MILESTONES: February 18 birthdays for Didi Gregorius, Molly Ringwald, John Travolta

February 18, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History

Didi Gregorius. Julie Jacobson/AP

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former U.S. Sen. John Warner, who was born in 1927; musician and artist Yoko Ono, who was born in 1933; former L.A. Dodgers outfielder Manny Mota, who was born in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Herman Santiago (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers), who was born in 1941; World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, who was born in 1945; Styx co-founder Dennis DeYoung, who was born in 1947; “Moonlighting” star Cybil Shepherd, who was born in 1950; “It’s a Heartache” singer Juice Newton, who was born in 1952; “Saturday Night Fever” star John Travolta, who was born in 1954; “Wheel of Fortune” star Vanna White, who was born in 1957; “The Outsiders” star Matt Dillon, who was born in 1964; “The Facts of Life” star Molly Ringwald, who was born in 1968; and former N.Y. Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius, who was born in 1990.

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LIFE’S A GIFT: Louis Comfort Tiffany was born on this day in 1848. His father was the founder of Tiffany & Co. As a young man, Louis took an interest in glassmaking and worked at several glass houses in Brooklyn before establishing the Tiffany Glass Company in 1885. In 1902, he became the first design director for Tiffany & Co. He died in 1933 and is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

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A WHOLE NEW WORLD: Pluto was discovered on this day in 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was given the name of the Roman god of the underworld and was considered the ninth planet of the solar system until 2006, when astronomers reclassified it as a dwarf planet.

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

Quotable:

“If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.”

— author Toni Morrison, who was born on this day in 1931