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MILESTONES: July 10, birthdays for Sofia Vergara, Jessica Simpson, Antonio Brown

July 10, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Sofia Vergara. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
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On this day in 1850, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported on the death of President Zachary Taylor: “His death was calm and peaceful. The vice president, cabinet, mayor, marshal of the district, the attending physicians, and his family, surrounded the bed at the time of his death. His last words were: ‘I am prepared; I have endeavored to do my duty.’ A calamity so sudden and unlooked for will silence partisan asperity, while the nation unites in doing homage to the many virtues of the chieftain who has just been called from the midst of earthly honors to the quiet of the sepulcher.”

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On this day in 1891, the Eagle reported, “At yesterday’s session of the convention of the association of teachers of the deaf and dumb at Crosbyside, a highly interesting account was given of the phenomenal results achieved in the case of Helen Keller, a child who is not only deaf and dumb, but also blind … Helen’s parents brought her to Dr. A. Graham Bell [who] suggested that Helen be taught to speak, but the parents did not receive the suggestion with favor, as the difficulties seemed too great. However, instruction was begun and a Miss Sullivan, who is possessed of a special genius for teaching deaf mutes, undertook the difficult task.”

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On this day in 1925, the Eagle reported, “Dayton, Tenn., July 10 (AP) — A new indictment, based upon the evidence responsible for the old document, was returned against John Thomas Scopes by the Rhea County Grand Jury here today. The indictment charged violation of the recently enacted Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolution theories in the public schools … The opening of the court was marked by what was expected to be the first of many demonstrations when the entrance of William Jennings Bryan provoked a burst of handclapping from spectators packing the courtroom. As the leading member of the prosecution’s staff of attorneys walked within the bar of the court he was greeted cordially by Clarence Darrow and Dudley Field Malone, leaders in the defense group of lawyers.”

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On this day in 1936, the Eagle reported, “The great experiment of frying an egg on the steps of Borough Hall was tried yesterday by an Eagle reporter … At 2:50 p.m., when New York’s all-time heat record was exploding, he arrived at Borough Hall, juggling one egg, one salt shaker and one pepper shaker … Momentarily he expected Borough President Raymond V. Ingersoll to dash out of his offices shouting: ‘You can’t do that on my doorstep.’ But he went ahead and cracked the egg … In no time everybody in Court Square gathered around offering advice, suggestions and bets … But 15 minutes later everyone agreed it was a fizzle … It was definitely not fried.”

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On this day in 1938, the Eagle reported, “Port Chester, July 9 (AP) — Associate Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo of the United States Supreme Court died at 6:40 p.m. today at the home of Judge Irving Lehman of the Court of Appeals … Cardozo had been ill with heart disease since last winter. In the last few weeks he had spent much time in an oxygen tent … Justice Cardozo was 68 last May 24. He had long been a friend of President [Franklin] Roosevelt and only today the president and Mrs. Roosevelt sent flowers to him … Cardozo had served on the Supreme Court since 1932, when he was appointed by President [Herbert] Hoover. Long celebrated as a liberal, he went to the court as successor to Oliver Wendell Holmes, famed as ‘The Great Dissenter.’ Before that, Cardozo had been on the New York Court of Appeals since 1917.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include Hall of Fame baseball player Andre Dawson, who was born in 1954; former and first black mayor of New York City David Dinkins, who was born in 1927; actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was born in 1977; actor Ron Glass, who was born in 1945; actor Adrian Grenier, who was born in Brooklyn in 1976; singer Arlo Guthrie, who was born in Brooklyn in 1947; composer and lyricist Jerry Herman, who was born in 1931; actress Sue Lyon, who was born in 1946; Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro, who was born in 1931; actor Lawrence Pressman, who was born in 1939; author Karen Russell, who was born in 1981; singer and actress Jessica Simpson, who was born in 1980; actress Sofia Vergara, who was born in 1972; and Hall of Fame tennis player Virginia Wade, who was born in 1945.

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MARCEL PROUST WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1871. The famed author gained an international reputation for his 13-volume masterpiece, “A la Recherche du Temps Perdu” (“Remembrance of Things Past”). Proust died in 1922 in Paris.

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THE NEWS OF THE WORLD CEASED PUBLICATION ON THIS DAY IN 2011. Once the bestselling newspaper in English, the News of the World was closed by its parent company, News International, in an attempt to quell a scandal over journalistic ethics. The 168-year-old tabloid had been the subject of police and government inquiries into allegations that reporters accessed the voice-mail boxes of celebrities, royals and other public figures. Several of the paper’s reporters and editors had already been arrested when it came to light that reporters had accessed and deleted some of the contents of the voice mail of a 13-year-old murder victim. At the time the paper ceased publication, its circulation was 2.6 million.

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JOHN GILBERT WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1897. In 1916, the silent film star had his billed screen debut in “Bullets and Brown Eyes.” In the early 1920s, Gilbert had leading roles in several films, such as “The Merry Widow” and “The Big Parade.” Although he was a popular leading man, he was unable to succeed when sound came to movies, and MGM released him from his contract in 1934. He died in 1936 in Los Angeles.

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

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“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.” — author Marcel Proust, who was born on this day in 1871

 

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