History Brooklyn Boro

April 20, birthdays for Miranda Kerr, Carmen Electra, Shemar Moore

Brooklyn Today

April 20, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Supermodel Miranda Kerr celebrates her birthday today. Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 110th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Carmen Electra and Jessica Lange, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1931, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Murderers, Thieves Terrorize Bedford Section Merchants.”

The article focused on rising crime plaguing Bed-Stuy storeowners.

“It is particularly acute among small storekeepers along Thompkins Avenue, between Lexington and Greene avenues, a survey indicated. It has reached a stage where some of the storekeepers, not depending upon police protection, are taking drastic measures of their own,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include skydiver FELIX BAUMGARTNER, who was born in 1969; actress CARMEN ELECTRA, who was born in 1973; actor CRISPIN GLOVER, who was born in 1964; basketball player DANNY GRANGER, who was born in 1983; model MIRANDA KERR, who was born in 1983; Oscar Award-winning actress JESSICA LANGE, who was born in 1949; actor JOEY LAWRENCE, who was born in 1976; actor, writer and director DAVID LELAND, who was born in 1947; former baseball player DON MATTINGLY, who was born in 1961; actor SHEMAR MOORE, who was born in 1970; actor RYAN O’NEAL, who was born in 1941; U.S. Sen. PAT ROBERTS, who was born in 1936; football coach and former player STEVE SPURRIER, who was born in 1945; and former Associate Justice of the U.S. JOHN PAUL STEVENS, who was born in 1920.

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LIONEL HAMPTON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1908. The jazz great started out on piano and drums, but Louis Armstrong urged him to take up the vibraphone in 1930. Hampton went on to make that his signature instrument. He recorded and played with Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter and other legends before becoming a bandleader himself. He played almost up until his death in 2002 in New York.

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DANIEL CHESTER FRENCH WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1850. The American sculptor is considered one of the most important artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries as a sculptor of public monuments. He is best known for his 1875 Minute Man statue in Concord, Massachusetts and his 1922 statue of the seated Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. French died in Massachusetts in 1931.

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HAROLD LLOYD WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1893. The American comic actor frequently played the boy next door whose distinguishing feature was his round horn-rimmed glasses. His character thrilled audiences in “daredevil” comedy featuring dangerous stunts (Lloyd never used a double). Lloyd’s hits included “Safety Last,” (1923) where he dangled from a building’s clock face, “The Freshman” (1925) and “Speedy” (1928). The biggest box-office star of the 1920s, Lloyd survived with lesser success in the 1930s. He was given an honorary Oscar in 1953 for being a “master comedian and good citizen.” Lloyd died in California in 1971.

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TODAY IS NATIONAL HIGH-FIVE DAY. It is a day devoted to giving and receiving high-fives. The organization National High Five Project runs an annual National High-5-A-Thon for charity that anyone, anywhere can participate in. Past causes include cancer research, victims of the Boston Marathon bombings and college scholarships. It is recognized annually on the third Thursday of April.

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

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“Families survive, one way or another. You have a tie, a connection that exists long after death, through many lifetimes.” — Jessica Lange, who was born on this day in 1949