ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JUNE 19, 1937 AT CHESTER Police Court a motor patrol officer was complimented for an invention which enables him to take photographs through the windscreen of a moving car. Constable Moore’s device allows him to drive, keep his eye on an offender and photograph him at the same time. JUNE 19, 1952 MISS INGRID BERGMAN, the film star, gave birth to twin girls. Her film director husband, Signor Rossellini, who had been pacing the hospital floor for more than two hours, viewed the babies through a glass partition at the clinic and announced: ‘They’re beautiful.’ The two babies will be named Isabella and Isotta.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
AIDAN TURNER, 35. The Poldark star famous for wielding a scythe barechested (right) has admitted applying baby oil and eyeliner to enhance his looks on screen. When the BBC released publicity shots of him topless for the fourth series this month, he said: ‘I’ve never felt objectified. I think sometimes other people want to feel that for you, which can be quite a strange thing.’ THELMA BARLOW, 89. The actress who was Coronation Street’s dithery Mavis Wilton for 26 years took on another ‘pinnies and slippers’ role as Dolly in sitcom Dinnerladies. But she later played Lady Thaw in Doctor Who, saying: ‘My grandchildren would never forgive me if I don’t do this. It’s good cred for them at school.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
WALLIS SIMPSON (18961986). The twice-divorced American socialite’s love affair with Edward VIII sparked his abdication. Simpson (right) is often said to have mesmerised Edward with sexual techniques she learned in ‘singsong’ brothels that her first husband forced her to visit with him during a posting to China in World War II. SIR NIGEL GRESLEY (1876-1941). The Edinburgh-born engineer designed the steam engines Flying Scotsman and Mallard, which still holds the steam world speed record (126 mph, set in 1938). A statue of Sir nigel was unveiled at King’s Cross station in 2016 — without his favourite mallards, included in the original design. They were dropped after two grandsons said they would be ‘demeaning’. Protesters put rubber ducks on the statue instead.
ON JUNE 19…
IN 1975, seven months after his disappearance, Lord Lucan was the last person in Britain to be declared a murderer by an inquest jury. IN 1999, Prince Edward married Sophie Rhys-Jones in Windsor.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Kinnikinnic (coined in 1799) A) A quail’s cry. B) The bark of plants such as the willow when prepared for smoking. C) A pop-eyed toad. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Learning curve: Dating from the early 20th century, it refers to the rate of progress in learning new skills as demonstrated visually on graphs.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Is THERE any practice less selfish, any time less wasted, than preparing something delicious and nourishing for people you love? Michael Pollan, U.S. food writer
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY are actors told to ‘break a leg’? Because every play has a cast. Guess the Definition answer: B.