September 12th "2024" Daily Prep
Welcome to day 256 of the year! Known as National Video Game Day, Chocolate Milkshake Day. If you were born today you were likely conceived the week of December 20th in the previous year. Your star sign is Virgo and your birthstone is Sapphire.
1970 – The supersonic Concorde passenger jet landed at Heathrow Airport for the first time to a barrage of complaints from nearby residents about noise.
Todays birthdays
1973 – Darren Campbell (51), British former sprint athlete and the sprint coach at Wasps Rugby Club for the 2015–16 season, born in Sale, Greater Manchester.
1974 – Guy Smith (50), British professional racing driver in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (winner in 2003), born in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire.
1981 – Jennifer Hudson (43), American singer-songwriter (“Spotlight”), actress (Dreamgirls, Respect), born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
1986 – Alfie Allen (38), English actor (Game of Thrones – “Theon Greyjoy” and John Wick – “Iosef Tarasov”), born in London, England.
1986 – Emmy Rossum (38), American actress (Shameless USA, The Day After Tomorrow), born in New York, New York, United States.
Famous deaths
2003 – Johnny Cash (b. 1932), American singer-songwriter (“Ring of Fire”, “I Walk the Line”), guitarist, and actor (Stagecoach).
The day today
1906 – The opening of the Newport Transporter Bridge in South Wales. Only eight such bridges remain in use worldwide and this is the oldest and largest of the three historic transporter bridges which remain in Britain.
1936 – Britain’s Fred Perry won the US Tennis Championships against Donald Budge. Britain had to wait a further 76 years for a male singles champion and on 11th September 2012 Andy Murray won the US Open, beating Novak Djokovic.
1960 – Ministry of Transport (MoT) tests on motor vehicles were introduced in the UK.
2012 – After three years reviewing 450,000 documents, including those relating to former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Merseyside police, the Hillsborough Independent Panel published its report. The report exposed the police campaign to blame Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster which saw the death of 96 fans. It led to a new criminal inquiry into the disaster and an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
2021 – All Britain’s major newspapers carried the story of unseeded 18 year old Emma Raducanu winning the US Open, after beating Leylah Fernandez in straight sets. She did not drop a set through qualifying or the main draw, was the first qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam and was the first British woman to win a Grand Slam trophy since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977.
Today in music
1954 – The first ‘teen idol’, Frank Sinatra was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Three Coins In The Fountain,’ the singer’s first UK No.1. The song was The Academy Award winning Best Original Song of 1954.
1963 – The Beatles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘She Loves You’, the group’s second No.1. It became the biggest seller of the year and the biggest selling Beatles single in the UK.
1970 – Smokey Robinson and The Miracles were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Tears Of A Clown’, their first UK No.1. Stevie Wonder (who was discovered by Miracles member Ronnie White), and his producer Hank Cosby wrote the music for the song.
1987 – Michael Jackson kicked of his Bad World Tour by playing the first of three sold-out nights at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. By the end of the 123-date tour, Jackson had played to over 4million fans across fifteen countries.
1999 – The Vengaboys went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘We’re Going To Ibiza!’ The song was originally known as ‘Barbados’ a No.1 for Typically Tropical in 1975. The Vengaboys gave it a new title with revised lyrics.
Today in history
1440 – Eton College was founded by Henry VI for 25 poor and needy scholars. Prefects were warned to look out for “ill-kempt heads, unwashed faces, foul clothes”.
1609 – English explorer Henry Hudson sailed his ship ‘Half Moon’ into New York harbour and 150 miles further inland to Albany, along the waterway now called Hudson River.
1792 – Court martial begins for instigators of the mutiny on the Bounty on board HMS Duke in Portsmouth harbour, presided over by Vice-Admiral Samuel Hood.
1852 – The birth of Herbert Henry Asquith, British Liberal Prime Minister. It was Asquith who introduced old age pensions and Lloyd-George was his Chancellor of the Exchequer.
1878 – Cleopatra’s Needle, an ancient Egyptian obelisk, 68ft of granite, was presented to Britain by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan and erected on the Thames Embankment. Inside the pedestal were placed some important reminders of the British Empire, including Bradshaw’s Railway Guide, Whitaker’s Almanack and a dozen pin-ups of Victorian ladies.