November 25th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 330 of the “leap” year! Known as Shopping Reminder Day, White Ribbon Day, National Brand Day. Your star sign is Sagittarius and your birthstone is Topaz.
1984 – The cream of the British pop world including Bono, George Michael, Boy George, Paul Young and Sting gathered to record the historic Do They Know It’s Christmas? as Band Aid.
Todays birthdays
1955 – Bruno Tonioli (69), Italian-British dancer, choreography and television personality (Strictly Come Dancing, 2004-19; Dancing With the Stars, 2005-present), born in Ferrara, Italy.
1965 – Dougray Scott (58), Scottish actor (Mission: Impossible 2, Enigma, Ripley’s Game, Hitman, Taken 3), born in Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland.
1971 – Christina Applegate (53), American actress (Married With Children, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.
1979 – Joel Kinnaman (45), Swedish actor (Robocop – 2014, Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, The Informer), born in Stockholm, Sweden.
1981 – Xabi Alonso (43), Spanish football coach, former professional player (Real Madrid, Liverpool) and current head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, born in Tolosa, Spain.
Famous deaths
2015 – Warren Mitchell (b. 1926), English actor and screenwriter best known for playing bigoted cockney Alf Garnett (Till Death Us Do Part, In Sickness and in Health).
2020 – Des O’Connor (b. 1932), English comedian, singer and television presenter (Today with Des and Mel, Take Your Pick!, Countdown).
The day today
1952 – The play, The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, opened in London, at the Ambassador’s Theatre where it remained for 21 years. By Saturday 12th April 1958 it had become the longest running production of any kind in the history of British Theatre.
1953 – Hungary, led by their talented footballer Ferenc Pushkas, beat England 6-3 at Wembley to become the first foreign team to achieve an away win at Wembley.
2005 – Former football star George Best died in hospital at the age of 59 after suffering multiple organ failure. He was a talented and charismatic player and became one of the first celebrity footballers. Best’s subsequent extravagant lifestyle led to various problems, most notably alcoholism, which he suffered from for the rest of his adult life. A common description of his place in football history is summed up by the quote ‘Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best.’
2012 – 34 year old former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton announced his retirement from boxing following his loss to Vyacheslav Senchenko in Manchester. Quote by Hatton “A fighter knows and I know it isn’t there any more. I have got to be a man and say it is the end of Ricky Hatton.”
2013 – It was announced that Clare’s Law, which enables people to check the police record of their partners, would be expanded (in March 2014) to cover all of England and Wales. The policy is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend George Appleton at her Salford home in February 2009.
Today in music
1984 – The cream of the British pop world gathered at S.A.R.M. Studios, London to record the historic Do They Know It’s Christmas? The single, which was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, featured Paul Young, Bono, Boy George, Sting and George Michael. It went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the bestselling record ever, and raised over £8 million worldwide.
2001 – Robbie Williams started an eight-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Swing When You’re Winning’. The album spent 57 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, certified 7x Platinum, and became the 49th best-selling album of all-time in the UK.
2003 – Meat Loaf underwent heart surgery in a London hospital after being diagnosed with a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat. The 52-year-old singer had collapsed on November 17th as he performed at London’s Wembley Arena.
2005 – Madonna achieved her sixth number one on the UK album charts with ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ her third consecutive US album chart topper. The album went to No.1 in 40 countries setting a new record. The Beatles previously held this record when The Beatles 1 went to No.1 in 36 countries in 2000.
2009 – Brian May joined Freddie Mercury’s 87-year-old mother Jer Bulsara in Feltham town centre, at a ceremony to unveil a plaque to the late singers memory. They were joined by over 2,000 fans from as far as Japan and Australia who descended on the Centre, in Feltham High Street in England. The plague reads: “Freddie Mercury – musician, singer and songwriter” along with the dates he lived in Feltham, between 1964 and 1968.
Today in history
1120 – Henry I’s only legitimate son, William, was drowned when The White Ship (la Blanche-Nef) carrying him from Normandy to England sank off Barfleur. This set up a conflict, known as the Anarchy, for the English crown between Stephen and Henry’s daughter, Matilda.
1703 – The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, reached its intensity which it maintained through to 27th November. Winds gusted up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people died.
1823 – The first pleasure pier, The Chain Pier at Brighton, opened. It closed in 1896 and was destroyed in a storm in the same year.
1835 – Birth of Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-born US industrialist and philanthropist who rose from telegraph boy to iron and steel multimillionaire. He devoted his vast wealth to libraries and universities including the Carnegie Hall in New York which opened in 1891.
1896 – William Marshall became the first person in Britain to receive a parking summons after leaving his car in Tokenhouse Yard in the City of London, but the case was dismissed.