Sharapova’s shorts shrift
QUESTION Other than Nancy Richey in the Sixties, has any top female tennis player worn shorts rather than a skirt or a dress?
Romanian star Simona Halep wore shorts when she was knocked out of the Wimbledon quarter-finals this month by Britain’s Johanna Konta.
maria Sharapova caused a stir in 2008 when she wore a pair of shorts. The tuxedo-style top and shorts weren’t a hit with her Russian opponent alla Kudryavtseva, who, having knocked out Sharapova in the second round, said: ‘i was pleased to beat her — i didn’t like her outfit.’
in 2011 Venus Williams wore a gold belted zip-up onesie that looked like a pair of shorts.
The most memorable Wimbledon costume of all time, however, must go to anne White, who hit the headlines when she wore a tight-fitting white Spandex catsuit with legwarmers in 1985. Emma Barrington, Bray, Berks.
QUESTION Before the Iran Iraq war, Barrow-in-Furness shipyard (Vickers) built two destroyers, Zaal and Rostam, for Iran. What became of them?
THESE were part of an order for four Vosper mark V-class frigates ordered by the pre-Revolutionary iranian government. While Zaal Pennant (no. De -14) and Rostam (De-16) were built by Vickers, Vosper Thornycroft built Saam (De-12) and Faramarz (De-18) at its shipyard in Southampton. Saam was launched in 1968, the other three in 1969, and they were commissioned in 1971.
The Vosper Thornycroft mk 5s were equipped with Sea Killer (an early surface-to-surface missile), a Vickers 4.5in mark 8 main gun, 20in oerlikon anti-aircraft gun cannon and a ‘Limbo’ anti-submarine mortar. as far as navy warship frigates go, the ships were relatively small, displacing at approximately 1,100 tons standard.
The ships carried names from a Persian poetic opus, Shahnameh. each was a mythical Persian hero. For instance, Rostam was considered the mightiest of iranian paladins (holy warriors).
Following the iranian revolution in 1979 the ship names were declared un-islamic and, in 1985, the group was renamed after iranian mountains. Saam became alvand (F-71), Zaal the alborz (F-72), Rostam the Sabalan (F-73) and Faramarz the Sahand (F-74).
During the iran-iraq War of the eighties, the U.S. protected its neighbouring interests with armed escorts of Kuwaiti oil tankers. in 1988, an iranian sea mine exploded against the destroyer USS Roberts and blew a 15ft hole in her side.
The U.S. retaliated during operation Praying mantis and sank the Sahand. Sabalan was damaged in the same action but subsequently refitted.
The three remaining ships remain in service. They have been rearmed, as part of a larger push in the iranian navy.
These upgrades most notably included the replacement of the Sea Killer missile system with the more capable Chinese C-802 cruise missile system. David Morris, Goole, W. Yorks.
QUESTION What contribution to medicine in the U.S. was made by Johns Hopkins? His name arises from time to time in medical dramas.
JOHNS HOPKINS was born on may 19, 1795, in anne arundel County, maryland, one of 11 children of Quaker tobacco planter Samuel Hopkins (1759–1814) and his wife Hannah (nee Janney).
Hopkins left school at 12 to work in the family fields after his parents, in accordance with their Quaker conscience, emancipated their slaves.
at the age of 17, Hopkins went to live with his uncle in Baltimore to learn the wholesale grocery business. after they quarrelled in 1819 when his uncle refused to allow farmers to pay for goods in whiskey, Hopkins went into business with three of his brothers.
Hopkins Brothers prospered, delivering goods throughout the mid-eastern seaboard of the U.S. The firm accepted payment in whiskey, which it sold on as Hopkins’ Best. Johns Hopkins devoted himself to the business, never travelling, not marrying and seldom spending money on personal pleasures.
He amassed a fortune by investing wisely in Baltimore real estate and businesses and becoming the largest private individual stockholder in the Baltimore and ohio Railroad. He was also a director of several banks and a major investor in insurance companies, warehouses and steamship lines.
Six years before his death, Hopkins organised two corporations, one for a hospital and one for a university, and his will divided $7 million between them.
He died on December 24, 1873, leaving a remarkable legacy. His bequest was used to found the Johns Hopkins Coloured Children orphan asylum in 1875; the Johns Hopkins University in 1876; the Johns Hopkins Press, the longest continuously operating academic press in america, in 1878; the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Hopkins School of nursing in 1889; the Johns Hopkins University School of medicine in 1893 (admitting women on an equal footing with men); and the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1916.
Sixteen nobel laureates are associated with the School of medicine and the hospital was ranked top in the U.S. every year from 1991 to 2011.
its pioneering research facilities are renowned, so it’s small wonder that its name crops up in TV dramas.
Penny Hall, Oxford.