ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
FEBRUARY 6, 1948 THE Chief Constable of Middlesbrough has advised female fans of Middlesbrough FC to stay away from the Cup-tie match with Derby County, when 50,000 spectators are expected. ‘Women form 50 per cent of fainting casualties in football crowds, either through physical discomfort or excitement — a sort of mass hysteria,’ he said. FEBRUARY 6, 1969 THE whisper went round last night … ‘Paul McCartney is to marry.’ The girl whose name is linked with Paul is American Linda Eastman, a honey-blonde photographer with money of her own. Paul said: ‘It’s not true.’ [They married in London five weeks later.]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JIMMY TARBUCK, 78. The Liverpool-born comedian (right), a classmate of John Lennon, was a Butlins Redcoat when he was talent spotted and by age 25 was on TV hosting Sunday Night At The London Palladium. Last month, he led a toast at the infamous men-only Presidents Club dinner and said of the furore: ‘Tell them to go to London airport and see hen parties going on if they want to see bad behaviour.’
JEREMY BOWEN, 58. The BBC’s Middle East editor, who has reported from more than 70 countries, took time off from war reporting after his driver was killed next to him in Lebanon. He co-hosted BBC Breakfast alongside Sophie Raworth before returning to war reporting two years later. In 2013, in Egypt, he was hit in the head with shotgun pellets, but not seriously hurt.
BORN ON THIS DAY
FRED TRUEMAN (1931-2006). The England and yorkshire fast bowler — and later Test Match Special favourite — was always a larger-than-life personality and weighed a hefty 14lb 1oz at birth. A former bricklayer, he was the first cricketer to claim 300 wickets in Test cricket. When asked if anyone would break his record, he said: ‘If anyone beats it, they’ll be bloody tired.’
NATALIE COLE (19502015). The nine-time Grammy award-winning singer (right) appeared on one of her father Nat King Cole’s albums when she was six. Diagnosed with hepatitis C as an adult and in need of a kidney transplant, she was flooded with offers from fans. As a result, she had a kidney transplant in 2009 and lived another six years before dying of heart failure.
ON FEBRUARY 6…
IN 1918, the Representation of the People Act was passed to give women the right to vote for the first time — but only for those over 30 and ‘of property’. In 1964, Britain and France agreed to build a Channel tunnel.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: ALYTARCH (1646) A) A superintendent of games. B) An old man given to telling anecdotes. C) A great-grandfather. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Before you can say Jack Robinson — meaning very quickly, it purportedly refers to an 18th-century gentleman who’d drop in on a neighbour then change his mind and dash off before a servant could announce him.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure. Jane Austen, author (1775-1817)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you need to win a chess game in Prague? A Czech mate. Guess The Definition answer: A.