ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JULY 29, 1914 AuSTRIA late yesterday afternoon formally declared herself in a state of war with Serbia [marking the start of what would become the First World War].
This declaration was due to the ‘unsatisfactory’ reply of Serbia to the Austrian ultimatum demanding the suppression of anti-Austrian plots in Serbia.
England may be involved if the war is not localised. JULY 29, 1970 EquAL pay for more than a million women employed in Britain’s shops is now firmly on the way following the signing last night of a 34 pc two-stage deal for supermarket workers. Around 80,000 women in supermarkets will get rises of £2 6s. next month and another £1 next April. This is under the first industry-wide equal pay agreement since legislation was passed to end wage discrimination by 1975.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DAVID WARNER, 79. The Rada-trained, Emmy-winning actor from Manchester starred in The Omen and Mary Poppins Returns. He disappeared from the theatre for 30 years after suffering debilitating stage fright. Royal Shakespeare Company founder Peter Hall cast Warner after a search for a Hamlet to encapsulate the mid-1960s ‘disease of disillusionment’.
SALLy GuNNELL, 54. The Essex-born athlete (pictured) remains the only woman ever to hold four major track titles concurrently: Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth. She said her favourite post-race indulgence was a glass of wine and sticky toffee pudding or treacle tart.
BORN ON THIS DAY
WILLIAM POWELL (1892-1984). The u.S. MGM star, described as ‘the very picture of cinematic suavity’, was nominated for three Oscars — for The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey and Life With Father. Asked how he kept so slim, he said: ‘I highly recommend worrying. It is much more effective than dieting.’ THEDA BARA (1885-1955). The American silent film star (pictured), born Theodosia Goodman, was marketed as ‘The queen of Vampires’ and ‘The Wickedest Woman in the World’. At a press conference, film bosses pretended she was the daughter of a French actress and an Italian sculptor, raised in the shadow of the Pyramids, to exaggerate her exotic appeal. Recordings of only four of her 40 films have survived.
ON JULY 29...
IN 1949, the BBC televised its first regular weather forecast, consisting of a map and a voiceover. ‘Weather men’ first aired in 1954.
IN 1981, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. The streets of London were lined by 600,000 people, while there was a global TV audience of 750 million in 74 countries.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Saurian (c1805)
A) Having a pearly lustre. B) Resembling a swan. C) Resembling a lizard. Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED to spread like wild fire:
Meaning to circulate rapidly; wild fire was formerly used in war where it was a composition of highly inflammable materials both easily ignited and hard to extinguish.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what’s right.
Isaac Asimov, American writer (1920-92)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT did the grape say when crushed?
Nothing, it just let out a little wine.
Guess The Definition answer: C