April 24, 2017 ON THIS DAY
APRIL 24, 1956
NIKKI, the Russian baby bear (pictured), played on the lawns of Windsor Castle yesterday. He was there with two zoo keepers to meet his new owner, Princess Anne. Nikki, the gift of Soviet leaders Marshal Bulganin and Mr Nikita Kruschev, was delivered to London Zoo before travelling to Windsor.
APRIL 24, 1967
A BISHoP opposed Jayne Mansfield — and last night her stage show in Tralee, Co. Kerry, was cancelled. The Most Rev. Dr Denis Moynihan, Bishop of Kerry, advised that no Roman Catholic should go to see her. Asked if she was a ‘goddess of lust’, Miss Mansfield, 33, said: ‘I take the Fifth Amendment on that question. But the expression sounds good.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
BARBRA STREISAND, 75. The oscarwinning singer, actress and director avoided live performances for about 30 years and now uses an autocue. Leaked documents from a U.S. tour show that she demanded 120 luxury towels and a sprinkling of rose petals in the toilet bowl at every show. LAURA KENNy, 25. The track and road cyclist from Essex, formerly Laura Trott, last year became the first British woman to win four olympic golds. A month later, in September, she wed fellow cyclist Jason Kenny, who proposed while they were watching EastEnders. The couple have ten olympic golds between them.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ANTHoNy TRoLLoPE (1815-1882). The author of The Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Way We Live Now wrote almost 50 novels — despite working at the Post office. He wrote for three hours before going to work, saying: ‘Three hours a day will produce as much as a man ought to write.’ PAULA yATES (1959-2000). The Welsh-born TV presenter was married to Bob Geldof, with whom she had three daughters. She had a fourth child with Australian rock star Michael Hutchence. In 1980, she published a book of photos taken by her, called Rock Stars In Their Underpants.
ON APRIL 24...
IN 1792, La Marseillaise was composed by captain Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
IN 1993, an IRA bomb exploded in Bishopsgate, London, killing a photographer and causing £350 million of damage.
IN 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh — containing five clothing factories — collapsed, killing 1,135 people.