June 27, ‘Brooklyn 1,900,000 on Early Census; War Call, 75,000’

June 27, 2014 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Tennis star Svetlana Kusnetzova celebrates her birthday today

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Good morning, Brooklyn. Today is the 178th day of the year.

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WEEKEND Brooklyn Bridge Park events include adult and teen volleyball clinics on Friday at Pier 6. Youth can brush up on their skills with experts from Metro Beach Sports from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Adult clinics are from 5 to 7 p.m.
Additionally, volunteering opportunities are available Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Pier 1 entrance through the Green Team to help clean up the park. Tasks include planting, mulching and removing invasive plants.
Another Bargemusic will take place Saturday at 3 p.m., which includes a one-hour, family-friendly concert.

NEW YORK WATER TAXI will re-launch its free summer ferry to Red Hook Friday morning. There will be a kickoff event 10 a.m. Friday at the Fairway Market Ferry Dock.

THE BROOKLYN WRITERS SPACE will be performing a reading Saturday at 7 p.m. at BookCourt. Appearing at the event is Sarah Van Bonn, Nancy Jacobs, Donnaldson K. Brown and Regan Penaluna. The host is Scott Adkins. A book signing will be included afterward.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include New York City television executive and film producer J.J. Abrams, who was born in 1966; “Camille Claudel” actress Isabelle Adjani, who was born in 1955; U.S. Senator (R-N.H.) Kelly Ayotte, who was born in 1968; “Newhart” actress Julia Duffy, who was born in 1951; “My Beautiful Laundrette” actress Shirley-Anne Field, who was born in 1938; New York City fashion designer Norma Kamali, who was born in 1945; tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was born in 1985; “Seabiscuit” actor Tobey Maguire, who was born in 1975; “Speed 2” Queens, N.Y. actor Jason Patric, who was born in 1966; former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, who was born in 1930; former basketball player Chuck Connors Person, who was born in 1964; “The Walking Dead” actor Chandler Riggs, who was born in 1999; and “Gossip Girl” actor Ed Westwick, who was born in 1987.

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TODAY IS THE “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU” song’s birthday. The melody was created in 1859 and is noted as one of the most sung songs in the world. It was composed by Mildred J. Hill with the song lyrics written by her sister Patty Smith Hill. The song was originally published as “Good Morning to All,” which included the “Happy Birthday to You” stanza that is sung so often today. Now it is sung somewhere in the world every minute of the day.

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JAMES SMITHSON, scientist and founder of the Smithsonian Institution, died on this day in 1829. His will, dated in 1826, bequeathed his wealth to found “at Washington under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Smithson’s remains were removed from Italy to Washington, D.C. in 1904. Smithson had never visited the U.S.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1915, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Brooklyn 1,900,000 on Early Census; War Call, 75,000.”
The article focuses on population demographics of the time and how they affected World War I draft numbers.
“Although the war, in the opinion of William Liebermann, chief enumeration supervisor for Kings and Queens, has lessened the population of Brooklyn from 50,000 to 75,000, unofficial census returns from two Assembly districts and fragmentary returns from a number of others make it appear that 1,900,000 persons live in this borough,” the article wrote.