ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE MARCH 12, 1955
SIR ALEXANDER Fleming, whose discovery of penicillin gave life to millions, died of a heart attack at his london home yesterday morning. lady Fleming was with him. Although 73 years old, he had previously seemed to be in the best of health.
MARCH 12, 1977 The eurovision Song Contest, due to be staged in london next month, was cancelled by the BBC last night. The decision came after the cameramen’s union, which is involved in a pay dispute, refused to promise the show would not be blacked out. lynsey de Paul, who with mike moran sang and wrote the British entry rock Bottom, said: ‘it isn’t just our tragedy — it’s the country’s tragedy.’ [The contest did, in fact, go ahead and rock Bottom finished second.]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
GRAHAM Coxon, 52. The founding member of english rock band Blur was just 20 when Blur formed and hailed as ‘the most gifted guitarist of his generation’ but he felt the pop scene was fake and said: ‘i used to go to the pub and chat to painters and decorators. i thought they were funnier, more entertaining and brighter than most people i met in the music industry.’ LIZA minnelli, 75. The U.S. actress, singer and dancer is the daughter of Judy garland and director Vincente minnelli. She won a best actress oscar for her role as Sally Bowles in Cabaret. her outfit from the film sold for more than £60,000 in 2018. She wasn’t bothered by her parents separating when she was five as ‘they married again so many times i have millions of parents’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
THOMAS Arne (1710-1778). The etoneducated violinist from london, who composed rule Britannia, is widely held to have been the most important english 18th century composer. Arne married a singer, then had an affair with one of his pupils.
CHARLES BOYCOTT (1832-1897). The norfolk-born estate manager in ireland gave us the word boycott. in protest at Boycott’s refusal to cut rents, a politician urged tenants in 1880 to take action against their landlord or his agent by ‘isolating him from his kind as if he were a leper of old’. The word came into usage within months.
ON MARCH 12 . . .
IN 1963, the house of representatives passed a Bill to give honorary U.S. citizenship to Winston Churchill. IN 1989, British computer scientist Tim Berners-lee distributed his proposal for the World Wide Web.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Alienable (c1610) A) Foreign. B) Fit for expulsion. C) Able to be transferred to new ownership.
Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED Like Rip van Winkle: out of touch or living in the past; in U.S. author Washington irving’s story of the same name, rip van Winkle falls asleep for 20 years and wakes to find the world totally changed.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I was asked whether I was trying to restore Victorian values. I said straight out I was. And I am. Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister (1925-2013)
JOKE OF THE DAY
IS THERE a word that contains all five vowels? Unquestionably. Guess The Definition answer: C.