ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MARCH 26, 1957
THE League Against Cruel Sports contends that it is only the Queen’s patronage which keeps hunting within British law. It claims that, otherwise, ‘the whole of this beastly form of amusement would have been condemned by the Church of England’.
MARCH 26, 2002
IT WAS the night Hollywood made Oscar history with three major honours for black stars. A tearful Halle Berry became the first black woman to win the Best Actress award in the Academy’s 74-year history. Denzel Washington was crowned Best Actor and 75-year-old pioneering star Sidney Poitier received an honorary award.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
NANCY PELOSI, 80. The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (right) is the first woman to hold the position. At last month’s State of the Union address, Donald Trump appeared to refuse to shake Pelosi’s hand and the grandmother of nine tore up a copy of his speech as soon as he finished speaking. RICHARD COLES, 58. The Northamptonborn co-presenter of Radio 4’s Saturday Live is a parish vicar and former musician, who as a member of the Communards had a hit in 1986 with Don’t Leave Me This Way. The former Strictly Come Dancing competitor was the inspiration behind the lead character of BBC comedy Rev and served as the main adviser on the series.
BORN ON THIS DAY
GUCCIO GUCCI (18811953). The Italian fashion designer, right, was inspired to open his own leather goods store in Florence in 1921 after admiring guests’ smart luggage while working as a porter at London’s Savoy hotel. But the firm only became a global brand after Gucci bequeathed his business to his five sons. The firm made clothes worn by 20th-century fashion icons Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Onassis. STERLING HAYDEN (1916-1986). The 6ft 5in American actor starred in Dr Strangelove and The Long Goodbye. Hayden, who served as a marine captain during World War II, said he had ‘spent a lifetime selling out’. Once a member of the Communist Party, he said he hated himself for co-operating with politicians’ investigations in the 1950s.
ON MARCH 26…
IN 1960, the Grand National was televised for the first time. IN 2000, Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia. He is now serving his fourth term.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE CORRECT DEFINITION: Scrimmage (coined 15th century)
A) A gift given to a guest B) A love letter C) A confused struggle or fight
PHRASE EXPLAINED Stand on ceremony:
To adhere strictly to formalities; coined at the turn of the 19th century, ‘stand on’ meant ‘ adhere to’ and ‘ceremony’ used to refer to overly polite behaviour.