MILESTONES: October 29 birthdays for Melba Moore, Dan Castellaneta, Denis Potvin
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Moody Blues and Wings co-founder Denny Laine, who was born in 1944; singer and actress Melba Moore, who was born in 1945; “Stakeout” star Richard Dreyfuss, who was born in Brooklyn in 1947; “Charlie’s Angels” star Kate Jackson, who was born in 1948; New York Islanders legend Dennis Potvin, who was born in 1953; “The Simpsons” voice actor Dan Castellaneta, who was born in 1957; Jackson 5 member Randy Jackson, who was born in 1961; “Heathers” star Winona Ryder, who was born in 1971; and “Bring It On” star Gabrielle Union, who was born in 1972.
***
NET GAIN: The first connection on what would become the Internet was made on this day when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute. This was the beginning of ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet developed by the Department of Defense. By the end of 1969, four sites were connected: UCLA, the Stanford Research Institute, the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Utah. By the next year there were 10 sites, and soon there were applications like e-mail and file transfer utilities. The @ symbol was adopted in 1972, and a year later 75 percent of ARPANET traffic was e-mail. ARPANET was decommissioned in 1990, and the National Science Foundation’s NSFnet took over the role of backbone of the Internet.
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’.