ON THIS DAY

1880: The distinctive Salvation Army ladies’ bonnets were worn for the first time in a procession in Hackney, London’s East End. 1890: Stan Laurel, of the Laurel and Hardy comedy duo, was born in Ulverston, Lancashire (now Cumbria), as Arthur Stanley Jefferson. 1904: The novel Ulysses by James Joyce is set on this day, now celebrated in Dublin - where the novel is based - as Bloomsday, after the leading character Leopold Bloom. 1930: Mixed bathing was first allowed in the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park. 1948: The Cathay Pacific Airways Catalina flying boat Miss Macao, on a flight to Hong Kong, was the first aeroplane to be hijacked, by a gang of Chinese bandits. 1958: The notorious yellow no-waiting lines were introduced to British streets. 1961: Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West at Paris airport. 1963: The first woman astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova, blasted off in the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 6. 1976: The people of the black township of Soweto near Johannesburg rebelled against enforced teaching of Afrikaans in their schools. More than 1,000 people died before security forces crushed the uprising. 1989: The 16th century Rose Theatre in London was covered with protective sand ready for a 10-storey office block to be built above it. BIRTHDAYS: Eileen Atkins, actress, 81; Joyce Carol Oates, novelist, 77; James Bolam, actor, 80; Simon Williams, actor, 69; Ian Buchanan, actor, 58; Simon Khan, golfer, 43; Joe McElderry, singer/ former X Factor winner, 23. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “Nicotine gum. Crazy quantities. At my worst I chew the equivalent of 100 cigarettes a day. After 14 years, I am still trying to quit” - Actress Sofie Grabol on her guiltiest pleasure. “All my jokes have received a telegram from the Queen” - Comedian Jim Dale takes the mickey out of the longevity of his material. “I just feel that it is time for something different. EastEnders and Coronation Street seem a bit like the opium of the masses now. Why don’t they try something else for the British public?” - Actor Phil Daniels calling for these two big soaps to be axed. “The idea that scientists are some kind of priests that have unique access to knowledge about nature is nonsense - in many ways I see it as the codified application of common sense. It’s like plumbing” - Brian Cox. “It looks very damp” - A remark reportedly passed by the Queen on a visit to Niagara Falls, quoted in a new book about her “wicked wit”. “Once you get north of Watford, everyone is friendly compared to London” - Actor Sir Ian McKellen.