ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE MAY 4, 1945
RUSSIAN troops are sifting the rubble of Berlin for the body of Hitler. The order has gone out that it must be found.
If the Fuhrer committed suicide, the Russians expect to be successful in their search near the Reich Chancellery.
If he has gone into hiding, they are determined to find him. The search is made difficult because of the bands of snipers who are still roaming, but these are likely to be mopped up very soon.
MAY 4, 1948
THE £50,000 cost of modernising Clarence House for Princess elizabeth and the Duke of edinburgh came up at Question Time in the House of Commons yesterday.
Mr R. Chamberlain (Lab., Norwood), emphasising that no criticism was directed at the Princess and the Duke, asked if it was right that this sum should be spent at a time when hundreds of thousands were desperately in need of homes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CHARLOTTE GREEN, 61. The former BBC Radio 4 newsreader (right) was voted as having the most attractive female voice on national radio by the Radio Times in 2002.
Her most famous moment came in 2008 when she was ‘ambushed by giggles’ on air. She revealed the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall sent her a letter thanking her for leaving them with ‘tears rolling down their cheeks’. SIR TONY MCCOY, 43. The most successful jump jockey of all time, having won more than 4,000 races and been crowned champion jockey 20 years in a row. He’s admitted he has put on two stone since retirement due to eating whole packets of chocolate biscuits while watching TV.
BORN ON THIS DAY
KEITH HARING ( 19581990). The u.S. artist, whose brightly coloured graphics ( pictured) are instantly recognisable, drew on everything from public toilets and the Berlin Wall to Tokyo pavements and the body of model Grace Jones. He died of Aids aged just 31. BARTOLOMEO CRISTOFORI (16551731). The Italian harpsichord maker is credited with inventing the piano in 1700. His innovation was a hammer mechanism that struck the strings. Only three of his pianos survive — in museums in Germany, Italy and the u.S.
ON MAY 4 . . .
IN 1932, gangster Al Capone started his 11-year prison sentence for tax evasion. IN 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female prime minister.
WORD WIZARDRY
NEW WORD OF THE DAY Franken — an activity created by humans that inadvertently runs out of control. GUESS THE DEFINITION Kiddleywink (coined 1830) A) unlicensed public house. B) Man with the whip in Morris dancing. C) Tiddlywink that lands on another wink. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Blind alley: Cul de sac or alley without an outlet; it is blind because it has no ‘eye’ or passage through it.