ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
April 12, 1949 A Smallpox Warning Went Out From The Ministry Of Health Yesterday To Everybody Who Caught The 10.15am Train From King’s Cross To Bradford And Hull On Tuesday, April 5. On That Train Was A Passenger Travelling To Doncaster Who Died Of Smallpox Last Saturday In An Isolation Hospital. The Ministry Advised That If Other Passengers ‘happen To Feel Unwell During The Next Ten Days They Should Consult A Doctor At Once.’ April 12, 1979 Tanzanian Troops Yesterday Marched Into Kampala — To Be Met Not With Guns But Flowers And Kisses. At The Head Of The Invading Forces Were Three Tanks And A Spear-wielding Infantry Officer. Delighted Residents Saw The Capture Of The Ugandan Capital As A Sign That The Eight-year Brutal Reign Of Idi Amin Was Over.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
David Letterman, 74. The Longest-serving Latenight Talk Show Host In U.s. Tv History Retired From His Chat Show After 33 Years In 2015. The Five-time Emmy Winner Started Out As A Weatherman, Who Reported That Indianapolis Was Being Hit With Hail ‘the Size Of Canned Hams’ Sir Alan Ayckbourn, 82. The English Playwright, Actor And Director Has Created More Than 80 Plays. While Best Known For His Works Satirising Middle England, He Was Such A Hit On Broadway That In 1976, A Sign On The New York Street Was Changed To Ayckbourn Alley For The Day To Mark His Four Plays Running At The Same Time.
BORN ON THIS DAY
BOBBY MOORE (1941-1993). The West Ham footballer captained England to World Cup victory in 1966. The team’s manager called Moore ‘my captain, my leader, my righthand man’ and ‘a cool, calculating footballer I could trust with my life.’ He died aged 51, ten days after revealing he had been suffering from cancer of the liver and colon for two years. EvELYn BEREzIn (1925-2018). The U.S. computer engineer created the first computer-driven word processor in the 1960s. She then came up with an online passenger reservation system for United Airlines, which connected computers in 60 American cities and was in operation for 11 years. One writer claimed: ‘Without Ms Berezin, there would be no Bill Gates, no Steve Jobs . . .nothing that remotely connects business with the 21st century.’
ON APRIL 12…
IN 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt died, aged 63, while in office as 32nd president of the United States. IN 1992, Euro Disney — now called Disneyland paris — opened its doors.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: vermicular (c1650)
A) Belonging to the season of spring. B) Like a worm in form or movement. C) Green-coloured. answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED: Wipe the slate clean:
To give another chance and overlook past offences; it alludes to the former custom in schools of chalking on a slate the names of pupils who’d misbehaved; when punished, the slate was wiped clean.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Every hero becomes a bore at last.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, U.S. philosopher (1803-1882)
JOKE OF THE DAY
The odds were against them. Guess The Definition answer: B.
Compiled by ETAN SMALLMAN and ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD