MILESTONES: October 13, birthdays for Sacha Baron Cohen, Paul Simon, Nancy Kerrigan

Brooklyn Today

October 13, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Sacha Baron Cohen. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

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On this day in 1938, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that New York Gov. Herbert H. Lehman had superseded Brooklyn District Attorney Francis F.X. Geoghan and would appoint “an able, independent and non-political lawyer,” to investigate corruption in the District Attorney’s Office. Supreme Court Justice Francis D. McCurn of Syracuse was appointed to convene a special court term in Brooklyn to review allegations of official corruption in all branches of law enforcement … Also in Brooklyn, Mayor Fiorella H. LaGuardia and city planner Robert Moses clashed over the construction of the proposed Brooklyn-Queens circumferential highway, which was envisioned as a link between the Gowanus Parkway and the Triborough Bridge. LaGuardia wanted to shelve the project. The Board of Estimate, consisting of the borough presidents, was scheduled to convene a meeting to vote on the $12,000,000 project and was expected to approve it. The Eagle reported also that the Manhattan and Bronx borough presidents were being wooed to vote in favor of the highway. Of course, this highway is known today as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, most famous for its traffic jams and the recent demolition of the old Kosciuszko Bridge.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include singer and actress ASHANTI, who was born in 1980; producer and screenwriter CHRIS CARTER, who was born in 1957; comedian and actor SACHA BARON COHEN, who was born in 1971; actress MELINDA DILLON, who was born in 1939; singer and musician SAMMY HAGAR, who was born in 1949; former Olympic figure skater NANCY KERRIGAN, who was born in 1969; basketball player JERMAINE O’NEAL, who was born in 1978; actress and singer MARIE OSMOND, who was born in 1959; basketball player PAUL PIERCE, who was born in 1977; actress KELLY PRESTON, who was born in 1962; Hall of Fame football player JERRY RICE, who was born in 1962; basketball coach and former player GLENN ANTON “DOC” RIVERS, who was born in 1961; singer and musician PAUL SIMON, who was born in 1941; actress PAMELA TIFFIN, who was born in 1942; and actress KATE WALSH, who was born in 1967.

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MARGARET THATCHER WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1925. The first woman prime minister in 700 years of English parliamentary history, she was elected on May 3, 1979 in a Conservative Party victory. She held office until she was forced to resign on Nov. 22, 1990. She was given a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, a position that entitled her to a seat in the House of Lords, where she remained an active Tory voice. Thatcher died in 2013.

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TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION. The U.N. General Assembly made this designation as part of its efforts to foster international cooperation in reducing loss of life, property damage and social and economic disruption caused by natural disasters. For more information, visit un.org.

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LENNY BRUCE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1925. The New York-born standup comedian was known for his satiric and sometimes shocking routines that gained him the wrath of public officials. He was arrested multiple times on obscenity charges and his trials became celebrated calls to arms to protect First Amendment rights. By the time of his death by morphine overdose in 1966 in California, Bruce was banned in many U.S. cities, Australia and England, and from comedy clubs that feared legal action.

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

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“Nobody holds a good opinion of a man who has a low opinion of himself.” — English author Anthony Trollope