1956 – John Lydon, British singer-songwriter and lead vocalist with the punk rock band Sex Pistols
(“Anarchy in the U.K.”), born in Holloway, Islington, London.
1970 – Minnie Driver, British and American actress (GoldenEye, Good Will Hunting, Grosse Pointe
Blank), born in London.
1971 – Patrick Kielty, Northern Irish comedian, TV presenter (Patrick Kielty Almost Live, Debatable) and radio host (BBC Radio 5 Live), born in County Down, Northern Ireland.
1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer (“Cry Me a River”, “Sexyback” and actor (In Time, The Social Network), born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
1987 – Marcus Mumford, American-born British singer (Mumford & Sons – “I Will Wait”, “Little Lion Man”), born in Anaheim, California, United States.
On This Day
1961 – A chimpanzee named Ham became the first primate to go to space aboard the US MR-2 spacecraft. The trip was part of the Mercury Mission, which aimed to put the first man into Earth’s orbit. Ham played a vital role in teaching us that tasks could be carried out in space.
2016 – The death of the radio and TV brodcaster Terry Wogan, aged 77. He presented Children in Need, Wake Up to Wogan, Come Dancing, the game show Blankety Blank and he was the BBC’s commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest from 1971 to 2008. His weekday radio programme on BBC Radio 2, ‘Wake Up to Wogan’, had eight million regular listeners, making him the most listened to radio broadcaster in Europe. He was granted a knighthood in 2005 and was entitled to use ‘Sir’ in front of his name as he held dual British and Irish citizenship.
Music
1999 – US dance music producer Armand Van Helden went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You Don’t Know Me’. Helden also had a No.1 with the remix of the Tori Amos track ‘Professional Widow’.
2003 – Robbie Williams topped a chart based on UK album sales from the past 5 years. The former Take That singer had sold 9.7 million albums in Britain, an average of more than 5,000 every day. The Corrs were in second place with 5.8m sales, Westlife in third with 5.1, Madonna in fourth with 5m and The Beatles in fifth with 4.7m.
2008 – Natasha Bedingfield entered the US chart at number three with her album Pocketful of Sunshine, equaling the record set by soul singer Sade in having the highest-ever US chart debut for a UK-signed female. The British singer sold 50,000 copies of the record in its first week of release.
History
1788 – Death, in Rome, of Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie). After his father’s death, Charles was recognised as ‘King Charles III’ by his supporters.
1849 – The abolition of the Corn Laws. These trade barriers had been designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom against competition from less expensive foreign imports and their abolition marked a significant step towards free trade.
1858 – The Great Eastern, the five-funnelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and John Scott Russell, was launched at Millwall. At the time, it was the world’s largest ship.
1867 – The four bronze lions each 18 feet (5.5 m) square, cast from captured French guns at the base of Nelson’s Column were completed. They depict the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, the Battle of the Nile, the Battle of Copenhagen and the death of Nelson at Trafalgar.
1893 – The Westminster Gazette, a daily newspaper in London began publishing. It was printed in green to make it easier to read in poorly lit train and bus carriages.
Topics
On average we have seven major regrets – with starting smoking, not saving enough money or putting on weight likely to be top of the list. A study’s revealed taking up smoking was the most common regret, with 88% of smokers wishing they had never started in the first place. Not getting better exam results at school, not keeping in touch with people and getting into debt also featured in the list. Other popular regrets include choosing the wrong career path, not going travelling and drinking too much at a young age.
Owning an iPhone, watching reality television and beating younger relatives at games are just some of the secrets to keeping young, it has been revealed. Surfing the web, spending time with the grandchildren or catching the eye of someone younger were also cited as big reasons to feel more alive. The study of over 50’s found the secrets of youth people rely on to feel they are keeping ‘with it’ with having regular sex, fancying a younger celebrity and being on Facebook all likely to grant a burst of life.
Are you drinking enough water daily?? More than one in 10 of us claim we’re ‘too busy’ to drink more water. We drink an average of five glasses of water a day – but a third of us say we don’t always remember to stay hydrated. It also emerged that hating the taste could be among the reasons we aren’t drinking enough – as a fifth of us say we aren’t keen on the taste of tap water.
The northern lights have been named top bucket list destination again. The natural wonder in northern skies, which is due to have its most visible year, can be glimpsed from Aberdeen where rooms cost from £68 a night. 57% of us dream about chasing the aurora borealis. Seeing the lights beat a visit to the pyramids of Egypt (31%) and the Great Wall of China (28%).
Splurging on a red sports car and trying to bed the secretary may become a thing of the past as the midlife crisis dies out. Six in 10 dismissed the idea as old-fashioned nonsense that doesn’t apply to those in their mid-40s any more. Midlife folk are now more interested in self-improvement. Many prefer to join a gym, learn a language, try out meditation or volunteer for charity instead of trying to claw back their youth.
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