MILESTONES: April 16, birthdays for Pope Benedict, Tracy K. Smith, Sadie Sink
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Pope Benedict XVI, who was born in 1927;
“Roses are Red” singer Bobby Vinton, who was born in 1935; Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was born in 1947; New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who was born in 1952; “Futurama” star Billy West, who was born in 1952; “Sea of Love” star Ellen Barkin, who was born in 1954; former San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who was born in 1955; Soul Asylum founder Dave Pirner, who was born in 1964; “Pretty in Pink” star Jon Cryer, who was born in 1965; “Bad Boys” star Martin Lawrence, who was born in 1965; U.S. poet laureate (2017-19) and former Brooklynite Tracy K. Smith, who was born in 1972; Broadway star Kelli O’Hara, who was born in 1976; and “Stranger Things” star Sadie Sink, who was born in 2002.
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A NEW BEGINNING: Slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia on this day in 1862. Congress appropriated $1 million to compensate owners of freed slaves, and $100,000 was set aside to pay district slaves who wished to emigrate to Haiti, Liberia or any other country outside the U.S.
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.