Jan. 26, birthdays for Ellen DeGeneres, Wayne Gretzky, Eddie Van Halen

Brooklyn Today

January 26, 2015 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Ellen DeGeneres celebrates her birthday today. AP photo

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ON THIS DAY in 1917, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Pounds Moves for 100-Foot Highway; Ignores Big Plan.” The article focused on then-Borough President Pounds moving forward with a highway plan, disregarding a previous proposal.

“After declaring that the Board of Estimate would not ‘be lashed into action by anyone’ in the Kings Highway improvement, Borough President Lewis H. Pounds today presented to the board a resolution instructing the Corporate Counsel to comply at the ‘earliest practicable moment’ …” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include singer Anita Baker, who was born in 1958; Roman Catholic Priest Father George Harold Clements, who was born in 1932; political activist Angela Davis, who was born in 1944; Gov. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.), who was born in 1947; comedienne, television personality and actress Ellen DeGeneres, who was born in 1958; cartoonist and writer Jules Feiffer, who was born in 1929; “Silverado” actor Scott Glenn, who was born in 1942; Hall of Fame hockey player Wayne Gretzky, who was born in 1961; soccer manager Jose Mourinho, who was born in 1963; “LA Confidential” actor David Strathairn, who was born in 1950; sportscaster Robert George Uecker, who was born in 1935; and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who was born in 1955.

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“PHANTOM OF THE OPERA” premiered on this day in 1988. The multiple-award-winning musical is based off of the classic Gaston Leroux novel about a tortured soul haunting the Paris Opera House. Its music and lyrics are by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart. By January 2006, the play became the longest-running show in Broadway history.

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