ON THIS DAY

STEPHEN HENDRY became the youngest world snooker champion at the age of 21 when he beat Jimmy White 18-12 in the final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. It earned him the £120,000 tournament prize money and he went on to win six more world championships during his career. FORMER England cricketer and Question Of Sport team captain Phil Tufnell turns 51 today. He was crowned King Of The Jungle after winning the second series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2003 beating former footballer John Fashanu into second place. He has also appeared on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and Channel 4’s The Jump. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN was performing in Memphis as part of his Born To Run tour when he attempted to meet Elvis Presley by climbing the fence at Graceland. He ran up the driveway and was about to knock on the door when he was stopped by a security guard who told him Elvis was not at home, but in Lake Tahoe.

Bruce tried to explain he was on the covers of Time and Newsweek but to no avail and he was politely escorted off the premises. PRINCE William and Kate Middleton were married in a glittering wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The royal couple later sealed the day with not one, but two kisses on Buckingham Palace’s famous balcony. Kate’s Alexander McQueen wedding dress was made by designer Sarah Burton using hand-cut English and Chantilly lace and it later went on public display at Buckingham Palace. BRITISH-BORN film director Alfred Hitchcock died in Los Angeles at the age of 80. The master of suspense delighted in terrifying audiences with films like Psycho, The Birds and North By North West and was famous for cameo appearances in his own movies. He can be seen leaving a pet shop with two dogs in The Birds and in Psycho can be seen through an office window. He once pointed out: “I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.” OSCAR-WINNING movie classic, All Quiet On The Western Front, officially premiered in New York. Its star Lew Ayres was moved by the film’s anti-war message and later refused to fight in the Second World War. He once explained: “To me, war is the greatest sin. I couldn’t bring myself to kill other men. The US actor, who was once married to Ginger Rogers, served during the war as a medic in the South Pacific and as a chaplain’s aid in New Guinea and the Philippines.