MILESTONES: July 12, birthdays for Malala Yousafzai, Brock Lesnar, Michelle Rodriguez

July 12, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Malala Yousafzai. AP Photo/Nelson Antoine

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 193rd day of the year.

On this day in 1909, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “With the locomotive of a train close behind it, a runaway horse harnessed to a buggy dashed along the tracks of the Long Island Railroad yesterday for a distance of about six hundred feet between the Fresh Pond road crossing and Myrtle avenues, Glendale. The engineer saw the runaway and applied his brakes, but the race between the engine and the horse was a close one. It was only ended by the catching of the wheels of the vehicle in a switch near Myrtle Avenue. The train was halted within a few feet.”

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On this day in 1855, the Eagle reported: “Correction. — Owing to an error in punctuation, a serious mistake occurred in the communication of Mr. Middleton, which was published yesterday, and which places Deputy Sheriff Hegeman in a wrong position. The sentence, as we published it, read thus: ‘I discovered the fellow was a swindler, and when making the necessary arrangements for the recovery of the property, he fled aided by Deputy Sheriff Hegeman. We pursued him to Poughkeepsie.’ It should read as follows: — ‘I discovered the fellow was a swindler, and when making the necessary arrangements for the recovery of the property, he fled. Aided by Deputy Sheriff Hegeman, we pursued him to Poughkeepsie.’”

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On this day in 1906, the Eagle reported, “The decision of the highest court in France today annuls the decision of the court-martial at Rennes, in 1899, which made itself ridiculous before the world by the incompleteness of its decision. It decided that [Alfred] Dreyfus was guilty and sentenced him to prison, but recommended that he be pardoned … He had been accused of having betrayed France by selling military secrets to agents of a foreign government … Had it not been for the bravery of Emile Zola, the novelist, who wrote his famous ‘J’Accuse’ (I accuse) letter, in which he charged the officers of the army with having hatched a plot to swear away the honor of Dreyfus, it is a question whether justice ever would have been done to the degraded captain.” Dreyfus died on July 12, 1935, exactly 29 years after he was exonerated.

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On this day in 1924, the Eagle reported, “Through the use of a specially prepared novocaine used for the first time at the United Israel-Zion Hospital, 10th Ave. and 48th St., a woman patient was able to converse with the doctor and nurses and yet feel no pain while undergoing an operation for gallstones and appendicitis. The patient was fully conscious while being operated upon. The operation proved that a surgeon may now operate on almost any part of the body without pain and without using a general anesthetic. Watching the operation upon the woman was an audience of prominent physicians and surgeons who expressed their delight that serious operations may now be performed without an anesthetic of ether or gas.”

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On this day in 1945, the Eagle reported, “Brooklyn today went over the top in its 7th War Loan E bond effort, recording an amazing spurt of 19 percent to reach 107.2 percent of the $61,500,000 objective. The latest and final report of the Kings County War Finance Committee placed the borough E bond total at $65,900,454. On Monday, when the last report was issued, the borough had a mark of 88.2. The backlog in war bond orders, not recorded by the Federal Reserve Bank until today, was the reason for the sensational spurt. Clifford E. Paige, committee chairman, hailed attainment of the objective as a ‘speedboat finish’ and commended the borough for ‘its greatest war bond effort since Pearl Harbor.’”

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On this day in 1952, the Eagle reported, “Aboard Victory Special, July 12 — The Brooklyn delegation to the Republican Convention streaked home from Chicago today, weary after five harrowing days and nights on the convention floor and confident that their presidential choice, Dwight D. Eisenhower, will give their party victory for the first time in two decades … Heartened by the nomination of their candidate and by the promise of Brooklyn Republican Leader John R. Crews that the borough would roll up its greatest Republican vote since 1920, the 18 Brooklyn delegates and their alternates do not appear overconfident as they were four years ago. This year they realize that they must fight to win the presidency.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress LISA NICOLE CARSON, who was born in Brooklyn in 1969; actress ANNA FRIEL, who was born in 1976; actress MEL HARRIS, who was born in 1957; actress CHERYL LADD, who was born in 1952; wrestler and fighter BROCK LESNAR, who was born in 1977; singer and musician CHRISTINE McVIE, who was born in 1943; actress DENISE NICHOLS, who was born in 1945; actress MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ, who was born in 1978; actor JAMEY SHERIDAN, who was born in 1951; TV personality RICHARD SIMMONS, who was born in 1948; actor ERIK PER SULLIVAN, who was born in 1991; talk show host ROLONDA WATTS, who was born in 1959; Olympic gymnast JORDYN WIEBER, who was born in 1995; Olympic figure skater KRISTI TSUYA YAMAGUCHI, who was born in 1971; and Nobel Prize recipient and activist MALALA YOUSAFZAI, who was born in 1997.

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HENRY DAVID THOREAU WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1817. The American author, teacher and philosopher was a major figure of the transcendentalism movement. He is best known for his influential masterpiece “Walden.” Thoreau died in Massachusetts in 1862.

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“FAMILY FEUD” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1976. From the production team of Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, the game show sets two families against each other to accumulate the greater number of points. The contestants have to predict the most common answers to a given survey question. Richard Dawson (TV’s famous kissing host), Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O’Hurley and Steve Harvey have been hosts.

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ANDREW WYETH WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1917. The American realist artist is best known for “Christina’s World” and the “Helga” paintings. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal and the National Medal of Arts, among other accolades. Wyeth died in 2009 in Pennsylvania.

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PHOBOS 2 WAS LAUNCHED ON THIS DAY IN 1988. The Soviet craft sent back the first close-up photos of Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons.

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“CURLY” JOE DeRITA WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1909. The American comedian was the last surviving member of the Three Stooges comedy team. He joined the team in 1959 after Joe Besser left. He appeared in “Have Rocket, Will Travel,” “Snow White and the Three Stooges” and “The Outlaw Is Coming.” DeRita died in California in 1993.

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VAN CLIBURN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1934. The internationally acclaimed pianist’s musical genius briefly thawed the cold war after he won the first Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958. Cliburn was taught piano by his mother as a child and made his concert debut in 1947. He thrilled Muscovites with his interpretation of the romantics at the Tchaikovsky Competition, and surprised competition officials asked Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev’s permission before awarding an American first prize. Cliburn subsequently embarked on a successful concert career and founded the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition to aid young pianists. Cliburn died in 2013 in Texas.

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

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“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” — Henry David Thoreau, who was born on this day in 1817