Brooklyn Today for December 5

December 4, 2013 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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Good morning. Today is the 339th day of the year. It is the anniversary of the tragic fire at the Brooklyn Theater, located on what is now Cadman Plaza West, on Dec. 5, 1876. The fire took the lives of at least 278 people, 103 of whom are buried in a common grave in Green-Wood Cemetery. Other victims are buried at the Cemetery of the Evergreens. The night of the fire, the theater, which had been built just five years before, was presenting “Two Orphans,” about two homeless siblings who were separated by abductions. Investigators blamed the theater management for not providing enough fire exits and fire-extinguishing equipment and for not training personnel in fire prevention and management.

Well-known people who were born today include actress Morgan Brittany (“Dallas”), opera singer Jose Carreras, singer Little Richard (“Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Good Golly Miss Molly”), singer Chad Mitchell, Hall of Fame football player Art Monk, singer-songwriter Jim Messina of Loggins and Messina, and author Calvin Trilling  (“American Stories,” “Remembering Denny”).

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