Famous deaths
2018 – Chas Hodges (b. 1943), English musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist, pianist and guitarist of the musical duo Chas & Dave.
On This Day 2025
Hello, … Welcome to day 325 of the year.

Friday, November 21st Daily Prep.

Known as World Television Day, World Fisheries Day, World Vasectomy Day. Your star sign is Scorpio and your birthstone is Topaz.
2019 – Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s first electric cyber truck with shatterproof windows. However, at the grand reveal, when the shatterproof windows were tested by being repeatedly hit by the design chief Franz von Holzhausen, the windows shattered.
Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s first electric cyber truck with shatterproof windows. However, at the grand reveal, when the shatterproof windows were tested by being repeatedly hit by the design chief Franz von Holzhausen, the windows shattered.
Today’s birthdays
1945 – Goldie Hawn (80), American actress (Death Becomes Her, Private Benjamin, Bird on a Wire), born in Washington, D.C., United States
1964 – Liza Tarbuck (61), English actress (Mount Pleasant, Linda Green), comedian, television (Win, Lose or Draw) and radio presenter, born in Liverpool.
1965 – Bjork (60), Icelandic singer (“It’s Oh So Quiet”), songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress (Dancer in the Dark), born in Reykjavík, Iceland.
1968 – Alex James (57), English musician best known as the bassist of the rock band Blur (“Girls & Boys”, “Country House”, “Park Life”), born in Boscombe, Bournemouth.
1968 – Andy Caddick (57), English former cricketer (England, Somerset CCC) who played as a fast bowler in Tests and ODIs, born in Christchurch, New Zealand.

1985 – Carly Rae Jepsen (40), Canadian singer and songwriter (“Call Me Maybe”, “Now That I Found You”), born in Mission, British Columbia, Canada.

