December 20th

National Day

• Today is Go Caroling Day, National Sangria Day and Sacagawea Day.
• Your star sign is Sagittarius and your birthstone is Blue Topaz.

Birthdays

• 1946 – Uri Geller, Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic, born in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
• 1952 – Jenny Agutter, English actress (Spooks, Call The Midwife, The Railway Children), born in Taunton, Somerset.
• 1956 – Anita Ward, American singer and musician (“Ring My Bell”), born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States
• 1957 – Billy Bragg, English singer, songwriter and musician (Beats International – “Dub Be Good to Me”), born in Barking, East London.
• 1966 – Matt Neal, English motor racing driver (British Touring Car Championship winner in 2005, 2006 and 2011), born in Stourbridge, West Midlands.
• 1980 – Ashley Cole, English football coach and former player (Chelsea, Arsenal, England), born in Stepney, London.

On This Day

• 1924 – Adolf Hitler was freed from jail early. After an unsuccessful attempt to seize Munich, Adolf Hitler was arrested and charged with high treason. He was sentenced to five years; however, he only served nine months after being released early for good behaviour.
• 1928 – Harry Ramsden started his fish and chip restaurant in a hut at White Cross – Guiseley, near Bradford in West Yorkshire. It soon became the most famous fish and chip restaurant in the world. In 2012 the restaurant was acquired by the fish and chip chain ‘Wetherby Whaler’ and they gave this name to the new restaurant.
• 1928 – The England cricket team scored a record 636 against Australia in Sydney, including 251 scored by Walter Hammond. England won the Test match by eight wickets.
• 1955 – Cardiff was officially recognised as the capital of Wales. Cardiff is the most important administrative, shopping, and cultural centre in the country, as well as the headquarters for many national organizations and government departments.
• 1979 – The introduction of Britain’s Housing Bill, forcing local councils to sell their houses to any tenants who wished to buy them. The scheme was abolished in Scotland (2016) and Wales (2019) to preserve social housing, while remaining in England and Northern Ireland.
• 1990 – The Maerdy Colliery, employing 320 men, closed. It was the last remaining coal mine in the Rhondda Valley, an area which once produced 9 million tonnes a year, and where more than 50,000 miners had worked in 54 pits.
• 2002 – Gangs of New York, the Martin Scorsese historical epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz, was released.
• 2004 – A gang of thieves stole £26.5 million worth of currency from the Donegall Square West headquarters of the Northern Bank in Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of the largest bank robberies in UK history.
• 2007 – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
• 2020 – European countries begin closing their borders to the UK after news of a faster-spreading variant of COVID-19 across London and the south-east.

Music

• 1959 – Emile Ford and the Checkmates were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For.’
• 1969 – The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their 10th release Let It Bleed featuring ‘Midnight Rambler’, and ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want.’ It was the last studio album by the band to feature Brian Jones (who had died on July 3rd of that year after drowning in his swimming pool), as well as the first to feature guitarist Mick Taylor.
• 1969 – Peter Paul and Mary went to No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Leavin’ On A Jet Plane’. John Denver wrote the song in 1966 with the original title of ‘Oh Babe I Hate to Go.’
• 1969 – Rolf Harris had the Christmas No.1 of 1969 and the last No.1 of the 1960s with ‘Two Little Boys’. The song stayed at No.1 for six weeks. On 4th July 2014, 84 year old Harris was jailed for 5 years 9 months for 12 indecent assaults against four girls and was also stripped of his CBE and his OA (Order of Australia).
• 1973 – American singer Bobby Darin died aged 37. One of the first teen idols, he had the 1959 No.1 with ‘Dream Lover’ plus 20 other US Top 40 hits during the 60s including ‘Mack the Knife’, (Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1960).
• 1980 – Twelve days after John Lennon was shot dead in New York City, ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’, which was taken from his Double Fantasy album gave the former Beatle his first ever UK solo No.1 single.
• 1986 – The Housemartins were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of The Isley Brothers ‘Caravan Of Love.’ It was only the second a cappella song to be a No.1 hit after ‘Only You’ by the Flying Pickets.
• 1999 – Readers of UK Guitar magazine voted Noel Gallagher the most overrated guitarist of the millennium. Jimi Hendrix was voted guitarist of the millennium with Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ winning best album.
• 2006 – Matthew Fisher, a founding member of Procol Harum won a High Court battle over who wrote their song ‘’A Whiter Shade Of Pale’. Fisher who played organ on the 1967 hit had argued he wrote the distinctive organ melody, but Mr Justice Blackburne ruled he was entitled to just 40% of the copyright, (rather than the 50% he was seeking). The court decided lead singer Gary Brooker’s input was more substantial and Fisher’s claim for back royalties – of up to £1m – was also rejected. For almost 40 years, the song had been credited to lead singer Gary Brooker and lyricist Keith Reid.

History

• 860 AD – The death, at Sherborne, Dorset, of King Ethelbald (Æthelbald) former King of Wessex.
• 1192 – Richard the Lion-Heart was captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria on his way home to England after signing a treaty that ended the Third crusade.
• 1327 – King Edward II was buried in Gloucester Cathedral. It is the only monarch’s tomb in the South West of England and one of only a few outside of London.
• 1812 – “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” or “Children’s and Household Tales” by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm is first published.
• 1832 – HMS Clio under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands.