Oscars 2017: This wasn't the first time the wrong winner has been read out

This year's Academy Awards proved unforgettable, after La La Land was mistakenly named Best Picture instead of Moonlight

The great Oscars gaffe may seem beyond comprehension - but it wasn't the first time this has happened.

The 2017 Academy Awards saw presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly name La La Land the Best Picture winner - instead of real winner Moonlight - after being handed the wrong envelope, though eagle-eyed viewers soon noticed that the envelope Beatty was handed was, in fact, labelled 'Actress in a Leading Role', which itself went to La La Land's Emma Stone.

Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, who for 83 years have been in charge of keeping the secrecy around the night's winners, keep the envelopes used in the ceremony locked in two identical briefcases - featuring two identical sets of envelopes, handled by employees Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz.

PwC released a statement explaining Cullinan mistakenly handed the back-up Best Actress envelope instead of Best Picture, which many have speculated was due to Cullinan being distracted tweeting.

However, this has occurred before; back in 1964, Sammy Davis Jr. accidentally read out John Addison (for Tom Jones) as the winner of the Best Music Score (Adaptation). Thankfully, the mistake was quickly corrected, as Davis Jr. quipped, "Wait 'til the NAACP hears about this".

It was obvious, as well, to all in the auditorium what had happened: Addison wasn't even nominated in the category, but was instead the winner of Best Music Score (Original), with the real winner of Music Score (Adaptation) being Irma La Douce's Andre Previn - which happened to star Oscars host Jack Lemmon.

Davis Jr. even continued the joke by putting on his reading glasses to announce the real winner; adding, "I ain't gonna make no mistake this time."

Unfortunately, no one at this year's Oscars quite had Davis Jr. and the 1964 Academy's quick sense of timing.