ON THIS DAY

FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE

MARCH 17, 1969 IN THE pulpit at St Paul’s Cathedral, from which her husband once preached, is Mrs Coretta King, widow of the assassinated American civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King. She was giving the sermon last night . . . the first by a woman at an official service at St Paul’s. Dr King was the first non-Anglican to preach there. MARCH 17, 1976 BUCKINGHAM Palace confirmed last night that Princess Margaret’s troubled marriage has been discussed by the Royal Family. The Palace statement came after a day of rumours that the Queen had been asked to give permission for a separation between Lord Snowdon and the Princess [pictured].

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

KATIE LEDECKY, 23. The 6ft American swimmer has been described as ‘perhaps the greatest athlete in America, and maybe the planet’. She was the most decorated female of 2016’s Rio Games and has five Olympic golds (winning her first aged just 15 at London 2012). Ledecky holds the fastest times in history for the women’s 500, 1,000 and 1,650-yard freestyle events. She wakes up at 4am six days a week to start training, and when not in the pool says she enjoys playing Scrabble. JOHN BOYEGA, 28. The actor (pictured) from Peckham, South London, made his name as Finn in Star Wars, becoming the first black Stormtrooper. On social media, he responded to racists objecting to the appointment with: ‘We’ve been here a long time; let’s get used to it.’ Beyond acting, he dreamt of being a newspaper cartoonist.

BORN ON THIS DAY

JAMES IRWIN (1930-1991). The American astronaut was the eighth man to walk on the Moon and the first of 12 who stepped on it to die. He had dreamt of travelling to the Moon as a child. ‘I told our neighbours, but they all laughed at me. My mother and father were somewhat amused, then my mother said: “Just do something worthwhile with your life.” ’ EDITH NEW (1877-1961). The Suffragette was one of the first to deploy violent means of protest, and was among the first group to smash the windows of 10 Downing Street with stones. ‘It will be a bomb next time,’ they warned. Helena Bonham Carter’s character in the 2015 film Suffragette was partly based on New.

ON MARCH 17…

IN 1968, there were more than 300 arrests outside the U.S. embassy in London after anti-Vietnam War protests turned violent.

IN 1979, Gloria Gaynor started a four-week run at the top of the UK charts with her first and only number one, I Will Survive.

WORD WIZARDRY

GUESS THE DEFINITION Hypnopompic (coined c1900)

A) Unable to sleep. B) Pertaining to a puppet show. C) Drowsy, half-alert state prior to waking. Answer below

PHRASE EXPLAINED

Poker-faced: An expressionless face that hides its emotions and thoughts. Stems from the late 18th century and the card game poker, in which keeping a blank face, whatever the cards, is advantageous.