Famous deaths
2017 – David Cassidy (b. 1950), American actor (The Partridge Family), singer and musician (“Breaking Up Is Hard to Do”).
The day today
1916 – HMHS Britannic, the largest Olympic-class ocean liner of the White Star Line and sister ship of RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic was sunk, with the loss of 30 lives. There were a total of 1,066 people on board, with 1,036 survivors taken from the water and lifeboats, about two hours after the ship sank at 9:07 am. She was the largest ship lost during the First World War.
1918 – At the end of World War I, the German Fleet was surrendered to Britain at its northern naval base at Scapa Flow.
1920 – The Irish Republican Army shot and killed 31 people in Dublin in what became known as the country’s first ‘Bloody Sunday’. The death toll included fourteen British informants, fourteen Irish civilians and three Irish Republican Army prisoners.
1931 – The horror classic Frankenstein, based on a stage adaptation of British author Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, was released in the United States, and it helped make the hulking monster, who was portrayed by Boris Karloff, one of the most recognizable characters in film history.
1936 – The world’s first gardening program, In The Garden, was broadcast by the BBC with presenter C.H. Middleton. The show was transmitted from a specially built garden at Alexandra Palace. Middleton is considered the first television gardener and was known for his contributions to the “Dig for Victory” campaign during World War II.
1953 – The British Natural History Museum announced that the ‘Piltdown Man’ skull, initially believed to be one of the most important fossilized skulls ever found, was a hoax.
1958 – Work began on the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland. It was the longest suspension bridge outside the United States and the fourth-largest in the world at the time of its construction. It was awarded Historic Scotland’s Category A, listed structure status in 2001.
1974 – The IRA exploded two bombs in two Birmingham Pubs, killing 19 people and injuring 180 others. The Birmingham Six, as they were called by the media, were sentenced to life in prison for the crime but were subsequently acquitted by the Court of Appeal on March 14, 1991.
2012 – Chelsea appointed former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez as interim manager until the end of the season. He replaced Roberto Di Matteo, who was sacked following a 3-0 Champions League defeat by Juventus. Benitez, 52, became Chelsea’s ninth manager since Roman Abramovich became owner in 2003.
2014 – Residents and businesses on the Isles of Scilly were able to receive superfast fibre optic broadband following the completion of a project by BT and Superfast Cornwall to lay fibre on the islands, located 28 miles off the Cornish coast. Fibre has been deployed on all five of the inhabited islands, with undersea cables linking St Mary’s, Tresco and Bryher, and microwave links connecting St Agnes and St Martins.
2019 – Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s first electric cyber truck with shatterproof windows. However, at the grand reveal, when the shatterproof windows were tested by being repeatedly hit by the design chief Franz von Holzhausen, the windows shattered.
2021 – Lewis Hamilton claims victory at the Qatar Grand Prix after a dominant performance under the lights at the Losail International Circuit. It was a commanding win for Lewis in Qatar, taking the 102nd victory of his F1 career and 81st for the Mercedes F1 Team.
2024 – The death was announced of John Prescott, aged 86 (31st May 1938 – 20th November 2024). He was Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull East for 40 years, from 1970 to 2010 and was Britain’s longest serving deputy prime minister (21st July 1994 – 24th June 2007). He served for Tony Blair as deputy for 10 years after Labour’s 1997 election landslide victory.
Today in music
1954 – American singer and actress Rosemary Clooney was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘This Ole House.’ This song was also a No.1 for Shakin’ Stevens in 1981. Her nephew, George Clooney was a pallbearer at her funeral in 2002.
1960 – The Beatles played at the Kaiserkeller Club in Hamburg, Germany without George Harrison after he was deported from Germany for being underage. The deportation was likely orchestrated by the club’s owner, Bruno Koschmider, in retaliation for the band breaking their exclusive contract and potentially playing at another club, the Top Ten Club.
1970 – Two months after his death Jimi Hendrix was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ the closing track on Electric Ladyland, the third and final album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. This was the guitarist’s only UK No.1 single. Hendrix’s solo on the track was named the 11th greatest solo of all-time in Guitar World’s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.
1981 – Queen and David Bowie were at No.1 in the UK with Under Pressure. They recorded the song together when both acts were working in a Swiss recording studio. It was David Bowie’s first released collaboration with another recording artist.
1981 – Olivia Newton John started a ten week run at No.1 in the US singles chart with ‘Physical’, the singers fourth US No.1 went on to sell over 2 million copies, a became a No.7 hit in the UK.
1983 – Michael Jackson’s 14-minute video for Thriller was premiered in Los Angeles. Directed by John Landis and co-starring former Playboy centerfold Ola Ray. The video (like the song) contains a spoken word performance by horror film veteran Vincent Price. The video was filmed at the Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, the zombie dance sequence at the junction of Union Pacific Avenue and South Calzona Street in East Los Angeles and the final house scene in the Angeleno Heights neighborhood at 1345 Carroll Avenue.
1990 – Mick Jagger married Jerry Hall in Bali. The marriage was declared ‘null and void’ on 13th August 1999 after a judge ruled that the six- hour ceremony in Bali was never registered.
1991 – Aerosmith made a guest appearance in the Simpsons TV animated comedy. Other acts who have appeared on the show included: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, U2, The Moody Blues, The B-52’s, The Who, R.E.M., Phish, Blink-182, Metallica, and The White Stripes.
1992 – Charles and Eddie were at No.1 in the UK singles chart with ‘Would I Lie To You’ the debut single by the pop-soul duo and their only chart topper.
2004 – Girls Aloud started a two week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Pretenders ‘I’ll Stand By You.’ This was 2004’s single for the Children In Need appeal with its proceeds going towards the charity.
2013 – Pharrell Williams’ single “Happy” (Billboard Song of the Year 2014, Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance 2015) was released. It was originally featured on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack but was also the lead single from his second studio album, Girl.
2017 – American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist David Cassidy died of liver failure aged 67. He was known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother Shirley Jones), in the 70s musical-sitcom The Partridge Family, which led to him becoming one of popular culture’s teen idols. The Partridge Family had the 1970 US No.1 single ‘I Think I Love You’, and the 1972 UK No.3 single ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do’. As a solo artist he scored the 1972 UK No.1 single ‘How Can I Be Sure’.
Today in history
1695 – The death of Henry Purcell, English composer and organist. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers and no other native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar.
1783 – French chemistry and physics teacher Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier made his first successful balloon flight. His joy for balloons eventually killed him when he tried to cross the English Channel with Pierre Romain. This became the first-ever known air crash fatality.
1806 – Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree, which prohibited trade between France and Britain. This was part of Napoleon’s Continental System, an economic warfare strategy to isolate Britain from continental Europe.
1843 – English inventor and manufacturer Thomas Hancock patented vulcanized rubber. In 1825 he had produced the first toy balloons in Britain consisting of a bottle of rubber solution and a condensing syringe.
1877 – American inventor Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound. Edison initially used the phonograph as a dictating machine for offices but it later became a popular form of entertainment.