ON THIS DAY

July 18, 2018

JULY 18, 1960 THE British spend far more time watching television than in any other spare-time activity. More than three-quarters of the adult population have a TV and on an average day about 24 million people watch it. The Mail has carried out a poll among viewers with twochannel sets: nearly half the audience still switch on the set for the evening and leave it on. They are the TV sheep, the addicts, the backbone of the audience ratings. JULY 18, 1969 BRITAIN looks green from 110,000 miles out in space, astronaut Edwin Aldrin said today from on-board spaceflight Apollo 11: ‘The British Isles are a greener colour than the islands of the Mediterranean and Spain.’ Neil Armstrong could see ‘all of Portugal, Spain and southern France, all of Italy, absolutely clear. Just a beautiful sight.’

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

JAMES NORTON, 33. The actor, who was born in London but grew up in Yorkshire, is the star of Grantchester (right), McMafia and War And Peace, which was dubbed Phwoar And Peace thanks, in part, to his rippling torso. Norton — the bookies’ favourite to be the next 007 — read theology at Cambridge. His father, Hugh, a retired teacher, has been an extra in almost all his TV series. SIR NICK FALDO, 61. The thrice-divorced golfer was described by his second wife as ‘socially, a 24-handicapper’. The six-time Major winner was also dubbed ‘Victor Meldrew in a Pringle jumper’ and had a strained relationship with the media. On winning his third Open in 1992, he thanked reporters ‘from the heart of my bottom’.

BORN ON THIS DAY

NELSON MANDELA (1918-2013). South Africa’s first black head of state had the first name Rolihlahla, but his teachers couldn’t pronounce it, so one began calling him Nelson after British admiral Horatio. His inauguration attracted the largest number of world leaders since President Kennedy’s funeral in 1963. Today is ‘Mandela Day’, as declared by the United Nations in 2009. W.G. GRACE (1848-1915). The legendary cricketer (right) was born William Gilbert Grace near Bristol. ‘The beard that was feared’, pictured, scored 54,211 firstclass runs, including 124 centuries in his 43- year career. Wicketkeeper Alfred Lyttelton, claimed he had ‘the dirtiest neck I ever kept behind’. Grace’s image was used as the face of God in Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

ON JULY 18…

IN 1992, the first photo appeared on the World Wide Web — of girl band, Les Horribles Cernettes, made up of workers at CERN, where the internet was developed.

IN 2017, the £10 note featuring Jane Austen was unveiled by the Bank of England on the 200th anniversary of the author’s death.