History Brooklyn Boro

December 22, birthdays for Meghan Trainor, Ted Cruz, Diane Sawyer

Brooklyn Today

December 22, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Pop star Meghan Trainor celebrates her birthday today. Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 357th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Diane Sawyer and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Purge by Mayor Claims Carney as First Boro Victim.”

The article focused on then-Mayor Vincent Impellitteri and his goal to fire those who did not support his political run as an independent candidate.

“In his note Carney said that Frank J. Simpson, administrative assistant to the mayor and City Hall patronage dispenser, had phoned him with the news that Impellitteri wanted him to quit,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include Hall of Fame baseball player STEVE CARLTON, who was born in 1944; U.S. Sen. TED CRUZ, who was born in 1970; actor HECTOR ELIZONDO, who was born in 1936; actor RALPH FIENNES, who was born in 1962; former baseball player STEVE GARVEY, who was born in 1948; U.S. Secretary of Energy, nuclear physicist and professor ERNEST MONIZ, who was born in 1944; children’s book illustrator JERRY PINKNEY, who was born in 1939; journalist and anchor DIANE SAWYER, who was born in 1946; golfer JAN STEPHENSON, who was born in 1951; and pop star MEGHAN TRAINOR, who was born in 1993.

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EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1869. The three-time Pulitzer Prize winner was best known for his short dramatic poems, including “Richard Cory” and “Miniver Cheevy.” He died in California in 1935.

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GIACOMO PUCCINI WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1858. Puccini composed such operas as “La Boheme,” “Tosca” and “Madama Butterfly.” He died in Belgium in 1924.

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THE FIRST GORILLA TO BE BORN IN CAPTIVITY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1956. Colo was born at the Columbus, Ohio zoo, weighing in at 3 1/4 pounds.

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CLAUDIA “LADY BIRD” JOHNSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1912. The former first lady and wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson ran his congressional office during his navy stint in WWII and was at his side as his career ran its course from Texas congressman to 36th president of the U.S. Her personal causes included highway beautification, and she founded the National Wildflower Research Center in Austin in 1995, which was later renamed for her. She died at Austin in 2007.

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JAMES EDWARD OGLETHORPE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1696. The English general, author and colonizer of Georgia also founded the city of Savannah. Oglethorpe died in England in 1785.

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JEAN-BAPTISTE RACINE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1639. The French dramatist and playwright worked during the reign of Louis XIV. He was a contemporary of Molière and ultimately a rival of Corneille. His works include ‘Andromaque,’ ‘Iphegénie’ and ‘Phèdre.’ He brought to the classical tradition a sublimely refined style, and his plays introduced a new focus — the passions overruling tragic figures — rather than the presentation of a complicated chain of events. He died in Paris in 1699.

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THE PERIOD OF CAPRICORN BEGINS TODAY. In the astronomical and astrological zodiac that divides the sun’s apparent orbit into 12 segments, the period from Dec. 22—Jan. 19 is traditionally identified as the sun sign of Capricorn, the goat. The ruling planet is Saturn.

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

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“The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom.” — former first lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, who was born on this day in 1912