History Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 26, birthdays for Ariana Grande, Derek Jeter, Aubrey Plaza

Brooklyn Today

June 26, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Singer Ariana Grande celebrates her birthday today. Photo by Dave Hogan via AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 176th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Ariana Grande and Derek Jeter, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published a front-page article titled “City Envisages Recreation Centers to Replace ‘Social’ Clubs.”

The article focused on the shortage of funds for city social clubs.

“The local social club for many years has fulfilled a valuable function, the Parks Department admits, but too often it has been the breeding place of a gang that grows into a mob of criminals simply because it lacks funds to provide the facilities to carry out its original purpose,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include director and screenwriter PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, who was born in 1970; singer and actress ARIANA GRANDE, who was born in 1993; actor SEAN P. HAYES, who was born in 1970; singer, musician and actor CHRIS ISAAK, who was born in 1956; former baseball player DEREK JETER, who was born in 1974; former cyclist GREG LeMOND, who was born 1961; actress JENETTE McCURDY, who was born in 1992; actor CHRIS O’DONNELL, who was born in 1970; actor NICK OFFERMAN, who was born in 1970; former football player CHAD PENNINGTON, who was born in 1976; actress AUBREY PLAZA, who was born in 1984; actor JASON SCHWARTZMAN, who was born in 1980; sportscaster and Hall of Fame football player SHANNON SHARPE, who was born in 1968; and country singer GRETCHEN WILSON, who was born in 1973.

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THE BAR CODE WAS INTRODUCED ON THIS DAY IN 1974. A committee formed in 1970 by U.S. grocers and food manufacturers recommended in 1973 a Universal Product Code for supermarket items that would allow electronic scanning of prices. On this day in 1974 a pack of Wrigley’s gum was swiped across the first checkout scanner at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

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ABNER DOUBLEDAY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1819. He served in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War and the Seminole War in Florida prior to his service in the American Civil War. His service found him at the battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg, and as a major general he commanded a division at Gettysburg. A commission set up by sporting goods manufacturer Albert Spalding to investigate the origins of baseball credited Doubleday with inventing the game in 1839. Subsequent research has debunked the commission’s finding. Doubleday died in New Jersey in 1893.

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“HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE” WAS PUBLISHED ON THIS DAY IN 1997. Bloomsbury published the acclaimed children’s fantasy book by J.K. Rowling in the United Kingdom with an initial hardcover print run of 500 copies. The first book in a seven-title series, it became a smash hit almost overnight. The seventh title, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” was published in 2007. The books — which became a blockbuster film series — have been translated into 69 languages and have sold more than 450 million copies.

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

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“Make all your decisions based on how hilarious it would be if you did it.” — actress Aubrey Plaza, who was born on this day in 1984