Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 21, birthdays for Chris Pratt, Lana Del Rey, Edward Snowden

June 21, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Chris Pratt. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
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Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 171st day of the year.

On this day in 1891, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “It is estimated that at least two-thirds of the population of Brooklyn go out of the city during the hot months, for a long or short period. This being the case, it is not surprising that Brooklynites are to be found at nearly every summer place … Where is there a city in the United States more favorably located than Brooklyn as regards its proximity to summer resorts? A half hour’s ride will take any of the city’s 800,000 population to the seashore. Bordering on the city limits are country places as fair and attractive as one can desire. Beginning at the south end we have Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, New Utrecht and Bensonhurst by the Sea, all located on the Narrows, overlooking the finest waterway in the world.”

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On this day in 1893, the Eagle reported, “Fall River, Massachusetts, June 21 — Lizzie A. Borden returned with her sister this morning to her home on Second Street, after having spent the night at Mr. Charles B. Holmes’ residence on Pine Street. They drove up to the gate in a closed carriage and their entrance was most painful to witness. There were very few spectators, for the crowds of last night knew nothing of the hour when the long-imprisoned girl would return. They denied themselves to all newspaper men, in accordance with the suggestions of their counsel. The sofa on which Mr. Borden lay when he was murdered is at the central police station and will not be removed for a day or two … Miss Borden’s mail at the post office is very heavy. The temper of the people of the city has been changed greatly by the verdict and there is a manifest respect for the decision of the jury.”

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On this day in 1900, the Eagle reported from Philadelphia, “William McKinley of Ohio and Theodore Roosevelt of New York were unanimously nominated for president and vice president of the United States by the Republican National Convention this afternoon. The nominations were attended with great enthusiasm. Almost half an hour of indescribable pandemonium marked the nomination of McKinley. A shorter mad scene followed the nomination of Roosevelt … Gov. Roosevelt earnestly requested Chairman Odell to get him back to New York as quietly as possible tonight … He will go to Oyster Bay and rest for a time from the strain he has been under at the convention. To the Eagle correspondent, he said he had no plans for the future.”

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On this day in 1905, the Eagle reported, “Over in Manhattan, the fumes in the subway grow more dense and sickening every day, the stifling gases preaching a frightful warning against unventilated tunnels; yet the Rapid Transit Commission is going straight ahead repeating in the Brooklyn subways the mistake that already has caused so much suffering by the New York public. It seems incredible, but it is true, nevertheless, that no provisions are being made for the proper ventilation of the subways now building in this borough. The subway engineers actually contend that the subway air is not impure. They say they do not anticipate any trouble from bad air in the Brooklyn subways. When asked about the men and women who were overcome by the fumes in the subway, they sneer and call those stories newspaper sensations.”

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On this day in 1950, the Eagle reported, “For the never-say-die soccer fan, another game is scheduled under the lights for tonight at Woodward Oval, Woodward and Flushing avenues, when Prospect Unity will face the German-Hungarian in a nine p.m. kickoff. The feeling of the stay-at-homes, after witnessing the display Sunday, is that the U.S. team, which flew out Monday to take part in the World Cup Competition in Rio de Janeiro, will give a creditable performance despite the fact that they have been drawn in the toughest bracket. Sunday, the combination will compete against Spain in the Curitiba Stadium and a week from tomorrow night will play against the great All-England team at Belo Horizonte Stadium and the following Sunday against Chile at Recife Stadium.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include singer and TV personality KRIS ALLEN, who was born in 1985; actress MEREDITH BAXTER, who was born in 1947; author and cartoonist BERKELEY BREATHED, who was born in 1957; former basketball player TOM CHAMBER, who was born in 1959; singer and musician RAY DAVIES, who was born in 1944; actress SAMMI DAVIS-VOSS, who was born in 1964; comedian and actor JOE FLAHERTY, who was born in 1940; actor MICHAEL GROSS, who was born in 1947; actress MARIETTE HARTLEY, who was born in 1941; basketball player RICHARD JEFFERSON, who was born in 1980; actor BERNIE KOPELL, who was born in 1933; singer and actress JULIETTE LEWIS, who was born in 1973; musician, singer and songwriter NILS LOFGREN, who was born in 1951; actor CHRIS PRATT, who was born in 1979; actor DOUG SAVANT, who was born in 1964; actor JUSSIE SMOLLETT, who was born in 1983; former CIA employee EDWARD SNOWDEN, who was born in 1983; sportscaster and former baseball player RICK SUTCLIFFE, who was born in 1956; filmmaker LANA WACHOWSKI, who was born in 1965; actor BENJAMIN WALKER, who was born in 1982; and PRINCE WILLIAM, who was born in 1982.

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JEAN-PAUL SARTRE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1905. The French philosopher is considered by many to be the father of existentialism. In 1964, Sartre rejected the Nobel Prize for Literature when it was awarded to him. He died in Paris in 1980.

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BENAZIR BHUTTO WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1953. The first woman democratically elected to lead a Muslim nation, she served as Pakistan’s prime minister from 1988-90 and 1993-96. As prime minister, she accomplished much national reform, especially on women’s issues. However, during both of her terms, she was ejected from office under charges of corruption in Pakistan’s turbulent and often violent political climate. She was assassinated by a suicide bomber as she tried to mount her third campaign for prime minister in 2007 in Pakistan.

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HENRY OSSAWA TANNER WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1859. Tanner was one of the first black artists to have works exhibited in galleries in the U.S. He died in 1937 in France.

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

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“If you are lonely when you’re alone, you are in bad company.” — philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who was born on this day in 1905

 

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