March 30, 2021
ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MARCH 30, 1971
CHARLES MANSON and three of his female followers were sentenced to death last night for the Sharon Tate mass murders. The jury decided after ten days that they should go to the gas chamber in San Quentin prison. [Manson’s sentence was later commuted to life in jail.]
MARCH 30, 1983
LABOUR launched the most Left-wing election programme in the party’s history yesterday. And leader Michael Foot used the 15,000-word document to make a slashing personal attack on the Prime Minister which was intended to set the tone for the election battle. It is target Maggie from now on. Foot said: ‘She worships the profit motive . . . nothing else.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CELINE DION, 53. The Canadian singer, the youngest of 14 children, has had uK no 1s with My Heart Will Go On and Think Twice. She has sold more than 220 million albums (with a fortune of more than £300 million, according to Forbes magazine). Dion (above) spends her money on shoes — she has 10,000 pairs.
PIERS MORGAN, 56. The journalist and broadcaster, whose full surname is PugheMorgan, quit Good Morning Britain earlier this month after a furore sparked by his insistence that he didn’t ‘believe a word’ the Duchess of Sussex said during her interview with Oprah Winfrey. His exit wiped almost £200 million off ITV’s market value.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ANNA SEWELL (1820-1878). The author, from norfolk, had just one book published, when she was 57. But Black Beauty would become one of the most popular children’s books of all time, selling more than 50 million copies. She received a single payment of £20 and died of hepatitis just five months after publication.
VINCENT VAN GOGH ( 1853- 1890). The Dutch painter created more than 2,000 drawings and paintings ( including the self- portrait, right) in a decade, though they were only acclaimed after his death. After he cut off almost his entire left ear while suffering a mental breakdown, he went on to take his own life. Although he never received the treatment he needed, recently published letters reveal that paintings he gave his sister funded her psychiatric treatment for many years.
ON MARCH 30…
IN 1986, Oscar- winning actor James Cagney died, aged 86. IN 1991, one-hit wonder Chesney Hawkes started a five-week run at no 1 with The One And Only.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Aurist (c 1670s)
A) An ordained priest. B) One that is finicky about dress. C) An ear specialist.
Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Turn turtle: Meaning to turn around and run away in the face of danger; it refers to a turtle which turns upside down in the water and, applied to a boat, it means the boat capsizes and sinks.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
TYRANNY is always better organised than freedom. Charles Peguy, French poet (1873-1914)
JOKE OF THE DAY
MY WIFE completely changed when she became a vegan . . . It’s like I never knew herbivore. Guess The Definition answer: C.