ON THIS DAY
July 30, 2020
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JULY 30, 1945
THE Mitchell bomber that hit the empire State Building two days ago shattered not only the 79th storey’s concrete crust. It shattered all experts’ beliefs in the ability of skyscrapers to stand up to air raids and set them overhauling New York’s air raid precaution plans. Teams of architects and Army specialists found that this one plane crashing into the side of the world’s tallest structure caused £250,000 worth of damage.
JULY 30, 1970
CHARLES MANSON (right) led six of his Satan’s Slaves to a second night of killing after the murder of actress Sharon Tate and four others, a court was told yesterday. The 35-year-old hippy cult leader directed a murder tour of the Los Angeles area, Linda Kasabian, the prosecution’s key witness, alleged, which resulted in the deaths of supermarket owner Mr Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, 50. During shooting, the London-born director of The Dark Knight, Inception and Dunkirk has a flask of earl Grey in his pocket at all times (though Michael Caine was convinced it contained vodka).
HILARY SWANK, 46, (right). The American actress, who describes herself as ‘a girl from a trailer park who had a dream’, earned just $3,000 for her part in Boys Don’t Cry, which won her the first of her two Oscars in the space of five years. She said: ‘I had an Academy Award, but no health insurance.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
STAN STENNETT (1925-2013). The Welsh actor played Hilda Ogden’s brother, Norman Crabtree, in Coronation Street and mechanic Sid Hooper in Crossroads. He started out as a driver for a swing band, performing impromptu shows in transport cafes, before appearing on the same bill as Bob Hope and the Marx Brothers.
SIR HENRY LUNN (1859-1939). The Lincolnshire-born Methodist missionary earned degrees in theology and medicine before becoming a successful travel agent. He moved to Switzerland where he persuaded the British to ski. His company survived into the 21st century as Lunn Poly, which is now part of Tui.
ON JULY 30 . . .
IN 1935, the first ten Penguin paperbacks went on sale for sixpence each, making books affordable for ordinary people.
IN 1966, 32.3 million British television viewers watched england beat West Germany 4-2 in the World Cup final.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: fastigiate (c.17th century)
A) to punish B) to smoke tobacco C) having branches that are erect and parallel, tapering to a pointed top
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Pipe dream — meaning a fantastic hope or plan generally regarded as almost impossible to achieve; it is an 1895 term coined in Chicago and refers to dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine.
Elvis Presley (1935-77)
JOKE OF THE DAY
HOW do you comfort a grammar fanatic?
There, they’re, their.
Guess The Definition answer: C