History Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 25, birthdays for Ricky Gervais, Sonya Sotomayor, George Orwell

Brooklyn Today

June 23, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Comedian Ricky Gervais celebrates his birthday today. Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 175th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Sonia Sotomayor and Ricky Gervais, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1913, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published a front-page article titled “4th Avenue Subway Operation Now Set For March 1914.”

The article focused on the construction of the Fourth Avenue subway line.

“The recent estimate of Bridge Department engineers that it will take 10 months to complete the physical connection between the tracks on the Manhattan Bridge and the Fourth Avenue subway at the Brooklyn plaza of the bridge, automatically advances the date of possible operation to March 1914, or later,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include author and TV personality ANTHONY BOURDAIN, who was born in 1956; actress LINDA CARDELLINI, who was born in 1975; former baseball player CARLOS DELGADO, who was born in 1972; actor and comedian RICKY GERVAIS, who was born in 1961; actor JOHN BENJAMIN HICKEY, who was born in 1963; actress JUNE LOCKHART, who was born in 1925; former basketball player DIKEMBE MUTOMBO, who was born in 1966; Hall of Fame basketball player, executive and former coach WILLIS REED JR., who was born in 1942; singer and songwriter CARLY SIMON, who was born in 1945; Supreme Court Associate Justice SONIA SOTOMAYOR, who was born in 1954; former baseball player BILLY WAGNER, who was born in 1971; and actor and comedian JIMMIE WALKER, who was born in 1948.

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CBS SENT ITS FIRST COLOR TV BROADCAST OVER THE AIR ON THIS DAY IN 1951. The four-hour program was carried by stations at New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C., although no color sets were owned by the public. At the time CBS itself owned fewer than 40 color receivers.

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GEORGE ORWELL WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1903. The English satirist is best known for his novels “Animal Farm” and “1984.” George Orwell was the pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair. He died in England in 1950.

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THE KOREAN WAR BEGAN ON THIS DAY IN 1950. Forces from northern Korea invaded southern Korea, beginning a civil war. U.S. ground forces entered the conflict June 30. An armistice was signed at Panmunjom in 1953, formally dividing the country in two — North Korea and South Korea.

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

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“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — author George Orwell, who was born on this day in 1903