MILESTONES: January 29, birthdays for Sara Gilbert, Adam Lambert, Oprah Winfrey

January 29, 2019 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress Sara Gilbert, who was born in 1975; actress Heather Graham, who was born in 1970; author Germaine Greer, who was born in 1939; former hockey player Dominik Hasek, who was born in 1965; actor Sam Jaeger, who was born in 1977; actress Ann Jillian, who was born in 1951; actor Andrew Keegan, who was born in 1979; sportscaster and former basketball player Stacey King, who was born in 1967; singer and TV personality Adam Lambert, who was born in 1982; actor and Olympic diver Greg Louganis, who was born in 1960; actress Bobbie Phillips, who was born in 1968; actress Katharine Ross, who was born in 1943; actor Tom Selleck, who was born in 1945; actor Nick Turturro, who was born in 1962; and former TV talk show host, actress and producer Oprah Winfrey, who was born in 1954.

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THE SEEING EYE WAS ESTABLISHED ON THIS DAY IN 1929. The Seeing Eye, North America’s first guide dog school, was incorporated on this date in Nashville. The first Seeing Eye dog was Buddy, a German shepherd. The Seeing Eye was the first program in the U.S. that enabled people with disabilities to be full participants in society. Its mission is to enhance the independence, self-confidence and dignity of people who are blind through the use of Seeing Eye dogs. Since its founding, The Seeing Eye has matched more than 16,000 specially bred dogs with blind people from the U.S. and Canada. In 1931, the school moved to N.J., where it continues to breed, raise and train Seeing Eye dogs and instruct blind and visually impaired people in the use and care of their dogs.

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THOMAS PAINE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1737. The American Revolutionary leader, who was a corset maker by trade, is best remembered as the author of “Common Sense,” “The Age of Reason” and many other influential works. “These are the times that try men’s souls,” are the well-known opening words of his inspirational tract “The Crisis.” Paine died in New York in 1809, but 10 years later his remains were moved to England, his home country, by William Cobbett for reburial there. Reburial was refused, however, and the location of Paine’s bones, said to have been distributed, is unknown.

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EDGAR ALLAN POE’S “THE RAVEN” WASPUBLISHED ON THIS DAY IN 1845. One of the most famous poems in American literature, “The Raven” appeared in New York’s Evening Mirrornewspaper. The author was anonymous, but the poem was such a sensation (it would be reprinted at least 16 times in various periodicals and books that year) that soon the author was revealed as literary critic and author Edgar Allan Poe. Despite the celebrity status Poe enjoyed as a result of “The Raven,” it did not relieve his poverty: Poe received $15 for the poem. The classic lines, “Once upon a midnight dreary,” and, “Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore,‘” resound in countless anthologies and dramatic readings as well as in parodies.

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TODAY IS CURMUDGEONS DAY. It is an annual celebration of the crusty, yet insightful, wags who consistently apply the needle of truth to the balloons of hypocrisy and social norms. It is held annually on Jan. 29 on the birthday of W.C. Fields, one of America’s most beloved curmudgeons.

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

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“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” — Thomas Paine, who was born on this day in 1737