History

MILESTONES: August 20, birthdays for Demi Lovato, Al Roker, Andrew Garfield

August 20, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History

Demi Lovato. Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Share this:

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include TV personality Al Roker, who was born in Queens in 1954; actress Amy Adams, who was born in 1974; singer Robert Plant, who was born in 1948; actress Joan Allen, who was born in 1956; former U.S. Congressmember Ron Paul, who was born in 1935; former baseball player Andy Benes, who was born in 1967; singer and actress Demi Lovato, who was born in 1992; journalist Connie Chung, who was born in 1946; boxing promoter Don King, who was born in 1931; U.S. Senator Steve Daines, who was born in 1962; former baseball player Todd Helton, who was born in 1973; actor Billy Gardell, who was born in 1969; and actor Andrew Garfield, who was born in 1983.

***

AMERICAN WRITER H.P. LOVECRAFT was born on this day in 1890. Lovecraft is known for his philosophical brand of Gothic literature, which focused on the odd and unsettling over the overtly horrific. His time in Brooklyn, where he lived in Brooklyn Heights at 169 Clinton St., inspired his short story “The Horror at Red Hook.” Lovecraft’s best-known works include “The Rats in the Walls,” “The Call of the Cthulhu,” and “The Shadow over Innsmouth.” He was largely unknown in his lifetime and was unable to make a living with his writing and editing work. Lovecraft died of cancer at age 46 in 1937.

***

NASA LAUNCHED VIKING 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on this day in 1975. The spacecraft was composed of an orbiter, designed to photograph the surface of Mars from orbit, and a lander, designed to study the planets surface. Viking 1 landed on the Martian surface on July 20, 1976 and was joined by the Viking 2 lander in September of that year. The crafts found that huge areas of the planet’s surface were shaped by since-evaporated water. The Viking 1 lander was operational until 1982, when human error during a software update caused it to lose power.

***

23RD U.S. PRESIDENT BENJAMIN HARRISON was born on this day in 1833. Harrison was the grandson of the 9th U.S. President, William Henry Harrison. He was elected to the presidency in 1888, defeating incumbent Democrat Grover Cleveland. During his time in office, Harrison imposed protective trade tariffs and historic anti-monopoly legislation. He was unsuccessful in his attempts to secure federal funding for education or to pass voting rights enforcement laws for African Americans. He was succeeded in his four-year term by rival Grover Cleveland.

***

“Memories and possibilities are even more hideous than realities.”

—H.P. Lovecraft, who was born on this day in 1890