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MILESTONES: October 24, birthdays for Drake, Monica, Kweisi Mfume

October 24, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include politician and former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, who was born in 1948; singer-songwriter and rapper Drake, who was born in 1986; Olympic gymnast Kyla Ross, who was born in 1996; singer-songwriter and actress Monica, who was born in 1980; soccer player Wayne Rooney, who was born in 1985; singer-songwriter and musician Bill Wyman, who was born in 1936; actor Kevin Kline, who was born in 1947; actor F. Murray Abraham, who was born in 1939; U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, who was born in 1954, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who was born in 1956; and Olympic ice dancer Charlie White, who was born in 1987. 

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BROOKLYN PLAYWRIGHT Moss Hart was born on this day in 1904. A theater director and one of the most successful playwrights of the 20th century, Hart was raised in Sea Gate. He is best known for writing the plays “Once in a Lifetime,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “You Can’t Take It with You” and “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” with collaborator George S. Kaufman. Hart died in Palm Springs, California on Dec. 20, 1961. 

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GROUNDBREAKING FEMINIST LAWYER Belva Lockwood was born on this day in 1830. The first woman to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, Lockwood helped secure voting rights for women in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, and established equal property rights for women. She was also the first woman to be formally nominated for the U.S. presidency. Lockwood died in Washington, D.C. on May 19, 1917.

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FEARLESS ENTREPRENEUR TAKES THE PLUNGE: Annie Edson Taylor became the first person in history to survive a trip over Niagara Falls on this day in 1901. At age 63, Taylor, a teacher, was looking for ways to pad her elderly years financially and hoped this daredevil stunt would do the trick. Afterwards, she told the press, “I would sooner walk up to the mouth of a cannon, knowing it was going to blow me to pieces than make another trip over the Fall.” Taylor died in Lockport, New York on April 29, 1921.

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

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“I have had many successes and many failures in my life. My successes have always been for different reasons, but my failures have always been for the same reason: I said yes when I meant no.” Moss Hart, who was born on this day in 1904

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