MILESTONES: February 18, birthdays for John Travolta, Molly Ringwald, Didi Gregorius

February 18, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History

John Travolta. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former U.S. Sen. John Warner, who was born in 1927; artist and musician Yoko Ono, who was born in 1933; former baseball player Manny Mota, who was born in 1938; musician Dennis DeYoung, who was born in 1947; actress Cybil Shepherd, who was born in 1950; musician Juice Newton, who was born in 1952; actor John Travolta, who was born in 1954; “Wheel of Fortune” star Vanna White, who was born in 1957; actor Matt Dillon, who was born in 1964; musician Dr. Dre, who was born in 1965; actress Molly Ringwald, who was born in 1968; actress Susan Egan, who was born in 1970; and ex-Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius, who was born in 1990.

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LIFE’S A GIFT, PART 1: Louis Comfort Tiffany was born on this day in 1848. His father was the founder of Tiffany & Co. As a young man, Louis took an interest in glassmaking and worked at several glass houses in Brooklyn. He established the Tiffany Glass Company in 1885. In 1902, he became the first design director for Tiffany & Co. He died in 1933 and was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

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LIFE’S A GIFT, PART 2: Charles Lewis Tiffany died on this day in 1902. The founder of Tiffany & Co. was born in Connecticut in 1812. In 1837, he opened a small stationery store and gift shop in New York City. By the time of his death, it was one of the most prominent jewelry companies in North America. Tiffany also created the first retail catalog in the U.S. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

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LIFE MOVES PRETTY FAST: John Hughes would have been 70 today. The Michigan native was one of the most popular filmmakers of the 1980s, directing teen-centric hits such as “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” His screenplays included “Pretty in Pink,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” and “Home Alone.” He died in 2009 at age 59.

Quotable:

“If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.”

— Author Toni Morrison, who was born on this day in 1931