The Diarists: This week in history

 

Ian Irvine
Friday 01 August 2014 09:37 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

3 August 1830

Charles Greville Clerk of the Privy Council: "Yesterday to the sale of the late King's wardrobe… There are all the coats he has ever had for 50 years, 300 whips, canes without number, every sort of uniform, the costumes of all the orders in Europe, splendid furs, pelisses, hunting-coats and breeches, and… a dozen pair of corduroy breeches he had made to hunt in… His profusion in these articles was unbounded, because he never paid for them, and his memory was so accurate that one of his pages told me he recollected every article of dress, no matter how old, and that they were always liable to be called on to produce some particular coat of years gone by. It is difficult to say whether in great or little things that man was most odious and contemptible."

4 August 1914

Vera Brittain pacifist-to-be: "Almost too excited to write as I am, I must make some effort to chronicle the stupendous events of this remarkable day… Never before has the war strength of each individual nation been of such great extent, even though all the nations of Europe… have been armed before. It is estimated that when the war begins 14 million… will be engaged in the conflict."

6 August 1962

Noël Coward writer: "Marilyn Monroe committed suicide yesterday. The usual overdose. Poor silly creature. I am convinced that what brought her to that final foolish gesture was a steady diet of intellectual pretentiousness pumped into her over the years by Arthur Miller… She was, to begin with, a fairly normal little sexpot with exploitable curves and a certain natural talent. I am sure that all the idiocies of her last few years, always being late on set etc, were the result of all this constant analysis of every line in every part she had to play, and a desperate longing to be 'intellectual' without the brain to achieve it."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in