ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JANUARY 2, 1941
MR WINSToN CHURCHILL has been selected ‘Man of the Year’ for 1940 by ‘Time’, the weekly magazine. ‘Churchill outranked all others as man of 1940,’ the magazine stated. ‘He gave his country exactly what he promised them, blood, toil, tears, sweat, and one thing more, untold courage. In 1940, Winston Churchill spoke words that may live as long as Shakespeare’s.’
JANUARY 2, 1964
A SCHooL doctor told mothers of fat children in Nottingham yesterday: ‘Harden your hearts; put your children on a diet. Be cruel, cut their rations and you’ll cut them down to size.’ Dr Ronald Sprenger added: ‘obesity does not run in families. But example does. A fat, overfed child usually has a fat, overfed mother.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
FRANCoIS PIENAAR, 51. The retired rugby union star captained the South Africa side that won the World Cup in 1995. At the final in Johannesburg in front of a mainly white crowd, Nelson Mandela presented the cup (right) while wearing a replica Springbok shirt and cap. The image of the black president and blond Afrikaner embracing became a symbol of the new South Africa after decades of apartheid. DAvID BAILEY, 80. The photographer and icon of the Swinging Sixties says he has been vegetarian since he was 13 and sober almost 50 years. He left school at 15 with no qualifications and taught himself to use a camera during national service. Asked about his worst character trait, he said: ‘ It’s difficult to find one when you’re perfect. I guess always being right.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
FLoRENCE LAWRENCE (1886-1938). After making her stage debut aged three in vaudeville, the American actress went to Hollywood and was dubbed ‘the first movie star’. She was also the first star to have her name on a movie poster after an executive promoting her latest film planted a story saying she had been killed and took out an advert to rubbish the fake news. RoGER MILLER (1936-92). The U.S. country singer-songwriter bought his first guitar aged 12 with the $8 he’d made picking 400lb of cotton. once a bellboy, he’s best known for his smash hit King of The Road, which secured him five of the record six Grammy Awards he won in 1966.
ON JANUARY 2 . . .
IN 1906, U.S. inventor Willis Carrier was awarded a patent for the first modern air conditioning unit.
IN 2011, Pete Postlethwaite (right), called ‘the best actor in the world’ by Steven Spielberg, died aged 64.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION Filemot (1647) A) The colour of a dead leaf. B) A pole slung across a stream. C) A scarecrow. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Handicap: Meaning a physical disability since 1915, it has its origins in the 17th century game ‘ hand in cap’ — a pastime involving the exchange of items with any difference in value being decided on by an umpire, hence its later usage in sports.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I NeveR hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back. Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-born actress (1917-2016) WHY have judges stopped sending spots to prison? Because they keep breaking out. Guess The Definition answer: A