NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn, who was born in 1932; “Compromising Positions” author Susan Isaacs, who was born in Brooklyn in 1943; Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, who was born in 1947; U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who was born in 1952; Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who was born in 1956; “Basquiat” star Jeffrey Wright, who was born in 1965; “Red Dawn” star C. Thomas Howell, who was born in 1966; former N.Y. Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez, who was born in 1967; Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who was born in 1973; former N.Y Jets guard Alan Faneca, who was born in 1976; former N.Y. Yankees third baseman Eric Chavez, who was born in 1977; “Roswell” star Shiri Appleby, who was born in 1978; “Love Song” singer Sara Bareilles, who was born in 1979; “Dexter” star Jennifer Carpenter, who was born in 1979; and singer-songwriter Aaron Carter, who was born in 1987.
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LAW OF THE LAND: Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on this day in 1787, doing so by unanimous vote. The Constitution became officially binding when it was ratified by New Hampshire on June 21, 1788.
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STORY OF A LIFE: Harry Chapin was born on this day in 1942. Known for his popular “story songs” such as “Taxi,” “W.O.L.D.” and “Cats in the Cradle,” Chapin spent his teenage years in Brooklyn Heights. Before finding fame as a singer-songwriter, he wrote and directed the Oscar-nominated boxing documentary “Legendary Champions.” Chapin’s musical success in the 1970s gave him a platform to address humanitarian issues, particularly world hunger. He died in a car crash on the Long Island Expressway on July 16, 1981 and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
— President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his address to Congress, Dec. 8, 1941
