History Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 16, birthdays for Phil Mickelson, Banks, John Cho

Brooklyn Today

June 16, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Golfer Phil Mickelson celebrates his birthday today. AP Photo/Darron Cummings

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 166th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Laurie Metcalf and Abby Elliott, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published a front-page article titled “‘Thin Man’ of Brooklyn Hunted as Murderer of Inventor in Jersey.”

The article focused on a Brooklyn man suspected of killing Daniel McFarlan Moore, an inventor and former associate of Thomas Edison.

“Miss Moore said a tall, thin, courteous, soft-spoken man called to see her father Sunday night. He told the man her father had retired and he left. Later, she said, she saw him pacing to and fro in the rain in front of the house. She went to her father and roused him. He looked out the window, she said, and remarked, ‘Oh, that’s that nut from Brooklyn,’” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include pop singer BANKS, who was born in 1988; actress SONIA BRAGA, who was born in 1950; actor JOHN CHO, who was born in 1972; former boxer ROBERTO DURAN, who was born in 1951; comedian and actress ABBY ELLIOTT, who was born in 1987; Hall of Fame soccer player COBI JONES, who was born in 1970; Emmy Award-winning actress LAURIE METCALF, who was born in 1955; golfer PHIL MICKELSON, who was born in 1970; writer JOYCE CAROL OATES, who was born in 1938; actress JOAN VAN ARK, who was born in 1943; and former baseball player KERRY WOOD, who was born in 1977.

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KATHARINE GRAHAM WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1917. She is acclaimed for her role as the most powerful woman in publishing during her tenure as publisher of the Washington Post. Under her direction, the Post gained status until it was regarded as one of the nation’s two best and most prestigious newspapers. As owner and chair of the paper, Graham controlled the fifth largest publishing company in the U.S. A Pulitzer Prize winner in her own right for her autobiography “Personal History,” Graham died in 2001 in Idaho and was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

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“THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS” WAS RELEASED ON THIS DAY IN 1972. Musician David Bowie introduced a new persona — Ziggy Stardust, the alien rock star — with the release of the classic album. Featuring the single “Starman,” the album entered the U.K. music charts at number 15 on July 1 and eventually reached No. 5. The album carried the directive, “To be played at maximum volume.”

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JOHN HOWARD GRIFFIN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1920. The American author and photographer was deeply concerned about racial problems in the U.S. To better understand blacks in the American South, Griffin blackened his skin by the use of chemicals and ultraviolet light, keeping a journal as he traveled through the South, resulting in his best-known book “Black Like Me.” Griffin died in Texas in 1980.

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“PSYCHO” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1960. Millions of filmgoers (and star Janet Leigh) avoided the shower after this thriller’s debut in 1960. Alfred Hitchcock’s shocker, punctuated by shrieking violins and sudden knife attacks, juxtaposed the old-time horror of the dark gothic mansion with a new locus of fear: the isolated postwar roadside motel. “Psycho” led the way to the “slasher” films of the 1970s and later. Anthony Perkins starred as motel proprietor and bird lover Norman Bates.

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