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MILESTONES: April 17, birthdays for Jennifer Garner, Boomer Esiason, Lela Rochon

April 17, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Romeo and Juliet” star Olivia Hussey, who was born in 1951; “Maniac” singer Michael Sembello, who was born in 1954; “Fever Pitch” author Nick Hornby, who was born in 1957; former N.Y. Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason, who was born in 1961; “Waiting to Exhale” star Lela Rochon, who was born in 1964; baseball player Marquis Grissom, who was born in 1967; singer-songwriter Liz Phair, who was born in 1967; “Alias” star Jennifer Garner, who was born in 1972; Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, who was born in 1974; “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” star Rooney Mara, who was born in 1985; and former Pentatonix member Avi Kaplan, who was born in 1989.

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NEW WORLD MAN: Today is Verrazzano Day. It celebrates the discovery of New York harbor in 1524 by Florentine navigator Giovanni Verrazzano. The bridge that bears his name opened in 1964 and was once the longest suspension bridge in the world.  

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FOUNDER’S DAY: Samuel Chase was born on this day in 1741. The Maryland native signed the Declaration of Independence and served as an associate justice of the U.S. (1796-1811). Due to his reddish complexion, he was given the nickname “Old Bacon Face.” He died in 1811.

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

 

Quotable:

 

“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see farther.”

— financier J.P. Morgan, who was born on this day in 1837

 

 

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