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MILESTONES: September 11, birthdays for Taraji P. Henson, Ludacris, Harry Connick Jr.

September 11, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Taraji P. Henson. Photo by Ron Eshel/Invision/AP
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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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“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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 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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