August 16, birthdays for Steve Carell, Madonna, James Cameron

Brooklyn Today

August 16, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Actor Steve Carell celebrates his birthday today. Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 229th day of the year.

ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “3 Colleges Cancel Orders for Kits.”

The article focused on colleges rescinding $11,000 worth of chemistry kits after learning professors had financial ties to the corporation selling the kits.

“Dr. Wright said that although some doubt existed as to whether other companies would be able to prepare the kits in time for the opening of the new semester next month, orders will possibly be placed with the next lowest bidder in each of the five categories in which Kemkit lost its orders,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress ANGELA BASSETT, who was born in Manhattan in 1958; Oscar Award-winning director JAMES CAMERON, who was born in 1954; actor and comedian STEVE CARELL, who was born in 1963; Emmy Award-winning TV personality KATHIE LEE GIFFORD, who was born in 1953; Oscar Award-winning actor TIMOTHY HUTTON, who was born in 1960; actress LAURA INNES, who was born in 1960; singer and actress MADONNA, who was born in 1958; actress JULIE NEWMAR, who was born in 1933; actor and founder of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater JEFF PERRY, who was born in 1955; actor SETH PETERSON, who was born in the Bronx in 1970; actor REGINALD VELJOHNSON, who was born in Queens in 1952; and actress LESLEY ANN WARREN, who was born in Manhattan in 1946.

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TODAY IS NATIONAL Rollercoaster Day. On this day in 1878, Richard Knudsen and J.G. Taylor received a U.S. patent for the first wooden roller coaster. Several years later, LaMarcus Thompson was credited for actually building the first authentic ride of this type in Coney Island. Every year on this day enthusiasts share their love for the roller coaster at amusement parks everywhere. For more information, visit nationalrollercoasterday.com.

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ELVIS PRESLEY DIED on this day in 1977. One of America’s most popular singers, Presley was pronounced dead at the Memphis Baptist Hospital at age 42. The anniversary of his death is an occasion for pilgrimages by admirers to Graceland, his home and gravesite in Memphis.

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BABE RUTH DIED on this day in 1948. Baseball fans of all ages and walks of life mourned when the great “Bambino” died of cancer in New York City at the age of 53. The left-handed pitcher and “Sultan of Swat” hit 714 home runs in 22 Major League seasons and played in 10 World Series. His body lay in state at the main entrance of Yankee Stadium, where people waited in line for hours to march past the coffin.

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BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK will host “The Graves of Arthur Kill” aboard the Nantucket Lightship, docked off of Pier 6, tonight at 6 p.m. Will Van Dorp and Gary Kane will present their documentary on the Staten Island ship graveyard at Arthur Kill. For more information, visit brooklynbridgepark.org.

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

“A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.” — Madonna, who was born on this day in 1958.