MILESTONES: June 7, birthdays for Mike Pence, Bear Grylls, Allen Iverson

June 7, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Mike Pence. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 157th day of the year.

On this day in 1896, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that several warships were being brought to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to be overhauled. All would go into dry dock, “be thoroughly scraped, cleaned and painted.” The Maine, one of the designated ships, had not been docked since the previous October. That same ship is most famous for exploding and sinking while in Havana Harbor two years later, in 1898 when it was sent there to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt. Other ships also named the Maine were commissioned later after the start of the 20th century.

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On this day in 1951, the Eagle announced, “Gordon Dean, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, reported for the first time publicly today that the hydrogen ‘super bomb’ is getting closer to realization. Dean officially stated publicly what other sources had reported that the U.S. was developing “atomic warheads for artillery and guided missiles.” The Eagle reported, “In an unusually frank report on the atomic progress, Dean told the New York Chamber of Commerce that this country is in a position to fight an atomic war with Russia and ‘win it.’

In that same edition, the Eagle reported, “Sale of the historic Brooklyn Academy of Music to Long Island University appeared today to be very definitely in the wind. The purchase price is said to be $550,000.” The university’s board of trustees President William A. Zeckendorf said that they were prepared to do a cash sale, and that there had been a “meeting of minds,” between the boards of trustees of both the university and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, which owned the building that housed the Academy at that time. The original Brooklyn Academy of Music, at 194 Montague St., was lost in a 1903 fire. The Academy was then rebuilt by the arts philanthropic leaders. However, it suffered financial decline during the Depression. The Institute of Arts and Sciences, which already operated the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, took charge of the Academy in 1936 after a year of fundraising. However, the Academy survived on its own grounds. A 1978 “Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District Designation Report” that the New York Landmarks Commission released during Mayor Edward I. Koch’s administration indicates that the Board of Estimate approved a plan for the city to take over the Academy in 1951 and then lease it back to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Long Island University that same year bought the Marjorie Merriweather Post estate, on which the C.W. Post campus was built.

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On this day in 1922, the Eagle reported that the face of the now-deceased stage beauty Lillian Russell would be shielded from public gaze, thanks to a request she had made during her lifetime. “None but close friends may view dead features of once-famous stage beauty,” a subhead read. The story revealed the tragedy in her own life” She had lost a baby son when an unskilled nurse pricked him accidentally with a safety pin. This was her son by her first husband Harry Braham. The two eventually divorced. Braham had wooed her away from her then-fiancee Col. Walter Sinn, who had brought her into the Evangeline theater company.

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On this day in 1930, the Eagle reported that the Rumanian Assembly had proclaimed Crown Prince Carol as king. Apparently, this was to avoid civil war and to give Carol a chance to prove that he could be a good king, despite his past indiscretions. Meanwhile, the one who had become king was 6-year-old Michael, who would be “sent back to nursery.”

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On this day in 1953, the Eagle front page reported, “Stage and screen star Ethel Merman said yesterday she and airline executive Robert F. Six were married secretly in Mexicali, Mexico on March 9. The first to announce the wedding had been Continental Airlines, of which Six was president. Mr. Six was apparently also Mr. Three, as Merman had just divorced husband #2, publisher Robert D. Levitt, the year before.” Merman and Six had met in October 1951 at an anniversary showing of “Call Me Madam,” in which she starred.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include opera singer ROBERTO ALAGNA, who was born in 1963; actor MICHAEL CERA, who was born in 1988; author LOUISE ERDRICH, who was born in 1954; TV personality BEAR GRYLLS, who was born in 1974; comedian and actor BILL HADER, who was born in 1978; artist DAMIEN HIRST, who was born in 1965; former basketball player ALLEN IVERSON, who was born in 1975; talk show host JENNY JONES, who was born in 1946; singer TOM JONES, who was born in 1940; former tennis player ANNA KOURNIKOVA, who was born in 1981; drummer and singer BILL KREUTZMANN JR., who was born in 1946; former hockey player MIKE MODANO, who was born in 1970; actor LIAM NEESON, who was born in 1952; Nobel Prize in Literature recipient and author ORHAN PAMUK, who was born in 1952; U.S. Vice President MIKE PENCE, who was born in 1959; and 17th Prime Minister of Canada JOHN NAPIER TURNER, who was born in 1929.

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PRINCE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1958. The prolific, stylish music artist and dynamic guitarist released 39 studio albums and such chart-topping singles as “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Kiss” and many more. Besides ruling the music charts in the 1990s and beyond with his infectious pop-funk, Prince was a savvy businessman, establishing his own label, building a recording studio and leading the way for artists to retain their creative rights. He died at his Paisley Park home/studio in Minnesota in 2016.

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TODAY IS NATIONAL RUNNING DAY. Since 2009, it is a day when runners everywhere declare their passion for running and when the country’s foremost running organizations work together with thousands of participants to celebrate the sport.

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DEAN MARTIN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1917. The actor and singer’s career was barely moving in 1946 when he met Jerry Lewis. Together they formed an unforgettable comedy act that carried them to dizzying heights of success. When the team broke up, Martin found continued success as a singer as well as a Hollywood film and TV star. His signature songs included “Everybody Loves Somebody,” “That’s Amore” and “Volare.” Dean died in 1995 in California.

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PAUL GAUGUIN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1848. Formerly a stockbroker, Gauguin became a painter in his middle age, and three years later renounced his life in Paris to move to Tahiti. He is remembered best for his broad, flat tones and bold colors. He died in 1903 in Atoana on the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas.

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

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“As long as I do not take myself too seriously, I should not be too badly off.” — Prince, who was born on this day in 1958