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MILESTONES: September 14, birthdays for Nas, Logan Henderson, Dmitry Medvedev

Brooklyn Today

September 14, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Nas. Photo by Jesus Aranguren/Invision for Hennessy/AP Images
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On this day in 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the American steamship Arkansan had been bombed in the Suez Canal, a man-made waterway connecting the Red and Mediterranean seas. The Arkansan became the second American ship to be bombed in the conflict between the United States and Germany over freedom of the seas. At this point, the U.S. had not entered World War II. The same front page announced that New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia had named First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt as assistant director of civil defense, calling her the “No. 1 U.S. Volunteer.” LaGuardia was also the United States Director of Civil Defense, which essentially made him Roosevelt’s boss.

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On this day in 1946, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that a deadlock with CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) was killing hope that the shipping and trucking and maritime strike of 1946 could end. Meanwhile, violence broke out when men with the American Federation of Labor refused to respect CIO’s picket lines and returned to work. The pawns of this strike were people who depended on the stores for their food supplies. The same front page showed a photo of neighbors reading the signs at the A&P at 173 Atlantic Ave. (which is now a Key Food, at the same site on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights). Reports said 740 stores closed and 11,000 employees, as well as customers, were affected by the walkout.

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On this day in 1954, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the Democratic Party was hailing a victory in Maine as a harbinger of the November elections. A Democratic governor had been elected in Maine for the first time in 20 years. Locally, New Yorkers voted in primaries that suffered a very light turnout. The biggest, most hotly contested primary race was a three-way for a Kings County judgeship. The candidates were incumbent Judge Samuel S. Leibowitz, and Magistrates Anthony E. Maglio and David L. Malbin. Interestingly, drinking was discouraged during these elections, and the bars were closed between 3 and 10 p.m. on that primary day.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress JESSICA BROWN FINDLAY, who was born in 1989; actress ZOE CALDWELL, who was born in 1933; actor DAN CORTESE, who was born in 1967; actress MARY CROSBY, who was born in 1959; actress FAITH FORD, who was born in 1964; actress JOEY HEATHERTON, who was born in 1944; actor, writer, director and producer WALTER KOENIG, who was born in 1936; Oscar Award-winning actress MELISSA LEO, who was born in 1960; actor ANDREW LINCOLN, who was born in 1973; former Prime Minister of Russia DMITRY MEDVEDEV, who was born in 1965; and actor SAM NEILL, who was born in 1947.

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DANTE ALIGHIERI DIED ON THIS DAY IN 1321. The Medieval poet and magistrate, whose allegorical masterpiece “The Divine Comedy” is one of the most influential and revered artistic works in the Western canon, was born in May 1265 in Florence, Italy. Due to political conflicts, Alighieri was exiled from the city-state beginning in 1301. He died in Ravenna, Italy, shortly after finishing the last volume of the comedy, “Paradiso.”

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ELIZABETH ANN SETON WAS CANONIZED ON THIS DAY IN 1975. Seton was the first native-born American to be canonized. She was a converted Catholic who founded the Sisters of Charity and several schools devoted to the Catholic education of young women. She was declared a saint in 1974 by Pope Paul VI.

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CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1921. New York’s first female black state senator and federal judge, and the first woman elected borough president of Manhattan, became interested in law and civil rights when she was barred from a public beach at age 15. She went on to become one of the top civil rights lawyers of the ’50s and ’60s. She presented arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court for seven cases and won them all. Motley was born in New Haven, Connecticut and died in New York in 2005.

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MARGARET SANGER WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1879. The New York-born feminist and nurse was the founder of the birth control movement in the U.S. Sanger died in Arizona in 1966.

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ROBERT McCLOSKEY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1914. The beloved children’s book author and illustrator won two Caldecott Awards for “Make Way for Ducklings” and “Time of Wonder.” He also wrote and illustrated “Blueberries for Sal.” McCloskey was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress in 2000. He died in 2003 in Maine.

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

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“Live simply, so that all may simply live.” — Elizabeth Ann Seton, who was canonized on this day in 1975

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