Hauer’s homeland was too small for a big star
While it didn’t win him any awards, Rutger Hauer gave the performance of his career to get out of the army, so that he would be free to become a professional actor
Today In History
Farmer’s son set world on course for Great War
He was one of several assassins sent to kill the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but by hitting his mark he became infamous as the man who sparked a global conflict
Channel hero no match for power of Niagara
The violently swirling waters below Niagara Falls tempted Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, to try his luck in 1883. Unfortunately his skill was not enough
New wave astronauts ‘carry torch’ for moon landers
A Russian, American and Italian have blasted off into space on the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, in a fitting tribute to the Apollo 11 crew.
More Stories
Innocent dance night led to horror on moors
PAULINE Reade, 16, was off to a suburban dance in 1963 when she became the first victim of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.
English girl, 11, named Pluto
WHEN retired Oxford librarian Falconer Madan was reading the London Times in March 1930 while dining with his granddaughter Venetia, he pointed out an article about the discovery of a new planet which was yet to be named.
First heart surgery patient lived another 20 years
CHICAGO surgeon Daniel Hale Williams stitched up a heart tear to save stab victim James Cornish 125 years ago.
Fun times were rare for the original funny girl of theatre
THE whitewashed tale of comedienne Fanny Brice won an Oscar 50 years ago for another Jewish starlet, Barbra Streisand.
Human error sparked Piper Alpha oil rig disaster
WHEN a maintenance crew failed to tell an oil rig control room about a missing safety valve it brought about one of the worst oil rig disasters in history
Forbidden love led to creation of a monster
WHEN poet Percy Shelley fell in love with Mary Godwin the daughter of his philosophical hero it would transform his life and create a monster.
Storm revealed horror of coal mine children
Workers at the Huskar coal pit went to work on a hot, sunny summer’s day, but a freak thunder storm turned their coal mine into a death trap for 29 children, 180 years ago today
Steam train’s 80-year record still stands
EIGHTY years ago steam locomotive The Mallard broke a speed record that has yet to be officially bettered.
Capital overseer full of tall tales and mystery
Politician King O’Malley, champion of the Griffin design for Canberra, was born 160 years ago, probably in the US.
Songwriters’ hit took babysitter to stardom
KYLIE Minogue’s first pop hit The Loco-Motion was originally recorded a quarter of a century earlier by Carole King’s babysitter Little Eva.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/today-in-history/page/24