Monday, May 19th "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 139, known as Malcolm X Day, Hepatitis Testing Day, World Family Doctor Day, Queen Victoria Day, National Devil’s Food Cake Day. Your star sign is Taurus and your birthstone is Emerald.
2013 – At 1:00 p.m. BST the aircraft carrier Ark Royal left Portsmouth Harbour for the final time, to be towed to Turkey for scrap. The Royal Navy’s former flagship had been decommissioned early following the 2010 defence review.
Todays birthdays
1942 – Robert Kilroy-Silk (83), English former politician (Labour Party 1974 – 1986), and broadcaster (Kilroy), born in Birmingham.
1945 – Pete Townshend (80), English musician and co-founder of The Who (“My Generation”, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “Behind Blue Eyes”), born in Chiswick, London.
1948 – Grace Jones (77), Jamaican singer (“Slave to the Rhythm”), songwriter, model and actress (A View to a Kill), born in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
1950 – Romeo Challenger (75), Antiguan-born English musician with Showaddywaddy (“Under the Moon of Love”, “A Little Bit of Soap”), born in Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
1956 – Martyn Ware (69), English musician and co-founder of both Heaven 17 (“Temptation”) and Human League (“Being Boiled”), born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
1960 – Yazz, born Yasmin Evans (65), English pop singer best known for her 1988 UK number one single “The Only Way Is Up”, born in Shepherd’s Bush, London.
1972 – Jenny Berggren (53), Swedish pop singer and former member of Ace of Base (“All That She Wants”, “Beautiful Life”), born in Gothenburg, Sweden.
1983 – Jessica Fox (42), English actress best known for playing Enid Nightshade on The Worst Witch and Nancy Hayton in Hollyoaks, born in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
1992 – Sam Smith (33), English singer and songwriter (“Stay With Me”, “Unholy”, “I’m Not the Only One”), born in London.
Famous deaths
2019 – Freddie Starr (b. 1943), English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (Opportunity Knocks and the Royal Variety Performance).
2020 – Little Richard (b. 1932), American singer, songwriter, and pianist (“Tutti Frutti”, “The Girl Can’t Help It”).
The day today
1939 – A debate on an alliance between Britain, France and the Soviet Union took place in the House of Commons. Winston Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty) made a passionate speech where he urged Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to accept Stalin’s offer. Chamberlain did not like the idea. He wrote to a friend: “I must confess to the most profound distrust of Russia. I have no belief whatever in her ability to maintain an effective offensive, even if she wanted to and I distrust her motives.”
1962 – Marilyn Monroe performed “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” for President J.F. Kennedy’s 45th birthday. The President’s birthday celebrations were held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, and more than 15,000 people attended.
1967 – Health Secretary Frank Dobson announced that the sponsorship of sports events by tobacco firms was to be outlawed. It gave a temporary exemption for Formula One motor-racing, whose owner, Bernie Ecclestone, had earlier donated £1m to the Labour Party.
2013 – At 1:00 p.m. BST the aircraft carrier Ark Royal left Portsmouth Harbour for the final time, to be towed to Turkey for scrap. The Royal Navy’s former flagship had been decommissioned early following the 2010 defence review. A bid to sink Ark Royal and turn her into an artificial diving reef off the Devon coast was rejected as were plans for a commercial heliport in London, a nightclub and school in China and a casino in Hong Kong.
2014 – The extradited radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, who rose to prominence for his fiery sermons at a north London mosque, was found guilty in New York of supporting terrorism. The jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict on all 11 terror charges.
2014 – Britain’s longest-serving postmistress retired, after 61 years in the job. Esther Brauer, 83, ran the business, first from her home in Kylesku in Sutherland, and for the last 31 years from a wooden shed in her garden. She said she had finally made up her mind to stand down because of her computer ‘going doolally’. The 87 year old said that she planned to make the most of her retirement and added ‘I think my husband and I will go away more often.’
2022 – McDonald’s sold their business in Russia to a local licensee to allow him to operate the restaurants under a new brand.
The company’s decision was due to the war that Russia had started with Ukraine, stating that the crisis caused by the former was no longer “consistent with McDonald’s values.” The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
2024 – Manchester City became the first English Premier League football team to win four consecutive seasons.
The team took the title after beating West Ham United 3-1 at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium. Arsenal came close to taking the title but ultimately came in second.
Today in music
1973 – Stevie Wonder went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘You Are The Sunshine Of My Life’. His third US No.1, won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. This song was the second single released from the album ‘Talking Book’.
1978 – Dire Straits released their first major label single ‘Sultans Of Swing’, recorded on a £120 budget. The song was first recorded as a demo at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977, and quickly acquired a following after it was put on rotation at Radio London.
1979 – ABBA started a four week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Voulez-Vous’ the group’s fourth No.1 album.
1984 – Bob Marley and the Wailers started a 12-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with the compilation album ‘Legend’, released to commemorate the third anniversary of Marley’s death.
2010 – ‘Stairway To Heaven’ was named the UK’s favourite rock song in a survey by listeners to radio station Absolute Classic Rock. Led Zeppelin had two other tracks in the top 10; ‘Whole Lotta Love’ was voted at No. 4 and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’, from the group’s fourth album, was at No. 7.
2015 – Lee Ryan became the fourth and final member of Blue to declare himself bankrupt. Lee became the last member of the chart-topping boyband – who earned more than £80million after selling in excess of 15million records worldwide to file for bankruptcy, following in the financial footsteps of his band mates Simon Webbe, Antony Costa and Duncan James.
2023 – Ed Sheeran, Adele and Harry Styles were among the UK’s richest people under the age of 35, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Ed Sheeran, 32, was ranked the seventh wealthiest with a fortune of £300m, helped by his fast-selling sixth album Subtract. Adele was in ninth place with £165m. Harry Styles had the biggest-selling UK album last year with ‘Harry’s House’. The 29-year-old’s wealth was said to be £150m.
Today in history
1499 – Catherine of Aragon (aged 12) was married by proxy to Arthur Tudor, the Prince of Wales (aged 12).
1536 – Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife, was beheaded in London. She was 29 years old. Although the evidence against her was unconvincing, the charges brought included incest with her brother and no less than four counts of adultery.
1568 – Queen Elizabeth I ordered the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary had previously claimed Elizabeth’s throne as her own and was considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English Catholics. After 18 years and 9 months in custody, Mary was tried and executed for her involvement in plots to assassinate Elizabeth.
1662 – The Act of Uniformity gave consent to the revised English Prayer Book and denied the right to take up arms against the king. Presbyterianism in the Church was destroyed and many ministers who did not confirm were ejected. A Licensing Act forbade imports of literature contrary to Christian faith.
1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition departed from Greenhithe in Kent. The entire crew of 129 perished from starvation, hypothermia, tuberculosis, lead poisoning and scurvy whilst attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic.