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 276 of the year.

Friday, October 3rd Daily Prep.

Known as National Boyfriend Day, Buy British Day, Techies Day and World Smile Day. Your star sign is Libra and your birthstone is Pink Tourmaline.
1952 – News of the end of tea rationing means Britons will soon be able to enjoy unlimited “cuppas” for the first time in 12 years. During a speech in Newcastle the Minister of Food, Major Gwilym Lloyd-George, said rationing and price controls on tea would be lifted the following Sunday.
News of the end of tea rationing means Britons will soon be able to enjoy unlimited “cuppas” for the first time in 12 years. During a speech in Newcastle the Minister of Food, Major Gwilym Lloyd-George, said rationing and price controls on tea would be lifted the following Sunday.
Today’s birthdays
1957 – Tim Westwood (68), English DJ (BBC Radio 1, Capital Xtra) and presenter (Pimp My Ride), born in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
1964 – Clive Owen (61), English actor (Inside Man, The Bourne Identity, Gosford Park), born in Coventry, West Midlands.
1969 – Gwen Stefani (56), American singer-songwriter, co-founder and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt (“Don’t Speak”, “Hollaback Girl”), born in Fullerton, California, United States.
1973 – Neve Campbell (52), Canadian actress known for her role as Sidney Prescott in the Scream franchise, born in Ontario, Canada.
1978 – Jake Shears (47), American musician and the co-lead vocalist of Scissor Sistors (“I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”, “Filthy/Gorgeous”), born in Mesa, Arizona, United States.
1980 – Danny O’Donoghue (45), Irish singer-songwriter and frontman for the band The Script (“The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”), born in Dublin, Ireland.
1981 – Zlatan Ibrahimović (44), Swedish former national team professional footballer who played as a striker (AC Milan, LA Galaxy, Manchester United), born in Malmö, Sweden.
Famous deaths
2005 – Ronnie Barker (b. 1929), English actor, comedian and writer (The Two Ronnies, Porridge, Open All Hours).
The day today
1932 – Iraq gained independence from Britain. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Republic of Iraq was created.
1952 – Britain’s first atomic bomb was detonated on the Monte Bello Islands, off Western Australia.
1952 – The Ministry of Food announced the end of tea rationing, lifting the restrictions that had been in place for over 12 years since the start of World War II. The Minister of Food, Major Gwilym Lloyd-George, made the announcement, citing a steady improvement in tea supplies since the end of the war. This news brought great excitement to the country, signifying a return to unlimited “cuppas” for the first time in over a decade.
1959 – The first postcodes were introduced on a trial basis in Norwich with the first three characters of the code (‘NOR’) representing the name of the city, and the last three characters a particular street. Postcodes were established by July 1, 1963.
1992 – A picture of Pope John Paul II was torn up by the Irish singer Sinead O’Connor on Saturday Night Live. While performing a rendition of Bob Marley’s 1976 song “War”, she held a photograph of Pope John Paul II up to the camera, tore it to pieces, said “fight the real enemy”, and threw the pieces to the floor.
2000 – John Lennon’s assassin Mark Chapman is denied parole after serving 20 years in prison. Chapman was interviewed for 50 minutes by parole board members who concluded that releasing Chapman would “deprecate the seriousness of the crime.”
2013 – The cost of a National Lottery Lotto ticket doubled to £2. The rise was the first since the lottery started in 1994.
2014 – The cast and crew of the BBC’s Top Gear had to abandon their vehicles and flee Argentina after they were pelted with stones. A crowd was incensed that one of their vehicles had a number plate (H982 FKL) that appeared to refer to the Falklands conflict of 1982.
2014 – A man who sold plastic devices which he made in his garden shed, which he claimed could detect bombs and drugs, was jailed. Samuel Tree, 68, was sentenced to three and a half years while his wife Joan, 62, received 300 hours community work. Police said they were driven by “personal greed” and were part of a criminal network worth £80m.
2019 – Scotland became the first country in the UK to make it a criminal offence for parents to smack their children. The ban on all physical punishment was backed overwhelmingly by 84 votes to 29 by the Scottish Parliament. The ban was opposed by the Scottish Conservatives, who claimed that the bill was bad legislation that risked criminalising good parents for using reasonable chastisement.
Today in music
1987 – M/A/R/S were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Pump Up The Volume.’ The first British-made house hit heavily sampled other recordings which resulted in litigation.
1992 – Sinead O’Connor ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul II, on the US TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’, as a protest over sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The incident happened as Sinead ended her live performance and out of nowhere, produced a photograph of Pope John Paul II, which she ripped into pieces. There was stunned silence in the studio and the station went to a commercial. NBC was fined $2.5 million dollars by the Federal Communications Commission.
1999 – Tom Jones went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Reload’, making the singer the oldest artist to score a UK No.1 album with new material. The album featured the collaboration with Mousse T, ‘Sexbomb’, which reached No.3 on the UK Singles Chart, and was later used in an episode of The Simpsons.
2004 – UK singer Joss Stone scored her first UK No.1 album with her second release Mind Body & Soul. Stone became the youngest female singer to top the UK Albums Chart, a record previously held by Avril Lavigne.
2019 – Liam Gallagher was at No.1 on the UK chart with his second solo studio album Why Me? Why Not. The album’s lead single ‘Shockwave’ became one of Gallagher’s biggest solo hits, and the best selling vinyl single of 2019 in the UK.
Today in history
1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd also known as Dafydd III, Prince of Gwynedd and the last independent ruler of Wales, became the first nobleman to be executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered; for plotting the death of King Edward I. Dafydd was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury attached to a horse’s tail then hanged alive, revived, then disembowelled and his entrails burned before him before being cut into four quarters.
1691 – The Treaty of Limerick was signed, ending the Irish Rebellion against English rule.
1712 – The Duke of Montrose issued a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor, the famous Scottish folk hero and outlaw of the early 18th century. He was later imprisoned, finally pardoned in 1727 , died in 1734 and is buried in Balquhidder churchyard (Stirling, Scotland).
1789 – George Washington issued the first “Thanksgiving Proclamation.” The proclamation stated that everyone should celebrate a day of thanksgiving on November 26 that year. Consequently, it has become one of the biggest holidays in the United States.
1849 – Author Edgar Allen Poe (The Raven) is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland, under mysterious circumstances. It is the last time he is seen in public before his death on October 7th.
1888 – New Zealand Natives, a privately organized and mainly Māori rugby team, play their first game in the UK and beat Surrey 4-1; they are the first national rugby team to wear all-black and perform the haka.