MILESTONES: November 8, birthdays for Gordon Ramsay, SZA, Tara Reid

November 8, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Gordon Ramsay. Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File

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On this day in 1917, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported the outbreak of the Russian Revolution. This violent overthrow of the centuries-old imperial rule and in particular of the 300-year Romanov dynasty. Leftist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, and the Bolsheviks he led, seized power and ended czarist privilege in the midst of what was considered the most impoverished country in Europe. The Bolsheviks would later become the Soviet Union’s Communist party.

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On this day in 1938, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that some 2 million voters flocked to the polls in the first six hours since opening to cast their votes in the gubernatorial and other state elections. Gov. Herbert Lehman would be re-elected to another term, beating then-Manhattan DA Thomas E. Dewey. However, the young Republican nominee was not one to give up easily. Dewey ran for the governor’s seat again in 1942 and won. During the 1938 race, Dewey charged that Lehman had dodged issues and he called for a vote on several state constitutional amendments.

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On this day in 1951, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the Soviet Union rejected an arms inspection plan which could have benefited the Communist nation. The U.S. plan would have called for a world conference the next year to include discussion of disarmament on Russia’s terms and outlaw atomic weapons. The center page photo showed newlyweds “Frankie” Sinatra and his bride, actress Ava Gardner. And remember Emanuel Celler, for whom a long since demolished courthouse building in Brooklyn’s civic center was once named? The Democratic congressman was denouncing the G.O.P’s plan for redistricting — or gerrymandering.

NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include baseball coach and former player Edgardo Alfonzo, who was born in 1973; jockey Calvin Borel, who was born in 1966; football player Sam Bradford, who was born in 1987; TV host Mary Hart, who was born in 1951; business executive Christie Hefner, who was born in 1952; singer and musician Ricki Lee Jones, who was born in 1954; actor, director and producer Norman Lloyd, who was born in 1914; actress Parker Posey, who was born in 1968; singer Bonnie Raitt, who was born in 1949; chef and TV personality Gordon Ramsay, who was born in 1966; actress Tara Reid who was born in 1975; actor Matthew Rhys, who was born in 1974; actress Courtney Thorne-Smith, who was born in 1967; actress Alfre Woodard, who was born in 1953; and poet, professor and editor Kevin Young, who was born in 1970.

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MARTHA GELLHORN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1908. The pioneering female war correspondent covered more than a dozen wars, from the Spanish Civil War to Vietnam. She was the author of numerous nonfiction and fiction works. She was married to Ernest Hemingway from 1940 to 1945 when both were covering World War II. Born in Missouri, Gellhorn died in London in 1998.

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CORTÉS CONQUERED MEXICO ON THIS DAY IN 1519. After landing on the Yucatán Peninsula in April, Spaniard Hernán Cortés and his troops marched into the interior of Mexico to the Aztec capital and took the Aztec emperor Montezuma hostage.

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EDMUND HALLEY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1656. The English astronomer and mathematician observed the great comet of 1682 (now named for him), first conceived its periodicity and wrote in his “Synopsis of Comet Astronomy”: “I may venture to foretell that this comet will return again in the year 1758.” It did, and Halley’s memory is kept alive by the once-every-generation appearance of Halley’s comet. There have been 28 recorded appearances of this comet since 240 BC. The average time between appearances is 76 years and it is next expected to be visible in 2061. Halley died in 1742 in England.

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THE INTERNATIONAL DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION READING, LITERACY AND LEARNING CONFERENCE WILL BEGIN TODAY. More than 2,000 teachers, administrators, speech-language pathologists, researchers and other professionals from across the U.S. and around the world attend the premier professional development conference discussing dyslexia and related learning disabilities. The four-day program, held in Atlanta, Georgia, includes more than 125 educational sessions as well as four full-day symposia, keynote speakers, social events, networking opportunities and more.

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MARGARET MITCHELL WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1900. The American novelist won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for her only book, “Gone with the Wind,” a romantic novel about the Civil War and Reconstruction. “Gone with the Wind” sold about 10 million copies and was translated into 30 languages. Born in Georgia, Mitchell died there after being struck by a car in 1949.

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HERMANN RORSCHACH WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1884. He is best known for using his youthful interest in art and sketching to create the unusual and controversial inkblot test that now bears his name. In 1918, the psychiatrist began showing his patients inkblots on cards — created at random — and asked for their interpretations to gain insight into their unconscious. Rorschach continued his experimentation before publishing a comprehensive volume of his findings in 1921. He died in 1922.

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THE BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY (BHS) will host “Women’s Suffrage Turns 100! Part 3: The ‘Nasty Woman’ Stigma” tonight at 6:30 p.m. Women in positions of power just can’t seem to win. If they’re not labeled too bossy, they’re labeled too meek. Cast as the dangerous intruder during suffrage, the vilification of political women and their signature issues continues today. In this spirited discussion, panelists Joan Malin, former president of Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.; Allison K. Lange, women’s history historian; and Jamia Wilson, executive director and publisher of Feminist Press, will dig into a history of the mischaracterization of women. BHS Director of Public History Julie Golia will moderate. For more information, visit brooklynhistory.org.

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