Brooklyn Today for March 27
Good morning. Today is the 86th day of the year. On March 27, 1901, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported on the efforts to create what is now known as the Brooklyn Public Library system. The organizers of the system hoped that the 64,501-volume library of the Long Island Historical Society (now known as the Brooklyn Historical Society) could be absorbed into the new system, but acknowledged that it was up to the society’s trustees. The trustees obviously refused, since the Brooklyn Historical Society’s library is still part of that renowned Brooklyn Heights institution.
On this day in 1964, the strongest earthquake in North American history struck the outskirts of Anchorage , Alaska, and 117 people were killed. Also, on March 27, 1868, schoolteacher Patty Hill Smith, the author and composer of “Happy Birthday to You,” was born in Louisville, Ky. The song was first known as “Good Morning to All” and was intended to be sung by students in class, but a stanza beginning “Happy Birthday to You” was added in 1924.
Well-known people who were born today include singer Mariah Carey, singer-musician Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) of The Black-Eyed Peas, director Quentin Tarantino (“Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Django Unchained”), actor Michael York (“Cabaret,” ‘The Three Musketeers”) and former football player Randall Cunningham.