Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 17 birthdays for Barry Manilow, Venus Williams, Tory Burch

June 17, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who was born in 1943; “Copacabana” singer Barry Manilow, who was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1943; author and commentator Linda Chavez, who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gregg Rolie (Santana/Journey), who was born in 1947; former Cincinnati Reds star Dave Concepcion, who was born in 1948; former “Saturday Night Live” star Joe Piscopo, who was born in 1951; former Islanders general manager Mike Milbury, who was born in 1952; Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, who was born in 1958; “As Good as it Gets” star Greg Kinnear, who was born in 1963; fashion designer Tory Burch, who was born in 1966; former “Saturday Night Live’ star Will Forte, who was born in 1970; and tennis superstar Venus Williams, who was born in 1980.

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UPHILL CLIMB: The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on this day in 1775. This early battle of the American Revolution, fought near Charleston, Mass., was a costly victory for the British, who had more than 1,000 men killed or wounded, while the colonists had 450 killed or wounded. Famously, the order was given, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”

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THE TIDE TURNS: South Africa repealed its last apartheid law on this day in 1991. The parliament repealed the Population Registration Act, removing the law that was the foundation of apartheid. First enacted in 1950, the law required the classification by race of all South Africans at birth. It established four compulsory racial categories: white, mixed race, Asian and black. Although this marked the removal of the last of the apartheid laws, blacks in South Africa still could not vote.

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

 

Quotable:

“Misfits aren’t misfits among other misfits.”

— Barry Manilow, who was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1943

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