MILESTONES: April 9, birthdays for Kristen Stewart, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Marc Jacobs

April 9, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

Kristen Stewart. Photo by Omar Vega/Invision/AP

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who was born in 1964; fashion designer Marc Jacobs, who was born in 1963; editor and journalist Paul Krassner, who was born in Brooklyn in 1932; actress Michael Learned, who was born in 1939; songwriter, pianist and mathematician Tom Lehrer, who was born in 1928; actress Leighton Meester, who was born in 1986; actress Cynthia Nixon, who was born in 1966; actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, who was born in 1979; actor Dennis Quaid, who was born in 1954; actress Kristen Stewart, who was born in 1990; and race car driver Jacques Villeneuve, who was born in 1971.

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THIS WEEK IS NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries — school, public, academic and special — participate.

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PAUL BUSTILL ROBESON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1898. Born in Princeton, N.J., he was an All-American football player at Rutgers University and received his law degree from Columbia University in 1923. After being seen by Eugene O’Neill in an amateur stage production, he was offered a part in O’Neill’s play “The Emperor Jones.” His performance in that play with the Provincetown Players established him as an actor. Without ever having taken a voice lesson, he also became a popular singer. His stage credits include “Show Boat,” “Porgy and Bess,” “The Hairy Ape” and “Othello,” which enjoyed the longest Broadway run of a Shakespeare play. In 1950, he was denied a passport by the U.S. for refusing to sign an affidavit stating whether he was or ever had been a member of the Communist Party. The action was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1958. Robeson died in Philadelphia in 1976.

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THE CIVIL WAR ENDED ON THIS DAY IN 1865. At 1:30 p.m., Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commander in chief of the Union Army, ending four years of civil war. The meeting took place in the house of Wilmer McLean at the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Confederate soldiers were permitted to keep their horses and go free to their homes, while Confederate officers were allowed to retain their swords and sidearms as well. Grant wrote the terms of surrender. Formal surrender took place at the courthouse on Apr 12. The death toll for the Civil War is estimated at 500,000 men.

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

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“I always find beauty in things that are odd and imperfect – they are much more interesting.”

–Marc Jacobs, who was born on this day in 1963