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MILESTONES: September 11, birthdays for Ludacris, Taraji P. Henson, Franz Beckenbauer

Brooklyn Today

September 11, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Ludacris. Photo by Donald Traill/Invision/AP
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On this day in 1939, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the Polish army had driven the German army to retreat from parts of Warsaw. Just 10 days earlier, Germany had invaded Poland. The Polish radio station at Lwow reported heavy bombing from German planes, but did not mention casualties. Other Eagle front page stories that day reported that Warsaw would soon surrender to German forces.

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On this day in 1945, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Japanese General Hideki Tojo shot himself in the stomach as he faced arrest. Tojo claimed responsibility for the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 and said he was “now happy to die.” At press time, Tojo was unconscious but still living. However, doctors predicted he would die shortly.

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On this day in 1953 the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that unions took the resignation of Labor Secretary Martin P. Durkin as an opening to fight the Eisenhower administration on revising the Taft-Hartley law. Enacted in 1947 that legislation, also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act, established guidelines to correct unions’ unfair labor practices. Unions claimed that the act restricted their activities and power. Union leaders doubted that the Eisenhower administration would support the kinds of revisions they wanted… Meanwhile in Brooklyn, repatriated Marine Sidney Oehl celebrated the Jewish New Year’s approach with members of his Bensonhurst community. Oehl had several reasons to celebrate: At one point, he had been reported killed in action in the Korean War, but he made it home to Brooklyn alive.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include soccer executive and Hall of Fame player Franz Beckenbauer, who was born in 1945; singer, pianist and actor Harry Connick Jr., who was born in 1967; filmmaker Brian De Palma, who was born in 1940; singer, dancer and actress Lola Falana, who was born in 1943; actor John Hawkes, who was born in 1959; actress Taraji Henson, who was born in 1970; actress Elizabeth Henstridge, who was born in 1987; former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, who was born in 1957; women’s sports executive and former softball player Donna Lopiano, who was born in 1946; rapper and actor Ludacris, who was born in 1977; actress Amy Madigan, who was born in 1951; actress Virginia Madsen, who was born in 1963; actress Kristy McNichol, who was born in 1962; and singer and songwriter Moby, who was born in 1965.

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O. HENRY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1862. The American author, born William Sydney Porter, is best known for his short stories, including “The Gift of the Magi.” He died in New York in 1910.

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THE BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE WAS FOUGHT ON THIS DAY IN 1777. It was the largest engagement of the American Revolution, between the Continental Army led by Gen. George Washington and British troops led by Gen. William Howe. Howe was marching to take Philadelphia when Washington chose to try to stop the British advance at the Brandywine River near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The American forces were defeated and the British went on to take Philadelphia on Sept. 26. They spent the winter in the city while Washington’s troops suffered at their encampment in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

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“BEAR” BRYANT WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1913. The college football player and legendary coach earned his nickname by wrestling a bear for money as a young man. He played football at the University of Alabama and began coaching in 1940. After World War II, he was named head coach in Maryland. He later coached in Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama (1958-82). His Alabama teams appeared in bowl games 24 consecutive years and won six national championships. He won coach-of-the-year honors three times and finished his career with 325 wins, then a record. Bryant died in Alabama in 1983.

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JESSICA MITFORD WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1917. One of the fabled “Mitford Sisters,” the investigative journalist, author, civil rights advocate and rebel was born into an aristocratic but eccentric family in Asthall Manor, near Burford, England. She caused a scandal in 1937 by eloping with Winston Churchill’s nephew Esmond Romilly to Spain, where they briefly fought in the Spanish Civil War. After World War II, Mitford settled in the U.S. with her second husband. Her investigative work led to important and well-received exposés of the U.S. funeral and prison industries: “The American Way of Death,” “Kind and Usual Punishment” and “The American Prison Business.” Mitford died in 1996 in California.

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THE 1786 ANNAPOLIS CONVENTION WAS HELD ON THIS DAY IN 1786. Twelve delegates from New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia met in Annapolis, Maryland to discuss commercial matters of mutual interest. The delegates voted, on Sept. 14, to adopt a resolution prepared by Alexander Hamilton asking all states to send representatives to a convention in Philadelphia in May 1787 “to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union.”

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

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“You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.” ― investigative journalist Jessica Mitford, who was born on this day in 1917

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