Brooklyn Today for March 28
Good morning. Today is the 87th day of the year. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of March 28, 1902, reported that there were three people with leprosy in Brooklyn. These people were described as being disfigured, but the Eagle pointed out that they were able to mingle with the general population. The article said there had been one person with leprosy who had been confined to a hospital in Brooklyn, but he had been suffering from a more contagious form of the disease. In other states, particularly in the South, “leper colonies” survived into the last half of the 20th century.
It is also the anniversary of the 1979 Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant accident, which helped turn the tide of public opinion against nuclear power plants. In addition, it is the 30th anniversary of the Baltimore Colts’ move to Indianapolis. The team moved in vans in the middle of the night with little warning, and Baltimore was left without an NFL team until 1996.
Well-known people who were born today include singer-actress Reba McEntire, singer Lady Gaga, actress Dianne Wiest (“Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Bullets Over Broadway”), basketball coach Jerry Sloan and hockey player Keith Tkachuk.