohren. After the ascent, Barrington returned to Ireland and never visited the Alps again. He turned his attention to training a famous racehorse, ‘Sir Robert Peel’, that won the first Irish Grand National in 1870.
1897 – The birth of Enid Blyton, English author (also known as Mary Pollock). Her work has been translated into nearly 90 languages and her literary output was an estimated 800 books with 8,000,000 sales, over roughly 40 years.