MILESTONES: January 18, birthdays for Dave Bautista, Karan Brar, Ashleigh Murray

January 18, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Dave Bautista. Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 18th day of the year.

On this day in 1912, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported on the proposal for a new department store to be built at a location at the intersection of Elm Place and Fulton Street, incorporating the addresses from 476-482 Fulton St. As of that edition, the construction had the support of local business men but financing had not yet been solidified. The new building would displace a number of already-existing stores which would either be “incorporated in the larger concern” or forced from their locations. They included: the Fulton branch of Barrett, Nephews & Co.; Wallace & Co.’s candy store; the Royal cloak and suit store; Samuel Bloom’s shoe store; the Star Shoe Company and the Koch Company.

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On this day in 1919, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that President Woodrow Wilson, in France for the Paris Peace Conference, was about to face the most challenging diplomatic test — whether the League of Nations could become a vital organization or whether its mission would be on paper only. The U.S.’s participation in the League still faced an uphill battle securing Congressional approval at that point. A brighter note in the trip is that Wilson and American Peace Commission members were treated to a performance by Brooklyn boys. These were members of the Argonne Players, a theatrical unit of the 77th Division. Its director was a Lt. Warren B. Diefendorf of 164 Montague St. The troupe was reportedly a hit in Paris.

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On this day in 1947, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Poland’s security police on the eve of general elections were alerted to a potential uprising and had been given “battle orders. This election was the first since Germany had invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and was provided for in the Potsdam Agreement of 1945. Polish citizens would be voting for 444 members of the Parliament. However, there were groups who were threatening, according to one underground newspaper that “election day would go down in Polish history as a day of civil war.” Poland was under mostly Soviet control at the time.

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On this day in 1955, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Chinese red forces had invaded the tiny but strategic island of Yikiangshan in the Tachen Islands off the mainland coast. This was particularly alarming to the Chinese Nationalist forces in Taipei, Formosa (Taiwan’s former name). The Nationalists were fighting valiantly to defend the Tachens in this amphibious attack, which was the first attack against leader Chiang Kai-shek’s island outposts the previous September. The U.S. 7th fleet was in the Tachens area and was committed to protecting the island of Formosa 250 miles southward.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include filmmaker JOHN BOORMAN, who was born in 1933; actor and director KEVIN COSTNER, who was born in 1955; actress JANE HORROCKS, who was born in 1964; actor JESSE L. MARTIN, who was born in 1969; former hockey player MARK MESSIER, who was born in 1961; Oscar Award-winning actor MARK RYLANCE, who was born in 1960; and actor JASON SEGEL, who was born in 1980.

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PETER MARK ROGET WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1779. The English physician is best-known as the author of “Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases,” first published in 1852. He died in England in 1869.

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THE FIRST BLACK U.S. CABINET MEMBER WAS SWORN IN ON THIS DAY IN 1966. Robert Clifton Weaver was sworn in as secretary of housing and urban development. He was nominated by President Lyndon Johnson.

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CARY GRANT WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1904. Known as a romantic leading actor, Grant was born Archibald Leach in England. For more than three decades, he entertained with his wit, charm, sophistication and personality. His films include “Topper,” “The Awful Truth,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “His Girl Friday,” “North by Northwest” and “Charade.” He died in 1986 in Iowa.

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DANNY KAYE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1913. The Brooklyn-born American entertainer became a star in films, international stage performances and television. His most notable films are “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1947) and “Hans Christian Andersen” (1952), as well as the classic “White Christmas.” He hosted the TV show “The Danny Kaye Show” in the 1960s. He also helped to raise millions of dollars for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and musicians’ pension plans. He died in California in 1987.

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RUBEN DARIO WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1867. The great Nicaraguan poet is known as the leader of the Latin American modernista movement. His work was tremendously influential in all the Spanish-speaking literary world and beyond. His breakthrough book was “Azul…” (1888). In his later years, Darío served his native Nicaragua in various diplomatic posts. He died there in 1916.

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CURT FLOOD WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1938. He was one of baseball’s best center fielders in the 1960s, batting .293 over 15 seasons and playing spectacular defense. After the 1969 season, he refused to accept a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies. “I am not a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes,” he said in a letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. The resulting lawsuit went to the Supreme Court, where Flood lost. But his stand, taken because he did not want to switch teams, paved the way for the end of baseball’s reserve clause and the advent of free agency. Flood died in1997 in California.

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

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“To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” — Danny Kaye, who was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1913