January 28th

National Day

• Lego Day
• Daisy Day
• Data Privacy Day
• World Leprosy Day

Birthdays

• 1957 – Frank Skinner, English comedian (Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned), actor and presenter, born
• in West Bromwich, West Midlands.
• 1975 – Lee Latchford-Evans), English singer with dance-pop group Steps (“Better Best Forgotten”, Last Thing on My Mind”), born in Chester.
• 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English football pundit and former footballer (Liverpool 1996–2013, England 1999–2010), born in Bootle, Merseyside.
• 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer and a member of pop group Backstreet Boys (“Quit Playing
• Games With My Heart”), born in Jamestown, New York, United States.
• 1986 – Jessica Ennis Hill, British former track and field athlete (heptathlon and 100 metres hurdles),
• born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

On This Day

• 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members. Several crew survived the initial breakup of the craft but not the impact of the Atlantic Ocean. The explosion was caused by a failure of an O-ring seal in one of the solid rocket boosters, which led to a breach in the fuel tank.
• 2014 – A report by the Commons public accounts committee found that the Queen’s advisers were failing to control her finances, while the royal palaces were ‘crumbling’. MPs said that her advisers had overspent to such an extent that her reserve fund had fallen from £35 million in 2001 to just £1 million. The Queen’s courtiers were advised to take money-saving tips from the Treasury.
• 2015 – Photographers took to Twitter to complain that their pictures of Arlington Row, in the Cotswold village of Bibury were being ‘blighted and photo-bombed’ by the bright yellow Vauxhall Corsa that belonged to one of the residents.

Music

• 1978 – The Fleetwood Mac album Rumours went to No.1 on the UK album chart. The groups eleventh studio album went on to sell over 45 million copies world-wide and spent over 440 weeks on the UK chart. The songs ‘Go Your Own Way’, ‘Dreams’, ‘Don’t Stop’, and ‘You Make Loving Fun’ were released as singles.
• 1984 – Frankie Goes To Hollywood started a five-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Relax!’ BBC Radio DJ Mike Read expressed on air his distaste for both the record’s suggestive sleeve and its lyrics, he announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing that the BBC had decided that the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway. Produced by Trevor Horn the song remained on the chart for 48 weeks.
• 1985 – The recording took place for We Are The World the US equivalent of Band Aid at A&M Studios in Hollywood. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie the all star cast included Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Daryl Hall, John Oates, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry and Bob Geldof.

History

• 1547 – The death of Henry VIII, exactly 90 years after the birth of his father Henry VII. His nine year old son, Edward VI succeeded him and became the first Protestant ruler of England.
• 1596 – Sir Francis Drake died from dysentery aboard his ship, off Porto Bello. His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards. It’s claimed that King Philip II of Spain offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, (equivalent to £4,000,000 in today’s money) for Drake’s life.
• 1813 – The novel Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, was first published. It follows Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with the issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England.