ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JULY 4, 1928
THE talking film, the growing popularity of which is indicated by the proposal to convert two West End theatres into ‘talking movie’ houses, offers the public something distinctly new in the way of entertainment; and though sceptics may doubt its possibilities, as they doubted those of the cinematograph itself, it is clearly capable of immense future development.
JULY 4, 1938
AN LNER train reached a speed of 125mph yesterday — 11 miles an hour faster than any British train had travelled before [the official speed was 126mph, a world record for a steam locomotive]. Engineers were having tea as the record was being made, and they said the swaying was so slight, that not a drop of tea was spilled.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
BILL WITHERS, 81. The American singer-songwriter’s hits include Lean On Me, Just The Two Of Us and Ain’t No Sunshine. One of 13 children, Withers was the first man in his family not to work in the coal mines, instead serving in the Navy for nine years. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. JO WHILEY, 54. The BBC Radio 2 DJ says the most extravagant thing she bought was a speedboat, and the best advice she was given was from the late Sir Terry Wogan, who told her ‘to talk slowly and not be afraid of silence, as it is more powerful than any noise you can ever make’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
COLIN WELLAND (1934-2015). The actor starred in Z-Cars and the 1969 film Kes, before turning his hand to writing and picking up an Oscar for best original screenplay for Chariots Of Fire in 1982. The former art teacher, who scripted party political broadcasts for Neil Kinnock, was a ‘romantic socialist’ whose father had forbidden mention of Churchill’s name at home. STEPHEN BOYD (19311977). The Northern Irish actor was born Billy Millar, the youngest of nine children. He made his name, and won a Golden Globe, playing Messala in Ben-Hur. The iconic scene in which he competes against Charlton Heston in a chariot race was entered in the Motion Picture Academy’s archives. Boyd bought a bungalow for his parents in Bangor and named it Messala.
ON JULY 4 . . .
IN 1826, two former U.S. presidents — John Adams and Thomas Jefferson — died on the same day, the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. IN 2003, soul singer Barry White, 58, died.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Megamoon (coined 2017)
A) A honeymoon where friends of the newlyweds are invited. B) A honeymoon spent doing good deeds such as voluntary work abroad. C) A moon that appears extremely large and close. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Walking on air: To feel extremely happy; coined in the late 1800s, it alludes to the notion that if someone feels so great they may feel energetic and weightless.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
MONEY can’t buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy. Spike Milligan, Irish comedian, actor and writer (1918-2002)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHY are fingers your most reliable body part? You can always count on them. Guess The Definition answer: A.