BORN ON THIS DAY

GRETA GARBO ( 19051990). The ‘ Swedish Sphinx’ was born Greta Gustafsson in poverty in Stockholm. She made her name in silent films and shocked her legions of fans with her heavily accented first line in a talkie, in the film of the play Anna Christie, saying: ‘Gimme a visky with chincher ale on the side and don’t be stingy, baby.’ SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-1784). The Staffordshire-born writer was Britain’s leading lexicographer. He spent more than eight years producing the first proper English dictionary. One famous entry was: ‘ Oats: a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.’ A lexicographer was defined as ‘a writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge’.