MILESTONES: February 13, birthdays for Robbie Williams, Randy Moss, Sen. Richard Blumenthal

February 13, 2019 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Robbie Williams. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who was born in 1946; Tony Award-winning actor Stockard Channing, who was born in 1944; singer and songwriter Peter Gabriel, who was born in 1950; actress Kelly Hu, who was born in 1967; actress Carol Lynley, who was born in 1942; former football player Randy Moss, who was born in 1977; singer and actor David Naughton, who was born in 1951; actress Kim Novak, who was born in 1933; actor George Segal, who was born in 1934; TV host Jerry Springer, who was born in 1944; actor Bo Svenson, who was born in 1941; singer and actor Peter Tork, who was born in 1944; singer Robbie Williams, who was born in 1974; and pilot Chuck Yeager, who was born in 1923.

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THE FIRST MAGAZINE WAS PUBLISHED IN AMERICA ON THIS DAY IN 1741. Andrew Bradford published The American Magazine just three days ahead of Benjamin Franklin’s General Magazine.

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ROBERT JACKSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1892. He became a lawyer in New York before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt first appointed him to federal office in 1934. He also served as U.S. solicitor general and U.S. attorney general and was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1941. He served until 1954, where he was a strong supporter of individuals’ rights and admired for his eloquent writing. In 1945, Jackson served as the country’s chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. His opening and closing statements at the court are considered among the best speeches of the 20th century. Jackson died in Washington, D.C. in 1954.

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IRWIN WAS AWARDED THE FIRST U.S. MEDAL OF HONOR ON THIS DAY IN 1861. Colonel Bernard Irwin distinguished himself while leading troops in a battle with Chiricahua Apache Indians at Apache Pass, Arizona. For those actions he later became the first person awarded the new U.S. Medal of Honor, although he didn’t actually receive it until three years later in 1864.

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EDDIE ROBINSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1919. One of the winningest coaches in college football history, he led the Grambling State University Tigers to more than 400 victories during his 56-year tenure as head coach. He is considered a civil rights pioneer for his leadership in an era when doors were not always open for black athletes and he battled segregation and ultimately sent more than 200 players to the NFL. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame immediately upon his retirement in 1997 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s that same year. He died at Los Angeles in 2007.

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GRANT WOOD WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1891. The American artist, especially noted for his powerful realism and satirical paintings of the American scene was a printer, sculptor, woodworker and high school and college teacher. Among his best-remembered works are “American Gothic,” “Fall Plowing” and “Stone City.” He died in Iowa in 1942.

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

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“It is not the function of government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.” — lawyer Robert Jackson, who was born on this day in 1892