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MILESTONES: May 17, birthdays for Craig Ferguson, Derek Hough, Mia Hamm

May 17, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle
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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include comedian, actor and talk show host Craig Ferguson, who was born in 1962; Hall of Fame soccer player Mia Hamm, who was born in 1972; reality TV dancer Derek Hough, who was born in 1985; fashion designer Christian Lacroix, who was born in 1951; former boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, who was born in 1956; basketball player Tony Parker, who was born in 1982; actor Sendhil Ramamurthy, who was born in 1974; actress Nikki Reed, who was born in 1988; singer Trent Reznor, who was born in 1965; actor and TV host Bob Saget, who was born in 1956; and actress Debra Winger, who was born in 1955.

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THE BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION DECISION WAS REACHED ON THIS DAY IN 1954. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that segregation of public schools “solely on the basis of race” denied black children “equal educational opportunity” even though “physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may have been equal. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” The case was argued before the court by Thurgood Marshall, who would go on to become the first black person appointed to the Supreme Court.

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THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE WAS ESTABLISHED ON THIS DAY IN 1792. Some two dozen merchants and brokers agreed to establish what is now known as the New York Stock Exchange. In fair weather, they operated under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street in Manhattan. In bad weather, they moved to the shelter of a coffeehouse to conduct their business.

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JAMES “COOL PAPA” BELL WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1903. The African-American baseball player played 25 seasons from 1922 to 1946 (one year before Jackie Robinson broke the “color barrier” in major league baseball) with a career average of .338. Regarded as the fastest man ever to play the game — he could round the bases in 13 seconds — he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Bell died in 1991 in Missouri.

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MAUREEN O’SULLIVAN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1911. The MGM star was discovered in Dublin in 1930 when a visiting Hollywood film director spotted her. Although she had a long and varied film career, O’Sullivan’s lasting fame comes from the many Tarzan films she made as Jane Parker opposite Johnny Weissmuller, who played Tarzan, and Cheetah. Her first film in the Tarzan series was “Tarzan the Ape Man” and her last was “Tarzan’s New York Adventure.” O’Sullivan died in 1998 in Arizona.

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

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“Other than the laws of physics, rules have never really worked out for me.” — Craig Ferguson, who was born on this day in 1962

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