MILESTONES: August 4 birthdays for Barack Obama, Meghan Markle, Daniel Dae Kim

August 4, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle History

Barack Obama. Vincent Thian/AP

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include 1969 Mets World Series hero Cleon Jones, who was born in 1942; “Law & Order” star Richard Belzer, who was born in 1944; Pro Football Hall of Famer John Riggins, who was born in 1949; former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who was born in 1955; Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton, who was born in 1955; thoroughbred jockey Chuck C. Lopez, who was born in Brooklyn in 1960; former President Barack Obama, who was born in 1961; seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, who was born in 1962; “Hawaii Five-O” star Daniel Dae Kim, who was born in 1968; political correspondent Bret Baier, who was born in 1970; “Rectify” star Abigail Spencer, who was born in 1981; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who was born in 1981; and “Little Women” director Greta Gerwig, who was born in 1983.

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TOAST OF THE COAST: Today is Coast Guard Day. It celebrates the anniversary of the founding of the Revenue Charter Service in 1790, which merged with the Life-Saving Service in 1915 to become the U.S. Coast Guard. As of 2018, the Coast Guard is the world’s 12th largest naval force.

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HORN OF PLENTY: Louis Armstrong was born on this day in 1901. Also known as “Satchmo,” the trumpeter, composer and singer was one of the first African-American entertainers to find wide popularity with white audiences. He appeared in more than a dozen films and had 19 top-10 records, including “Stardust” and “What a Wonderful World.” He died in 1971 and is buried in Flushing Cemetery in Queens.

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

Quotable:

“All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song.”

— Louis Armstrong, who was born on this day in 1901