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MILESTONES: March 11 birthdays for Becky Hammon, Peter Berg, Bobby McFerrin

March 11, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who was born in 1931; journalist Sam Donaldson, who was born in 1934; actor Mark Metcalf, who was born in 1946; Vanilla Fudge co-founder Mark Stein, who was born in 1947; musician Bobby McFerrin, who was born in 1950; producer and director Jerry Zucker, who was born in 1950; music producer Jimmy Iovine, who was born in Brooklyn in 1953; actress Alex Kingston, who was born in 1963; actor and director Peter Berg, who was born in 1964; musician Lisa Loeb, who was born in 1968; basketball player and coach Becky Hammon, who was born in 1977; basketball player Elton Brand, who was born in 1979; and actress Thora Birch, who was born in 1982.

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A WORLD IN CRISIS: The first cases of “Spanish” influenza were reported in the U.S. on this day in 1918 when 107 soldiers became sick at Fort Riley, Kansas. By the end of 1920, nearly 25 percent of the U.S. population had been infected. As many as 500,000 civilians died from the virus, exceeding the number of U.S. troops killed abroad in World War I. Worldwide, more than 1 percent of the global population, or 22 million people, had died by 1920 because of the virus. The origin of the virus was never determined absolutely. The name “Spanish” influenza came from the relatively high number of cases in that country early in the epidemic. Due to the panic, cancellation of public events was common, and many public service workers wore masks on the job. Emergency tent hospitals were set up in some locations due to overcrowding.

Quotable:

 

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”

— author Douglas Adams, who was born on this day in 1952

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