Tuesday, June 24th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 175, known as Upcycling Day, International Fairy Day, Armed Forces Day (UK). Your star sign is Cancer and your birthstone is Pearl (Alexandrite and Moonstone is also recognised).
2005 – The Glastonbury Festival eventually got under way after suffering serious disruption when storms tore across its site at Pilton, Somerset. Heavy rain flooded parts of the site, with dozens of tents lost under water.
Todays birthdays
1947 – Mick Fleetwood (78), English musician & songwriter best known as the drummer, co-founder and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac (“Go Your Own Way “), born in Cornwall.
1947 – Peter Weller (78), American actor best known for his role as officer Alex Murphy in Robocop and it’s sequel, born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States.
1950 – Nancy Allen (75), American actress (Dressed to Kill), best known for her role as officer Anne Lewis in Robocop and it’s two sequels, born in The Bronx, New York, United States.
1959 – Andy McCluskey (66), English songwriter, musician and the lead singer with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (“Enola Gay”), born in Heswall, Merseyside.
1961 – Curt Smith (64), English singer-songwriter, best known as the co-founder and co-lead vocalist of Tears for Fears (“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”), born in Bath, Somerset.
1987 – Lionel Messi (38), Argentine professional footballer (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami, Argentina), born in Rosario, Argentina.
Famous deaths
2011 – Peter Falk (b. 1927), American actor best known for his role as the scruffy detective Lieutenant Columbo from the series Columbo.
The day today
1916 – The launch of ‘Wolf Cubs’ by Robert Baden-Powell, for boys aged 8 – 10. It was themed on Jungle Book, by Baden-Powell’s friend and neighbour, Rudyard Kipling. In 1966 the name was changed from ‘Wolf Cubs’ to ‘Cub Scouts’.
1968 – Start of the first Open Wimbledon lawn tennis championships which open to both professional and amateur players.
1974 – The Labour Government admitted that Britain had exploded a nuclear device in the United States a few weeks previously. The announcement sparked a row amongst senior ministers about Britain’s involvement in the arms race.
1981 – The Humber Bridge was opened to traffic but the formal opening by the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was not until 17th July 1981. It connected Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and at the time, was the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge.
2005 – The Glastonbury Festival eventually got under way after suffering serious disruption when storms tore across its site at Pilton, Somerset. Heavy rain flooded parts of the site, with dozens of tents lost under water, while lightning strikes affected the stages and knocked out power lines.
2016 – British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned after failing to prevent Brexit.
David Cameron was instrumental in bringing about the Brexit referendum. He intended to have the Brexit vote fail to silence the Eurosceptics in the Tory party. As a staunch Remain voter, Cameron resigned as he felt the country needed new leadership to handle Brexit.
2020 – Pakistan International Airlines grounded 150 of its pilots after discovering their licenses were fake.
An internal investigation into Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) began after a horrific plane crash that claimed 97 lives was found to be caused by pilot error.
Today in music
1965 – The Hollies were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘I’m Alive’, the group’s first of two UK No.1’s and over 25 other Top 40 singles. The Hollies originally passed the song over to another Manchester band, the Toggery Five, before changing their mind and recording the song, which was written for them by the US songwriter Clint Ballard, Jr.
1967 – Procol Harum’s ’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ entered the Billboard chart, where it would peak at No 5. The song was written by the band around a melody composed by the group’s organist, Matthew Fisher, who was inspired by the chord progression of Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Orchestral Suite in D’, composed between 1725 and 1739.
1988 – UB40 bass player Earl Falconer was sent to prison for six months, with a further 12 suspended, after admitting to causing his brothers death in a car accident.
1989 – Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler started a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Back To Life’. Their only UK No.1 peaked at No.4 on the US chart.
2007 – The White Stripes went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Icky Thump’ the duo’s sixth and final studio album. ‘Icky Thump’ won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2008.
2012 – Billboard.com named Olivia Newton-John’s 1982 hit, ‘Physical’ as The Sexiest Song Of All Time. Other classic Rock songs that made the top ten were Rod Stewart’s ‘Tonight’s The Night’, Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’, Donna Summer’s ‘Hot Stuff’ and another Rod Stewart contribution, ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’.
Today in history
1314 – Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II at Bannockburn and so completed his expulsion of the English from Scotland, although England did not recognise Scottish independence until 1328 with the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh in Northampton.
1497 – John Cabot, a Venetian navigator and explorer under the commission of Henry VII, reached America in his ship The Matthew, having set sail in May from Bristol. His precise landing-place is uncertain, with Cape Bonavista or St. John’s in Newfoundland being the most likely sites. To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Cabot’s voyage, a replica of The Matthew was built in Bristol and is on display in Bristol’s floating harbour. In June 2012 she took part in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pageant on the River Thames.
1509 – Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon were crowned King and Queen Consort of England by the Archbishop of Canterbury at a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The coronation was followed by a banquet in Westminster Hall.
1717 – The Grand Lodge of the English Freemasons was founded in London.
1850 – The birth of Horatio Herbert, Earl Kitchener, British field marshal, born in County Kerry. He achieved notable victories in foreign parts fighting for the Empire, and was Secretary of State for War at the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. He mounted a major recruitment campaign and appeared on posters to exhort, ‘Your country needs you!’
1878 – Formation of the St. John Ambulance, originally called the St. John Ambulance Association.