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February 7, birthdays for Ashton Kutcher, Chris Rock, Steve Nash

Brooklyn Today

February 7, 2017 Brooklyn Today
Actor and entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher celebrates his birthday today. Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
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Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 36th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Chris Rock and Ashton Kutcher, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article titled “Cops Capture 7 Teenagers in Stolen Car.”

The article focused on a group of East New York teenagers who were caught in Brooklyn driving a stolen car.

“One of the teenagers, only 14, stole the car, authorities said. They added that it was the second auto he had stolen in a month. The group, police stated, were in the habit of stealing cars and going on fast rides,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include folksinger OSCAR BRAND, who was born in 1920; country singer GARTH BROOKS, who was born in 1962; actor MIGUEL FERRER, who was born in 1954; former basketball player JUWAN HOWARD, who was born in 1973; performer and actor EDDIE IZZARD, who was born in 1962; women’s rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient TAWAKKOL KARMAN, who was born in 1979; actor ASHTON KUTCHER, who was born in 1978; former basketball player STEVE NASH, who was born in 1974; actor and comedian CHRIS ROCK, who was born in Brooklyn in 1966; actor JAMES SPADER, who was born in 1960; and author and journalist GAY TALESE, who was born in 1932.

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SINCLAIR LEWIS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1885. The American novelist and social critic is best-known for his novels “Main Street,” “Babbitt” and “It Can’t Happen Here.” He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. Lewis died in Italy in 1951.

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CHARLES DICKENS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1812. Among the English novelist’s most successful works are “Oliver Twist,” “The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club,” “A Tale of Two Cities,” “David Copperfield” and “A Christmas Carol.” Dickens died in 1870 in England.

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BALLET WAS INTRODUCED TO THE U.S. ON THIS DAY IN 1827. Renowned French dancer Francisquy Hutin gave a performance of “The Deserter,” staged at New York’s Bowery Theater. A minor scandal erupted when the ladies in the lower boxes left the theater upon viewing the light and scanty attire of Hutin and her troupe.

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EUBIE BLAKE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1883. The American composer, pianist and writer of nearly 1,000 songs (including “I’m Just Wild About Harry” and “Memories of You”) received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. He died in Brooklyn five days after his 100th birthday in 1983.

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“AMERICA’S MOST WANTED” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1988. One of the longest-running shows in TV history, “America’s Most Wanted” asked viewers to help find fugitives from the law by airing dramatic re-enactments of crimes and interviewing law enforcement officials for insight. It also highlighted cases of missing children. The show led to more than 1,100 arrests. The 1,000th episode aired in March 2010 and it was canceled in the summer of 2011.

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THE BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY (BHS) WILL HOST “BLACK VOICES, Black Art: Upending Convention with Kellie Jones and Kimberly Drew” tonight at 7 p.m. Art historian, curator and 2016 MacArthur Genius Award-winner Jones has both rewritten and rectified the narrative of American art history by shepherding dozens of overlooked black artists into a canon that was narrowly white. With her single-minded focus on contemporary art of the African Diaspora, Jones has literally curated change. She will discuss her career, activism and vision for the future with trailblazing social media maven and blogger Kimberly Drew. The event is $10. For more information, visit brooklynhistory.org.

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

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“There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth.” — author Charles Dickens, who was born on this day in 1812

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