MILESTONES: May 20, birthdays for Cher, Tony Goldwyn, Anthony Zerbe

May 20, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

Cher. AP Photo/Reed Saxon

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Delaware Governor John Carney, born in 1956; soccer player Iker Casillas, born in 1981; singer and actress Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian in 1946; Idaho Sen. Michael Crapo, born in 1951; actor Matt Czuchry, born in 1977; cyclist Chris Froome, born in 1985; actor Tony Goldwyn, born in 1960; Hall of Fame hockey player Stan Mikita, born in 1940; actor Timothy Olyphant, born in 1968; actor Tahmoh Penikett, born in 1975; actor Bronson Pichot, born in 1959; TV host Ronald Prescott Reagan, born in 1958 and actor Anthony Zerbe, born in 1936.

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AMELIA EARHART, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, flew from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland in Canada to Londonderry, Ireland, a total of 2,026 miles, on this day in 1932. The flight time was 13 hours and 30 minutes.

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FRENCH NOVELIST EXTRAORDINAIRE Honoré de Balzac was born in Tours on this date in 1799. The larger-than-life novelist, whose massive volume of novels, novellas and short stories comprise his masterwork, “The Human Comedy,” was known for his reliance on coffee to keep on working. Among his most famous works are “Eugenie Grandet” and “Pere Goriot.” He died in Paris on Aug. 18, 1850.

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FIRST LADY DOLLEY MADISON, wife of the fourth president of the United States, James Madison, was born on this date in 1768. She is probably best known for taking a painting of George Washington from the White House walls and bringing it to safety before the building went up in flames during the War of 1812. She died in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 1849.

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ACTOR JIMMY STEWART was born on this date in 1908. Stewart, who starred in such immortal films as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “The Philadelphia Story,” “Rear Window” and “It’s A Wonderful Life,” worked with directors Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock, and starred opposite such luminaries as Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. He died in Beverly Hills on July 2, 1997.

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“There is no such thing as a great talent without great will power.” — Author Honoré de Balzac, who was born on this date in 1799.