Thursday, May 1st "2025" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 121, known as May Day, Frequent Flyer Day, Learn To Ride a Bike Day, National Chocolate Parfait Day. Your star sign is Taurus and your birthstone is Emerald.
1840 – The first British Penny Black stamp went on sale. Invented by Rowland Hill, it was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp and it became valid for postage on 6th May.
Todays birthdays
1946 – Joanna Lumley (79), British actress (Absolutely Fabulous, The Avengers, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and former model, born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India.
1951 – Antony Worrall Thompson (74), English restaurateur and celebrity chef (Ready Steady Cook), born in Stratford-upon-Avon.
1954 – Ray Parker Jr (71), American musician who wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film Ghostbusters, born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
1955 – Nick Feldman (70), English musician (also known as Nick de Spig) best known for forming the British new wave band Wang Chung (“Dance Hall Days”), born in North London.
1975 – Nina Hossain (50), British journalist and presenter employed by ITN as the lead presenter of the ITV Lunchtime News, born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
1975 – Jodhi May (50), English actress (The Last of the Mohicans, The Other Boleyn Girl , Defiance), born in Camden Town, London.
1987 – Matt Di Angelo (38), British actor and singer, best known for his role as Dean Wicks in Eastenders and Sean Kennedy in Hustle, born in Enfield, London.
Famous deaths
1994 – Ayrton Senna (b. 1960), Brazilian race car driver who won three Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles with McLaren, and at the time of his death, held the record for most pole positions (65), among others; he won 41 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.
2011 – Henry Cooper (b. 1934), English heavyweight boxer and was undefeated in British and Commonwealth heavyweight championship contests for twelve years.
Did You Know?
May Day was originally a Roman festival which began on 28th April and lasted several days to mark the commencement of summer. In England, middle and lower classes would gather flowers – ‘go a maying’ – and the prettiest village maid was crowned Queen of the May, celebrated with dancing around the maypole.
The day today
1916 – The end of the Easter Rising in Ireland, following a week of bitter fighting in Dublin after Irish Nationalists rose against British rule on Easter Monday, 24th April. More than 400 lost their lives.
1930 – Pluto was officially named. The name Pluto was suggested by 11-year old Venetia Burney when she heard about the discovery of a new planet. The idea was forwarded to the scientists, and the name was officially adopted.
1952 – Mr. Potato Head was officially released, originally only consisting of the accessories which were stuck in an actual potato.
1955 – Stirling Moss and co-driver Dennis Jenkinson became the first British drivers to win the Mille Miglia. His Mercedes Benz finished 30 minutes ahead of the second car, driven by the legendary Argentinian, Fangio.
1982 – The Royal Air Force began a series of attacks on Argentina’s Air Force in the Falkland Islands. The air raids were the longest-ranged bombing runs at the time, with the Vulcan bombers traveling 6,600 nautical miles (12,200 km). While impressive, the damage done by the raids was repaired within 24 hours.
2014 – It was revealed that OCR (optical character recognition) scanners would confuse arms and anus in old text, leading to some unusual romantic translations such as – Mrs. Tipton went over to him and put her anus around his neck. She said, rapturously. ‘I have been hoping for years that you would talk that way to me.’ Also, from Matisse on the Loose – ‘Oh boy!’ she said. She grabbed my anus and positioned my body in the direction of the east gallery and we started walking.
2017 – Mark Selby defends his world snooker title, beating John Higgins 18-15, at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.
2023 – Geoffrey Hinton ‘the Godfather of AI” resigns from Google to speak out about the dangers of AI – eliminating jobs and creating a world where many may “not be able to know what is true anymore”.
Today in music
1966 – The Beatles played live for the last time in the UK when they appeared at the NME Poll Winners concert at Wembley Empire Pool. The Beatles set included; ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘If I Needed Someone’ and ‘I’m Down’. Also on the bill, The Spencer Davis Group, The Fortunes, Herman’s Hermits, Roy Orbison, The Rolling Stones, The Seekers, The Small Faces, Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, The Who and The Yardbirds.
1967 – 32 year old Elvis Presley married 21 year old Priscilla Beaulieu, a girl he first met in 1959 when she was just 14 years old. When Elvis got out of the army in 1960, Beaulieu moved into the singer’s Graceland mansion with her family’s blessing. The wedding ceremony took place at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and although the marriage license was only $15, the wedding cake cost $3,500. The couple divorced after five years of marriage on October 9, 1973.
1976 – The Bellamy Brothers went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Let Your Love Flow’, the duo’s only US No.1, a No.7 hit in the UK.
1980 – The South African government banned Pink Floyd’s single ‘Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)’ after black children adopted the song as their anthem in protest against inferior education.
1993 – George Michael, Queen and Lisa Stansfield went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Five Live EP’ which was recorded at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert held in April 1992, at Wembley Stadium, London.
2003 – American soul singer Barry White suffered a stroke while being treated for kidney failure. The singer died two months later on July 4th 2003.
2005 – Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Devils & Dust’ the American singer songwriters sixth UK No.1.
2015 – Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars gave The Gap Band a writing credit on their huge hit ‘Uptown Funk’, due to its similarities with their 1979 track ‘Oops Up Side Your Head’. ‘Uptown Funk’, which had topped the UK chart for seven weeks and the US chart for 14, originally had six songwriters but was now credited to The Gap Band as well.
Today in history
1118 – The death (aged 38) of Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England and the first wife of Henry I. She acted as regent of England during her husband’s frequent absences for military campaigns and she was known for her generosity towards the church where she founded and supported cloisters and hospitals for leprosy sufferers.
1707 – The Act of Union joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founded the Wedgwood pottery company in Burslem, Staffordshire. Wedgewood was a prominent abolitionist of slavery. He mass produced cameos depicting the seal for the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade and had them widely distributed. He was also the grandfather of Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin.
1769 – The birth, in Ireland, of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. Known as the Iron Duke, he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. He was Tory Prime Minister from 1828-30, becoming unpopular when he conceded Roman Catholic emancipation. His London house had its windows smashed by an angry mob on the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
1840 – The first British Penny Black stamp went on sale. Invented by Rowland Hill, it was the world’s first adhesive postage stamp and it became valid for postage on 6th May. The Penny Black public house in Northwich, Cheshire is a Grade II listed, Tudor style building that was formerly the district’s post office.