MILESTONES: August 9, birthdays for Anna Kendrick, Gillian Anderson, Michael Kors

Brooklyn Today

August 9, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Anna Kendrick is seen here at "Pitch Perfect 3" at Vidcon at Anaheim Convention Center on June 24, 2017 in California. Photo by Dan Steinberg/Invision for Universal Pictures/AP Images

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 221st day of the year.

NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress Gillian Anderson, who was born in 1968; actor Eric Bana, who was born in 1968; actress Amanda Bearse, who was born in 1958; actress Jessica Capshaw, who was born in 1976; Hall of Fame basketball player and former coach Bob Cousy, who was born in 1928; actor Sam Elliott, who was born in 1944; basketball player Derek Fisher, who was born in 1974; actress Melanie Griffith, who was born in 1957; Hall of Fame hockey player Brett Hull, who was born in 1964; actress Anna Kendrick, who was born in 1985; fashion designer Michael Kors, who was born in 1959; Hall of Fame tennis player Rod Laver, who was born in 1938; actor Kevin McKidd, who was born in 1973; former boxer Ken Norton Sr., who was born in 1945; Hall of Fame football player and former baseball player Deion Sanders, who was born in 1967; comedian David Steinberg, who was born in 1942; and actress Audrey Tautou, who was born in 1976.

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THE ATOMIC BOMB WAS DROPPED ON NAGASAKI ON THIS DAY IN 1945. Three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, an American B-29 bomber named Bock’s Car left its base on Tinian Island carrying a plutonium bomb nicknamed “Fat Man.” Its target was the Japanese city of Kokura, but because of clouds and poor visibility, the bomber headed for a secondary target, Nagasaki, where it dropped the bomb, killing an estimated 70,000 people and destroying about half the city. Memorial services are held annually at Nagasaki and also at Kokura, where those who were spared because of the bad weather also grieve for those at Nagasaki who suffered in their stead.

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JACQUELINE COCHRAN DIED ON THIS DAY IN 1980. The American pilot began flying in 1932, and by the time of her death, she had set more distance, speed and altitude records than any other pilot, male or female. She was the founder and head of the WASPs (Women’s Air Force Service Pilots) during World War II. She won the Distinguished Service Medal in 1945 and the U.S. Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross in 1969. Cochran died in California.

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WHITNEY HOUSTON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1963. Equally adept at danceable pop, stirring gospel and dramatic balladry the singer was one of the most influential recording artists in music history, and one of the most accomplished: she had a vocal range of three octaves. Early chart success was unprecedented, as her 1985 debut “Whitney Houston” and “Whitney,” its 1987 follow-up, produced eight number-one singles and went on to sell more than 50 million copies combined. “I Will Always Love You,” her 1992 single from the film “The Bodyguard,” in which she also starred, topped the Billboard charts for a record 14 weeks and became her signature song. After Houston’s accidental death in February 2012 in California, the hit was also the song that came to define her effusive singing style. It re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 almost immediately and peaked at number 3.