Orators who hit the high notes

QUESTION Is it true that Abraham Lincoln had an unusually high-pitched voice? Which other figures from history had unusual voices?

U.S. journalist Horace White met Lincoln in 1854 and famously described him as having ‘a thin tenor, or rather falsetto, voice, almost as high- pitched as a boatswain’s whistle’.

A New York Herald article noted, in February 1860, that his voice had ‘a frequent tendency to dwindle into a shrill and unpleasant sound’.

It proved a political advantage: his voice had ‘much carrying power, that could be heard a long distance in spite of the bustle and tumult of a crowd’.

Spain’s Francisco Franco was, on the

Falsetto voice: Abraham Lincoln

one hand, one of the most formidable dictators of the 20th century, controlling people and the media. On the other, he was an awkward figure. As writer Javier Marias put it, he ‘always seemed ridiculous: a short, ugly man with a shrill voice’.

Imposing England cricket great W. G. Grace would often cause surprise when a high-fluting West Country burr emerged from his great barrel chest,

Cathy McFarland, Altrincham, Cheshire.

QUESTION In terms of road safety is there a ranking of colours in which cars are sprayed, safest to least safe?

STUDIES have shown light colours to be the safest. An extensive study by the Monash University Accident Research Centre analysed more than 855,000 crashes between 1982 and 2004 in the states of Victoria and Western Australia.

It showed white cars are 12 per cent less likely to get into an accident than black cars, regardless of the time of day. Cream, yellow and beige ranked closely behind white. Black was the most dangerous.

D. B. samuels, Hereford.

QUESTION Did Humphry Davy administer laughing gas to the audience at his lectures?

THE previous answer listed davy’s many achievements. towards the end of his life, he was asked what was his most important discovery. He replied, ‘Michael Faraday’, his assistant for many years.

Derek Britchford, london Colney, Herts.

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