November 13th "2024" Daily Prep

Welcome to day 318 of the “leap” year! Known as World Kindness Day, Hug a Musician Day, Actors Day. Your star sign is Scorpio and your birthstone is Topaz.
Disney’s animated feature “Fantasia” was released to movie theaters in the US (21 July 1941 in the UK). Over 1,000 artists and technicians were used in the making of Fantasia, which features more than 500 animated characters.
1940 – Disney’s animated feature “Fantasia” was released to movie theaters in the US (21 July 1941 in the UK). Over 1,000 artists and technicians were used in the making of Fantasia, which features more than 500 animated characters.
Todays birthdays
1951 – Trudie Goodwin (73), English actress best known for playing Sergeant June Ackland in the British television police drama The Bill from 1983 to 2007, born in Lewisham.
1952 – Art Malik (72), English actor (The Living Daylights, True Lies, The Jewel in the Crown) who achieved international fame in the 1980s, born in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
1969 – Gerard Butler (55), Scottish actor (300, Law Abiding Citizen, Geostorm) and film producer, born in Paisley, Scotland.
1986 – Kevin Bridges (38), Scottish stand-up comedian (Live at the Apollo, Kevin Bridges: What’s the Story?), born in Clydebank, Scotland.
1999 – Lando Norris (25), British racing driver currently competing in Formula One with McLaren, born in Bristol.
Famous deaths
2004 – Fred Dibnah (b. 1938), English steeplejack and television personality.
2012 – Clive Dunn (b. 1920), English actor best known for his role as Lance Corporal Jones in the BBC sitcom Dad’s Army.
The day today
1901 – The Caister (Norfolk) Lifeboat Disaster. Lifeboat Beauchamp and its crew were lost while attempting a rescue during heavy seas. The following morning, eight bodies were recovered at the scene with another, that of Charles Bonney George being washed away, only to be recovered months later in April of the following year. The victims are all buried in Caister Cemetery.
1916 – World War One : The final Battle of the Somme, on the River Ancre. By the end of the battle, (which started on 1st July 1916) the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties including 19,240 fatalities on the first day alone. The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000. The Battle of the Somme epitomised the futility of trench warfare and the indiscriminate slaughter of so many men.
1954 – Great Britain defeated France to capture the first ever Rugby League World Cup, held in Paris, in front of around 30,000 spectators.
1995 – 18 year Leah Betts was on a life-support machine after taking a single ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party. She died three days later without ever regaining consciousness.
2017 – The first-ever Barbie wearing a hijab was revealed at Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year summit. The hijab-wearing Barbie doll was designed after Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad and was part of the “Shero” Barbie series.
Today in music
1968 – Hugo Montenegro was at No.1 in the UK singles chart with ‘The Good The Bad And The Ugly’, the soundtrack from a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western film. The first instrumental No.1 since 1963.
1999 – A report showed that The Spice Girls were the highest earners in pop during the 90s with their debut album ‘Spice’ selling over 20 million copies. Elton John was second with 14 million sales from ‘The Lion King’.
2005 – Simon Cowell was named Show Business personality of the year by the Variety Club at the show business charity’s annual awards show in London. Katie Melua won recording artist of the year at the event, hosted by singer Myleene Klass.
2015 – Adele’s comeback single ‘Hello’ achieved platinum sales status in the UK, just three weeks after it was released after the chart-topping song sold more than 600,000 copies.
2020 – Kylie Minogue went to No.1 on the UK album chart with Disco, making her the only woman to top the chart in five consecutive decades.
Today in history
1002 – English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice’s Day massacre.
1093 – Battle of Alnwick: in an English victory over the Scots, Malcolm III of Scotland, and his son Edward, are killed.
1839 – The last bull run in Britain was held at Stamford. It was held on St Brice’s Day (13 November), for perhaps more than 600 years. Attempts to suppress the Stamford bull run began in 1788, the year the Tutbury bull run was brought to an end. Other bull-running events had earlier been held in Axbridge, Canterbury, Wokingham and Wisbech.
1841 – James Braid (Scottish surgeon), first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism by Charles Lafontaine, which leads to his study of the subject he eventually calls hypnotism.
1887 – The infamous Bloody Sunday Protests were held in London. The protests involved unemployed protestors in physical confrontations with London’s police. Four hundred people were arrested, while 75 were severely injured.