History Brooklyn Boro

October 20, birthdays for Snoop Dogg, John Krasinski, Tom Petty

Brooklyn Today

October 20, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Rapper Snoop Dogg celebrates his birthday today. AP Photo/David Goldman

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 294th day of the year.

ON THIS DAY IN 1911, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Brooklyn Land Overtaxed?”

The article focused on the Tax Department admitting that land in Brooklyn may have been over-assessed for the year.

“The admittedly dull condition of the real estate market of Brooklyn at the present time warrants a decrease in assessments, property owners declare,” the Eagle reported. “If the real estate market in Brooklyn is as dispirited when the deputies start in work again next April, it was promised this morning by [department officials], the prospect is that there will be radical reduction in land values a year from now.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include filmmaker and Oscar Award-winning director DANNY BOYLE, who was born in 1956; actor WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER, who was born in 1932; rapper, actor and record producer SNOOP DOGG, who was born in 1971; former baseball player KEITH HERNANDEZ, who was born in 1953; actor JOHN KRASINSKI, who was born in 1979; Emmy Award-winning actress MELANIE MAYRON, who was born in 1952; actor VIGGO MORTENSEN, who was born in New York City in 1958; and singer and songwriter TOM PETTY, who was born in 1953.

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MICKEY MANTLE was born on this day in 1931. The baseball Hall of Famer played his entire career with the New York Yankees (1931-1968), who retired his iconic jersey No. 7 in 1969. Throughout his career, “The Mick” had 536 home runs, was named to 20 American League All-Star teams and was named MVP in 1956, 1957 and 1962. He died in 1995.

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THE SYDNEY OPERA House opened on this day in 1973. One of the most iconic and dramatic man-made structures of the 20th century, the opera house was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, the theater is perched on Sydney Harbor and appears to be a ship in full sail. It took 14 years to build, and its roof is covered with more than 1 million tiles.

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MEDGAR EVERS College will host a reading and discussion by acclaimed author Zadie Smith tonight at 7 p.m. at Founders Auditorium, 1650 Bedford Ave. The reading of her new book “Swing Time” will be followed by a Q&A. For more information, visit mec.cuny.edu.

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THE BROOKLYN Historical Society will host “Person Place Thing with Stew and Heidi Rodewald” tonight at 7:30 p.m. at 128 Pierrepont St. The musicians will discuss life, love and music with host Randy Cohen. For more information, visit brooklynhistory.org.

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

“There’s the push and pull you put on yourself and the push and pull the world puts on you. Most of the time, the world’s going to win out, because it’s just logical that you should be more successful and more motivated. You can always be more.” —John Krasinski, who was born on this day in 1979