MILESTONES: June 27, birthdays for Khloe Kardashian, Lauren Jauregui, Chandler Riggs
Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 177th day of the year.
On this day in 1863, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Rebel Invasion of Pennsylvania: We have private advices from Harrisburg up to two o’clock this morning. The rebels under Ewell are supposed to be in the vicinity of Carlisle, eighteen miles from Harrisburg. Our forces evacuated Mechanicsburg, which is only a few miles from the state capital, but afterwards returned and re-occupied the town. The 23rd Brooklyn regiment had been ordered at three o’clock yesterday to march toward Carlisle.”
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On this day in 1906, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The first move to determine whether or not Harry K. Thaw shall be tried for the murder of Stanford White was made this afternoon when a group of well-known alienists began an examination into the young millionaire murderer’s sanity. On the report of these experts will depend the action of the district attorney. If the alienists decide that Thaw is insane, he will never be tried for the murder of White … Mrs. Thaw visited her husband in the Tombs this afternoon. She arrived shortly after noon but had to wait until her husband was returned to his cell from the examination by the insanity experts.”
Also reported were the results of the first race of the inaugural season of Grand Prix racing, which took place in France: “Francois Szisz, driving a 105-horse power Renault, won the Grand Prix race today, completing the 1,236 kilometers, half of which were run off yesterday, in 12 hours, 14 minutes and 47 seconds. This is at an average of nearly 103 kilometers or approximately 64 miles an hour.”
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On this day in 1917, the Eagle reported, “Funeral services for Frederick W. Wurster, the last mayor of Brooklyn, who died Sunday at Belgrade Lake, Maine, were held this afternoon at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Edward T. Horwill, 1186 Dean St. … The Rev. John Erskine Adams, a former pastor of the Ross Street Presbyterian Church, with which Mr. Wurster was affiliated when he lived in the Eastern District, read the simple Episcopal burial service … Mr. Wurster’s body rested in an open casket at one side of the drawing room in the Horwill home. It was surrounded by many beautiful floral tributes from Mr. Wurster’s friends and relatives, and from men who had been associated with him in public life when Brooklyn was a city.”
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On this day in 1923, the Eagle reported, “Brooklyn has signed Moe Berg … of the Princeton University baseball team, and he will probably report to the Superbas in Philadelphia, where they open today a four-day series which ends on Saturday with a double-header. Berg’s signature was obtained after he had played with Princeton yesterday at Yankee Stadium, when the Tigers defeated Yale.” During World War II, Berg would sign up for something else — espionage — while working for the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA. He is portrayed by Paul Rudd in the current feature film “The Catcher Was a Spy,” which is based on the 1994 biography of the same name. Berg died in 1972.
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On this day in 1948, the Eagle reported, “U.S. transport planes rushed emergency supplies over Soviet siege lines into Berlin today but 2,500,000 Germans in the Allied sectors of the isolated city faced the threat of mass starvation … Authoritative sources said the American freight would be stepped up as soon as possible to 100 planes a day … Britain’s World War II leader, Winston Churchill, said in a speech in Luton, England that Soviet isolation of Berlin raised issues no less grave than those at the Munich conference that led to war.”
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On this day in 1950, the Eagle reported, “President [Harry] Truman announced today that he has ordered the U.S. air and sea forces to support South Korean forces in their fight against Communist invaders from North Korea. The decision to give the tiny democratic republic American air support from nearby Japanese bases was settled at an emergency White House conference between President Truman and his high military command … The first disclosures of the U.S. decision did not indicate how and to what extent the United States will deploy its air power. Gen. Douglas MacArthur already has sent 10 U.S. combat planes to South Korea from airfields in southern Japan.”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include TV executive and film director J.J. Abrams, who was born in 1966; actress Isabelle Adjani, who was born in 1955; former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who was born in 1968; actress Julia Duffy, who was born in 1951; actress Shirley-Anne Field, who was born in 1938; fashion designer Norma Kamali, who was born in 1945; tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was born in 1985; actor Tobey Maguire, who was born in 1975; actor Jason Patric, who was born in 1966; philanthropist, businessman and former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, who was born in 1930; former basketball player Chuck Connors Person, who was born in 1964; actor Chandler Riggs, who was born in 1999; and actor Ed Westwick, who was born in 1987.
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TODAY IS PTSD AWARENESS DAY. It is a day to promote awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a mental health problem that can occur after someone goes through a traumatic event like war, assault, an accident or disaster. For more information, visit ptsd.va.gov.
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JOSEPH SMITH JR. AND HYRUM SMITH DIED ON THIS DAY IN 1844. The founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his brother Hyrum were shot to death by an armed mob in Illinois. At the time, Joseph Smith was the presidential candidate of the National Reform Party, the first U.S. presidential candidate to be assassinated.
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“DARK SHADOWS” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1966. The soap opera was completely different from all others because it featured vampires as main characters and had a dark, Gothic feel to it. The show focused on the Collins family living in Maine, particularly Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), a 200-year-old vampire. Other cast members included David Selby, Kate Jackson, Lara Parker and Jerry Lacy. Action shifted between the 1800s and the 1960s. This show was very popular with teenagers and was remade as a short-lived series in 1991.
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HELEN KELLER WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1880. At 18 months old, she contracted a disease that left her deaf and blind. With the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan, Keller graduated from college and had a career as an author and lecturer. She died in 1968 in Connecticut.
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JAMES SMITHSON DIED ON THIS DAY 1829. The scientist and founder of the Smithsonian Institution bequeathed his great wealth to a nation he had never visited, to found “at Washington under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” In spite of opposition, Congress approved an act to establish the Smithsonian Institution in 1846. Most of Smithson’s personal documents, books and collections were destroyed by a fire in 1865. He died in Italy.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
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“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” — Helen Keller, who was born on this day in 1880
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