ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE DECEMBER 21, 1940
British and American bomber pilots will soon be equipped with suits of bullet-proof armour which resemble a medieval coat of mail. The armour is now being developed in laboratories in New Jersey. it flares out at the sides to give the pilot ‘elbow room’ and fits over the back and top of the head like a monk’s cowl. A full armoured suit weighs under 120 lb.
DECEMBER 21, 1961
THE U.S. Air Force tonight gave up the search for a monkey named Scatback, who rocketed 600 miles into space and landed in rough water in the Atlantic.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Diana Athill, 100. The celebrated literary agent (right) worked with some of the 20th century’s top novelists before becoming an author herself. Athill has had many lovers, including a member of the Black Panther political organisation. Asked for the best advice to give a young woman, she said: ‘i should advise her to have a very good love affair, if she hasn’t had one already.’ EMMANUEL MACRON, 40. The former banker had never held elected office before he became France’s youngest president this summer. He once aspired to be an actor and is a prize-winning pianist. Wife Brigitte, who is 24 years his senior, was his French and drama teacher. He has described their relationship as ‘a love often clandestine, often hidden, misunderstood by many’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81). The Victorian PM and novelist was Britain’s first and so far only Jewish leader. His father had him baptised and brought up as Christian, so he sidestepped the ban on Jews in Parliament which lasted until 1858. Queen Victoria sent a primrose wreath to his funeral, with a message: ‘His favourite flowers.’ it inspired the creation of the Primrose League, which became the largest popular political organisation of the 19th century. JOHN Avildsen ( 1935- 2017). The American, dubbed ‘King of the Underdogs’, won a best director Oscar for 1976’s Rocky, despite thinking ‘boxing is sort of a dumb thing’. He followed a similar formula with The Karate Kid, which he nicknamed ‘The KaRocky Kid’.
ON DECEMBER 21…
IN 1937, the world’s first full- length animated colour feature film, Disney’s Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, right, premiered in Los Angeles. it lasted 83 minutes and consisted of two million individual paintings.
IN 1948, ireland withdrew from the Commonwealth and declared itself an independent republic.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION Olecranon (from Ancient Greek) A) A person who enjoys eating fine food. B) A gift given in gratitude to a teacher. C) The elbow’s bony tip. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED Birthday suit:
in the 1730s, it meant the clothes one wore on the king’s birthday, but later changed to mean bare skin in reference to the condition of a newborn baby.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
IT isn’t important what you do, it is the attitude with which you proceed through the world that matters. Jenny Diski, English writer (1947-2016)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT’s the best way to drain your Christmas sprouts? Use an Advent colander. Guess The Definition answer: C.