MILESTONES: May 31, birthdays for Clint Eastwood, Svetlana Alexievich, Colin Farrell

May 30, 2017 Brooklyn Today Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Actor Clint Eastwood celebrates his birthday today. Stock Photo

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 150th day of the year.
Notable people born on this day include Clint Eastwood and Joe Namath, among others.
For more of Brooklyn Today, please turn to page 3.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1883, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article on the front page titled “Agonizing! Details of the Disaster on the Bridge.”

The article focused on a deadly stampede that occurred at the Brooklyn Bridge’s opening ceremony after a woman fainted.

“The thousands behind the steps — that is, between the steps and the bridge, who couldn’t see what had happened, became panic stricken with the idea that the bridge had broken … Consequently, they rushed forward, burling down upon the prostrate bodies those in front, and adding to the awful horror of the scene … When the pressure had become relieved a frightful scene was presented at the fatal stairway. The dead and dying were wedged together in a mass, and the bodies were piled four or five deep,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include journalist and author SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH, who was born in 1948; actor TOM BERENGER, who was born in 1950; Oscar Award-winning actor CLINT EASTWOOD, who was born in 1930; writer, comedian and actor CHRIS ELLIOTT, who was born in 1960; actor COLIN FARRELL, who was born in 1976; actress SHARON GLESS, who was born in 1943; actor GREGORY HARRISON, who was born in 1950; TV personality and host PHIL KOEGHAN, who was born in 1967; former baseball player KENNY LOFTON, who was born in 1967; actress ROMA MAFFIA, who was born in 1958; Hall of Fame football player and former sportscaster JOE NAMATH, who was born in 1943; Emmy Award-winning actress ARCHIE PANJABI, who was born in 1972; actor KYLE SECOR, who was born in 1958; actress BROOKE SHIELDS, who was born in 1965; actress LEA THOMPSON, who was born in 1961; Church of England special envoy TERRY WAITE, who was born in 1939; and singer and songwriter PETER YARROW, who was born in 1938.

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PATRICIA ROBERTS HARRIS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1924. She was the first African-American woman to serve in an ambassadorial post, the first African American to hold a cabinet position (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development) and the first woman to serve as dean of a law school. Harris died in 1985 in Washington, D.C.

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THE COPYRIGHT LAW WAS PASSED ON THIS DAY IN 1790. President George Washington signed the first U.S. copyright law, which gave protection for 14 years to books written by U.S. citizens. In 1891, the law was extended to cover books by foreign authors as well.

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“SEINFELD” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1990. “The show about nothing” premiered on NBC to wide acclaim, with its intertwined story lines and surprising plot twists. Some of the episodes concerned relationships, valet parking, annoying dogs and waiting for Chinese food. The cast featured Jerry Seinfeld as himself; Michael Richards as his neighbor Cosmo Kramer; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes; and Jason Alexander as his best friend George Costanza. The series ended in 1998.

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PRINCE RAINIER OF MONACO WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1923. The prince ascended the throne in 1949 and in 1956, he married Hollywood actress Grace Kelly and the country soon became the glamour destination for the rich and famous. By changing tax shelter laws and encouraging the casino industry, Rainier changed Monaco’s destiny, bringing it back from the brink of bankruptcy to become one of the wealthiest nations in Europe. He was Europe’s longest-reigning monarch when he died in Monaco in 2005.

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

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“I exist as I am, that is enough.” — Walt Whitman, who was born on this day in 1819