ON THIS DAY
1789: The crew of the HMS Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian, mutinied in the Friendly Islands in the South Seas, sailing for the Pitcain Islands. 1923: The first English FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium was staged. Bolton Wanderers defeated West Ham 2-0. 1945: Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci were executed by Italian partisans and their bodies hung in a square in Milan. 1947: The Kon Tiki expedition set out with Thor Heyerdahl, aiming to prove that ancient cults could have sailed on a balsa wood raft from Peru to Polynesia. 1967: Muhammad Ali refused induction into the US army and was stripped of his world heavyweight boxing title. 1969: General de Gaulle resigned as president of France after defeat in a referendum on electoral reform. 1985: Dennis Taylor won the Embassy World Snooker Championship after a spectacular final frame against Steve Davis. 1990: A Chorus Line closed on Broadway after a record-breaking 15 years.
BIRTHDAYS: Harper Lee, novelist, 89; Ann-Margret, actress, 74; Mike Brearley, former cricketer, 73; Jay Leno, comedian and chat show host, 65; Mary McDonnell, actress, 63; John Daly, golfer, 49; Howard Donald, singer (Take That), 47; Penelope Cruz, actress, 41; Sir Bradley Wiggins, road and track cyclist, 35; Jessica Alba, actress, 34.
QUOTES OF THE DAY: “I got a bit stupid, a bit over-excited, when I saw Fred Astaire’s shoes. I think I may even have kissed one of them” - Len Goodman, a Strictly Come Dancing judge.
“I always worry when the production team warn me that a guest is about to arrive with a big entourage. Generally, the bigger the entourage the bigger the pain they are” - TV’s Lorraine Kelly. “I was aged 10 or 11 and up a tree, so it involved a high level of difficulty” - Jeremy Piven, star of Mr Selfridge, on his first kiss.
“I was in a restaurant with Prince Andrew and Michael Portillo. I wasn’t actually eating with them. I just glanced at them over my prawns” - DJ Sara Cox.
“Acting is a very strange world to be co-existing in. It is very volatile. There is always going to be the more successful person” - Scarlett Johansson. “I don’t begin to understand contemporary society. Nobody has yet been able to explain Facebook to me” - John Cleese.
“Not sure I am one of the Cameronettes exactly. Do I have to wear a ra-ra skirt and wave my pom-poms around?” Tory candidate Michael Fabricant on the Prime Minister’s teenage fan base.