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MILESTONES: May 14, birthdays for David Byrne, Miranda Cosgrove, Cate Blanchett

May 14, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle
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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress Cate Blanchett, who was born in 1969; singer and composer David Byrne, who was born in 1952; filmmaker Sofia Coppola, who was born in 1971; actress Miranda Cosgrove, who was born in 1993; actress Meg Foster, who was born in 1948; DJ Martin Garrix, who was born in 1996; sportscaster Suzy Kolber, who was born in 1964; filmmaker George Lucas, who was born in 1944; former baseball player Dennis Martinez, who was born in 1955; Hall of Fame baseball player Tony Perez, who was born in 1942; actor Tim Roth, who was born in 1961; actress Amber Tamblyn, who was born in 1983; opera singer Ronan Tynan, who was born in 1960; Oscar Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis, who was born in 1952; and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was born in 1984.

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THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION SET OUT ON THIS DAY IN 1804. Charged by President Thomas Jefferson with finding a route to the Pacific, Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lt. William Clark left St. Louis, Missouri, with a 33-member group skilled in botany, zoology, outdoor survival and other scientific skills. They arrived at the Pacific coast of Oregon in November 1805 and returned to St. Louis in September 1806.

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GABRIEL DANIEL FAHRENHEIT WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1686. The German physicist introduced the use of mercury in thermometers and markedly improved their accuracy. He devised the Fahrenheit temperature scale (based on 32 degrees for the freezing/melting point of water/ice) that is still used in the U.S. (the Celsius scale is used more universally). He died in the Netherlands in 1736.

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JAMESTOWN WAS FOUNDED ON THIS DAY IN 1607. The first permanent English settlement in what is now the U.S. was established on this date in Virginia. Captains John Smith and Christopher Newport were among the leaders of the group of royally-chartered Virginia Company settlers who had traveled from Plymouth, England, in three small ships: Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery.

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

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“We don’t make music — it makes us.” — Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, who was born on this day in 1952.

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