Marie Lloyd (1870–1922) was an English music hall singer, comedienne and musical theatre actress, known as the "Queen of the Music Hall". She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery" and "Oh Mr Porter What Shall I Do", and was both criticised and praised for her use of innuendo and double entendre. She made her professional debut in 1884 and thereafter frequently topped the bill in London's West End. Between 1894 and 1900, she became an international success when she toured France, America, Australia and Belgium. In 1907, she assisted other performers during the music hall war and protested for better pay and conditions for performers. During the First World War, she helped the war effort and toured hospitals and industrial institutions to boost morale. Lloyd had a turbulent private life that was often the subject of press attention. She also suffered from bouts of ill-health and became alcohol-dependent. In later life, she was still in demand and had success in 1919 with her renowned performance of "My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)". Lloyd was taken ill on stage at the Alhambra Theatre, London, and died a few days later.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Lloyd
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1053:
Humphrey of Hauteville led the armies of the Normans in the Battle of Civitate against the combined forces of Pope Leo IX and the Holy Roman Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Civitate
1858:
Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection, which prompted Darwin to publish his theory of evolution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication_of_Darwin%27s_theory
1953:
A Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft crashed just after takeoff from Tachikawa, Japan, killing all 129 people on board in the first aviation accident with over 100 fatalities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachikawa_air_disaster
1983:
Iranian teenager Mona Mahmudnizhad and nine other women were hanged because of their membership in the Bahá'í Faith. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Mahmudnizhad
1994:
The Troubles: Members of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault rifles, killing six. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughinisland_massacre
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
chiaroscuro: An artistic technique developed during the Renaissance, referring to the use of exaggerated light contrasts in order to create the illusion of volume. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chiaroscuro
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The ability of so many people to live comfortably with the idea of capital punishment is perhaps a clue to how so many Europeans were able to live with the idea of the Holocaust: Once you accept the notion that the state has the right to kill someone and the right to define what is a capital crime, aren't you halfway there? --Roger Ebert https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert