MILESTONES: April 17, birthdays for Victoria Beckham, Avi Kaplan, Redman

Brooklyn Today

April 17, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Victoria Beckham. AP Photo/Kin Cheung

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 107th day of the year.

On this day in 1865, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “A meeting of the citizens of Brooklyn under the auspices of the War Fund Committee, will be held at the Academy of Music, this evening, Monday, April 17, 1865, at [7 p.m.], to unite with the country at large in the expression of their sorrow on account of the great calamity that has befallen the country by the sudden death of [President Abraham Lincoln]. The clergy of the city are invited to assemble in the Green Room and take seats on the stage. Ladies are invited to be present … There will be no performances at the Park Theatre or Hooley’s Opera House this evening, in consequence of the death of the late president of the United States.”

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On this day in 1875, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Monday next there will be unveiling of statues, delivery of speeches and reading of poems at Lexington and at Concord, in presence of the president of the United States and several ‘Representative Men’ – not exactly the kind of representative men Ralph Waldo Emerson, who is to be the speaker, wrote about, but men who do represent certain ideas. This celebration is in honor of ‘The Minute Man,’ who a hundred years ago fired the secessionists’ first shot at the national uniform of Great Britain.”

Also in 1875, the Eagle reported, “Ocean Parkway is designed to be the grand avenue of communication between this city and the seaside. When finished it will, in addition to being the finest carriage way on the continent, give to Brooklyn an attraction possessed by no other large American city. New York, Boston, Philadelphia and St. Louis have each advantages of their own as places of residence, but none of them know the superb advantage of having the ocean for an immediate neighbor, and a splendid sea beach easily accessible to every inhabitant.”

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On this day in 1927, the Eagle reported, “Coming to unexpected grief after an hour’s trial spin, the monoplane America, in which Commander Richard E. Byrd planned a non-stop flight from New York to Paris, turned over at Hasbrouck Heights this afternoon, injuring Commander Byrd, Floyd Bennett, his pilot; Lieut. George O. Neville, radioman, and Anthony Fokker, the airplane designer … It was said at the hospital that Bennett’s injuries would keep him from the air indefinitely and that Commander Byrd would be unable to use his wrist for six weeks … Tentative plans called for the ‘hop’ across the Atlantic Ocean in May.”

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On this day in 1936, the Eagle reported, “Mayor [Fiorello] LaGuardia was authorized today by the Board of Estimate to seek the permission of the War Department for construction of a bridge across the Narrows to connect Brooklyn and Staten Island, a proposal which has been the subject of controversy for about 15 years … The Narrows bridge proposal has been favored by residents of Staten Island, but has met with considerable disapproval in Bay Ridge.”

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On this day in 1948, the Eagle reported, “The United Nations Security Council today ordered Jews and Arabs to halt immediately the warfare in Palestine which has cost more than 2,000 lives since last November. Neither Arabs nor Jews gave assurance that they would accept the order. It was feared they might still continue their bloody battle for control of the Holy Land. The Council approved a detailed truce plan designed to smooth the way for the 57-nation General Assembly as it tries between now and May 15 to devise a new government for Palestine. Great Britain ends her Holy Land mandate on May 15 and many U.N. diplomats hoped that at least the truce would quiet Arabs and Jews until that day.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor SEAN BEAN, who was born in 1958; designer and singer VICTORIA BECKHAM, who was born in 1975; sportscaster and former football player BOOMER ESIASON, who was born in 1961; actress JENNIFER GARNER, who was born in 1972; author, screenwriter and critic NICK HORNBY, who was born in 1957; actress OLIVIA HUSSEY, who was born in 1951; singer AVI KAPLAN, who was born in 1989; actress ROONEY MARA, who was born in 1985; feminist and writer CYNTHIA OZICK, who was born in 1928; singer and songwriter LIZ PHAIR, who was born in 1967; rapper REDMAN, who was born in 1970; and actress LELE ROCHON, who was born in 1966.

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ROD STEIGER WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1925. In his 50-year career, the character actor played a wide range of roles for some of the best directors of the day. He won a Best Actor Oscar for “In the Heat of the Night” and was also nominated for “On the Waterfront” and “The Pawnbroker.” Steiger died in Los Angeles in 2002.

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HARRY REASONER WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1923. The American TV journalist joined CBS News in 1956 and anchored the “CBS Sunday News” as one of the two original anchors, along with Mike Wallace, of the news show “60 Minutes.” He was co-anchor of the “ABC Evening News” from 1970 until 1978, when he returned to CBS and “60 Minutes.” Reasoner died in 1991 in Connecticut.

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CAP ANSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1852. The famed baseball player played professionally from 1871 through 1897 and is considered one of the game’s greatest first basemen. As a manager, he piloted the Chicago White Stockings (today’s Cubs) to five National League pennants and a .575 winning percentage. Anson died in Illinois in 1922 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.

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TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL HAIKU POETRY DAY. It is a day to celebrate of the haiku, whose origins date back a millennium in Japan and which is now written in more than 50 countries and cultures around the world. This day is observed in the heart of National Poetry Month, under the auspices of The Haiku Foundation. In addition to various public events, readings, exhibitions and competitions around the world, the foundation also hosts on this day the HaikuLife Haiku Film Festival and the Earthrise Rolling Haiku Celebration.

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

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“When you’re safe at home, you wish you were having an adventure; when you’re having an adventure, you wish you were safe at home.” — playwright Thornton Wilder, who was born on this day in 1897