ON THIS DAY
April 4, 2018
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE APRIL 4, 1945
THERE will be a two days’ paid holiday for government workers after the ceasefire is ordered in Europe, the Ministry of Labour, announced last night.
APRIL 4, 1950
HOLLYWOOD film cowboys Jimmy Ellison and Russell Hayden yesterday set out on a cross-States ride of 22 cities to ask their young fans if they should kiss their leading ladies. Kissing in the sagebrush has always been taboo in Western films. Producers feared youngsters would walk out in disgust if their heroes did that ‘love stuff’.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
GRUMPY CAT, six. The mixed-breed moggy — real name Tardar Sauce — became an internet sensation in 2012 and now has 1.5 million Twitter followers. Her look is caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism. Grumpy Cat (pictured) has appeared on TV, in adverts, on calendars, mugs and T- shirts, reportedly netting millions. U.S. owner Tabatha Bundesen said: ‘I was able to quit my job as a waitress within days of her first appearance on social media and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.’ JONATHAN AGNEW, 58. The former Leicestershire and England cricketer has been a presenter of the BBC’s Test Match Special since 1991. In that year ‘Aggers’, made what’s since been voted the greatest sporting commentary of all time by listeners of Radio 5 Live. After Ian Botham’s thigh dislodged a bail, Agnew said: ‘He just didn’t quite get his leg over,’ leaving his colleague Brian Johnston erupting into helpless giggles.
BORN ON THIS DAY
HEATH LEDGER ( 19792008). The Australian actor started out in the soap Home And Away before achieving fame in Hollywood. He had a daughter with his Brokeback Mountain co- star Michelle Williams. Ledger died aged 28 of an accidental overdose after taking six different prescription drugs. He was awarded a best supporting actor Oscar posthumously for his role as The Joker (pictured) in Batman film The Dark Knight. Ledger’s real name was Heathcliff — after the Wuthering Heights character. MUDDY WATERS (1915-83). The American blues legend was born McKinley Morganfield and given his moniker because he played in the swampy puddles of the Mississippi River as a boy. He got his first guitar at 17 and taught himself to play, later achieving fame with hits such as I’m your Hoochie Coochie Man. He received six Grammys, helped rock ’n’ roll star Chuck Berry get his first recording contract, and had Eric Clapton as best man at his 1979 wedding to Marva Jean Brooks, who was just 25.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Kankedort (coined by Chaucer c1374) A) At odds. B) An awkward situation. C) Opposite. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
To be in clover: To be content, at ease and in luxury; derived from the happiness of farm animals when offered something as delicious as clover for fodder as it is rich in proteins and minerals.
ON APRIL 4…
IN 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King was assassinated, aged 39. IN 1975, schoolfriends Bill Gates, 19, and Paul Allen, 22, formed Microsoft.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I AM a slow walker, but I never walk back. Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President (1809-65)
JOKE OF THE DAY
PARALLEL lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet. Guess The Definition answer: B.