History Brooklyn Boro

January 11, birthdays for Mary J. Blige, Cody Simpson, Lil Twist

Brooklyn Today

January 11, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Singer Mary J. Blige celebrates her birthday today. Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 11th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Mary J. Blige and Amanda Peet, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Cops Seek Heirs to $140,000 Left by Ex-Boro Hall Janitor, 66.”

The article focused on the death of a Brooklyn man who was worth $140,000.

“Roes’ body was lying face down on the floor. An ambulance doctor from Kings County Hospital pronounced him dead of natural causes and the body was taken to the morgue. Police then began a search of the shabby room in which Roes, who once worked as a janitor in Borough Hall, lived his solitary life. They found bank books showing deposits of more than $46,000,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include singer MARY J. BLIGE, who was born in 1971; 20th Prime Minister of Canada JEAN CHRETIEN, who was born in 1934; golfer BEN DANIEL CRENSHAW, who was born in 1952; columnist and author JIM HIGHTOWER, who was born in 1943; country singer NAOMI JUDD, who was born in 1946; actress CHRISTINE KAUFMANN, who was born in 1945; actress PHYLLIS LOGAN, who was born in 1956; actress AMANDA PEET, who was born in 1972; children’s rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize recipient KAILASH SATYARTHI, who was born in 1954; singer CODY SIMPSON, who was born in 1997; TV executive GRANT TINKER, who was born in 1925; actor STANLEY TUCCI, who was born in 1960; and rapper LIL TWIST, who was born in 1993.

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ALEXANDER HAMILTON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1755. The American founding father, diplomat, soldier and co-author of “The Federalist Papers” was appointed by George Washington to serve as first secretary of the treasury in 1789. In that position, Hamilton established the basis for all future American fiscal policy. He was mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804 in New Jersey.

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THE FIRST BLACK SOUTHERN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR WAS SWORN IN ON THIS DAY in 1986. L. Douglas Wilder was sworn in as lieutenant governor of Virginia. He was the first black person elected to statewide office in the South since Reconstruction. He later served as governor of Virginia.

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WILLIAM JAMES WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1842. The American psychologist and philosopher of the pragmatist school is considered the father of American psychology. Key works include “The Principles of Psychology,” “Essays in Radical Empiricism” and “The Will to Believe.” Born in New York City of the distinguished family that included his brother novelist Henry James, he died in New Hampshire in 1910.

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TODAY IS LEARN YOUR NAME IN MORSE CODE DAY. While some Morse code operators dispute whether Samuel Morse or Alfred Vail invented the code, it is known that on Jan 11, 1838, Morse and Vail performed the first public demonstration of the electric telegraph together. So, on 1-11 you are challenged to learn your name in Morse code — as well as SOS just in case you need to tap it out in an emergency.

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ALICE PAULWAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1885. The women’s rights leader and founder of the National Woman’s Party in 1913 was an advocate of an equal rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She died in New Jersey in 1977.

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THE BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY (BHS) WILL HOST “CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY THEN and Now: A View From the Archives” tonight at 6:30 p.m. On the eve of the presidential inauguration, what does it mean to be civically engaged in 2017? Drawing inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, BHS Director of Public History Julie Golia and BHS Oral Historian Zaheer Ali will delve into the archives to consider the varied approaches to civil rights tactics over the course of our nation’s history. For more information, visit brooklynhistory.org.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

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“There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it.” — psychologist William James, who was born on this day in 1842