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December 8, birthdays for Dwight Howard, Nicki Minaj, Ann Coulter

Brooklyn Today

December 8, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Basketball star Dwight Howard celebrates his birthday today. Photos stylized by August Gibbs
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Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 343rd day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Gregg Allman and Dwight Howard, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Faithful Few Mourn at Clarendon’s Wake.”

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The article focused on a historic Brooklyn bar that was closing its doors.

“There was moaning at the bar — the Clarendon Bar — last night as the historic Brooklyn landmark breathed its last. Only a half-dozen crepe-draped souls were on hand to shake their heads sorrowfully as the end drew near,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include singer GREGG ALLMAN, who was born in 1947; actress KIM BASINGER, who was born in 1953; former hockey player RED BERENSON, who was born in 1941; political commentator and author ANN COULTER, who was born in 1961; flutist JAMES GALWAY, who was born in 1939; actress TERI HATCHER, who was born in 1964; basketball player DWIGHT HOWARD, who was born in 1985; singer and rapper NICKI MINAJ, who was born in 1984; actor DOMINIC MONAGHAN, who was born in 1976; former baseball player MIKE MUSSINA, who was born in 1968; singer and songwriter SINEAD O’CONNOR, who was born in 1966; actor IAN SOMERHALDER, who was born in 1978; and actress MARY WORONOV, who was born in 1946.

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JOHN LENNON WAS SHOT ON THIS DAY IN 1980. Deranged gunman Mark David Chapman shot and killed former Beatle John Lennon outside his apartment building in New York City as he returned from a recording session. His death shocked the world. His widow, Yoko Ono, asked for 10 minutes of silence at 2 p.m. on the following Sunday and many U.S. and international radio stations observed it.

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NAFTA WAS SIGNED ON THIS DAY IN 1993. President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which cut tariffs and eliminated other trade barriers between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994.

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SAMMY DAVIS JR. WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1925. The New York-born performer was the son of vaudevillians and first appeared onstage when he was 4 years old. He made his first film appearance in 1931. He joined the Will Mastin Trio, a song-and-dance team popular on the nightclub circuit; as Davis matured, his singing, dancing and impersonations became the center of the act. He began performing on his own in the 1950s, headlining club engagements, appearing on TV variety shows and making numerous records. His Broadway debut came in 1956 in the hit musical “Mr. Wonderful,” and in the late 1950s and ‘60s he starred in a number of films, including a series with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. He died in Los Angeles in 1990.

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THE SOVIET UNION DISSOLVED ON THIS DAY IN 1991. The Union of Soviet Social Republics (USSR) ceased to exist as the republics of Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Minsk, creating the Commonwealth of Independent States. The remaining republics, with the exception of Georgia, joined in the new commonwealth as it began its slow and arduous process of removing the yoke of communism and dealing with strong separatist and nationalistic movements within the various republics.

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JEAN SIBELIUS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1865. Regarded as Finland’s greatest musician and by many as the “last master in the Beethoven symphonic tradition,” his work influenced Tchaikovsky and Romantic composers. His most famous piece, “Finlandia,” became synonymous with independence for Finnish patriots. He died in Finland in 1957.

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

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“Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic.” — composer Jean Sibelius, who was born on this day in 1865

 


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