ON THIS DAY

1888: Mary Ann ‘’Polly’’ Nichols, first victim of Jack the Ripper, was found mutilated in Buck’s Row in the East End. 1900: Coca-Cola first went on sale in Britain. 1908: At the age of 60, and after a career spanning 43 years, the legendary WG Grace retired from firstclass cricket. He scored 54,896 runs (126 centuries), took 2,879 wickets and held 871 catches. 1936: Elizabeth Cowell, Britain’s first woman TV announcer, made her debut at Alexandra Palace. 1957: Malaya became independent. On this same day in 1962, Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies also became independent, having been a British possession since 1802. 1962: Chris Bonington and Ian Clough became the first Britons to conquer the north face of the Eiger. 1968: Gary Sobers (now Sir Garfield) of Nottinghamshire became the first cricketer to score six sixes off an over, at Swansea against Glamorgan. The hapless bowler was Malcolm Nash. 1969: Rocky Marciano, world heavyweight boxing champion from 1952 to 1956, who retired undefeated, was killed in an air crash in Iowa. 1972: American swimmer Mark Spitz won his fifth gold medal at the Munich Olympics. 1997: Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in central Paris along with Dodi Fayed. 2012: The German manufacturer of anti-morning sickness drug Thalidomide apologised for the thousands of children born without limbs as a result of its use. BIRTHDAYS: Martin Bell, former broadcaster and MP, 78; Clive Lloyd, former cricketer, 72; Van Morrison, singer, 71; Richard Gere, actor, 67; Edwin Moses, former athlete, 61; Glenn Tilbrook, rock musician (Squeeze), 59; Todd Carty, actor, 53; Debbie Gibson, singer, 46; Padraig Harrington, golfer, 45; Chris Tucker, actor, 45; Andrei Medvedev, former tennis player, 42; Ian Harte, footballer, 39. QUOTES OF THE DAY: “I’m sure every business is full of phonies and people that don’t return phone calls and play the big shot. I’m sure it exists on Wall Street and in London and Rome, but Hollywood always gets the rap because there it’s so obvious. You’re dealing with one diva after another” - Film director Woody Allen. “The North of England is its own country in all but name. Perhaps it is time to cut loose. Anyone for Nexit?” - Lord (Melvyn) Bragg. “I don’t see myself as cocky, I see myself as confident. If people see me as arrogant it’s a shame because I’m not. It’s like being called the bad boy of ballroom. I was called that for the first few years of Strictly because I was outspoken” - Dancer Brendan Cole. “I woke up one night and thought that all I needed was half an hour to talk Blair out of the Iraq War” - Author Ian McEwan.