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MILESTONES: August 8, birthdays for Roger Federer, Shawn Mendes, Meagan Good

Brooklyn Today

August 8, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Switzerland's Roger Federer celebrates after defeating Croatia's Marin Cilic to win the Men's Singles final match on day thirteen at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London Sunday, July 16, 2017. AP Photo/Tim Ireland
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Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 220th day of the year.

NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor KEITH CARRADINE, who was born in 1950; musician THE EDGE, who was born in 1961; tennis player ROGER FEDERER, who was born in 1981; actress MEAGAN GOOD, who was born in 1981; Oscar Award-winning actor DUSTIN HOFFMAN, who was born in 1937; singer and TV personality DREW LACHEY, who was born in 1976; singer SHAWN MENDES, who was born in 1998; TV host DEBORAH NORVILLE, who was born in 1958; first female American Bar Association President ROBERTA COOPER RAMO, who was born in 1942; actress CONNIE STEVENS, who was born in Brooklyn in 1938; singer and songwriter MEL TILLIS, who was born in 1932; and actor MICHAEL URIE, who was born in 1980.  

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FREDRIC MARCH WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1897. The award-winning actor performed on both the stage and screen. He made more than 65 movies and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning in 1932 for his role in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and in 1947 for “The Best Years of Our Lives.” In 1956 he appeared on stage in the world premiere of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night.” He received the Tony Award for that performance. March died in California in 1975.

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RICHARD NIXON ANNOUNCED HIS RESIGNATION ON THIS DAY IN 1974. Facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal, the then-president announced he would resign the following day.

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MATTHEW A. HENSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1866. The African-American explorer met Robert E. Peary while working in a Washington, D.C store in 1888 and was hired to be Peary’s valet. He accompanied Peary on his seven subsequent Arctic expeditions. During the successful 1908-09 expedition to the North Pole, Henson and two of the four Eskimo guides reached their destination in 1909. Peary arrived minutes later and verified the location. Henson’s account of the expedition, “A Negro Explorer at the North Pole,” was published in 1912. In addition to the Congressional Medal awarded all members of the North Pole expedition, Henson received the Gold Medal of the Geographical Society of Chicago and, at 81, was made an honorary member of the Explorers Club. Henson died in New York in 1955.

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DINO DE LAURENTIIS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1919. After spending 30 years producing films in Europe, including several Fellini films, De Laurentiis came to the U.S. in 1976. Over the next 35 years, he produced a diverse assortment of Hollywood projects, including “Serpico,” “Blue Velvet” and “Manhunter,” as well as several notably unsuccessful films such as “King Kong,” “Flash Gordon” and “Dune.” He died 2010 in California.

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EMILIANO ZAPATA WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1879. Best remembered as a hero of the Mexican Revolution, Zapata was the commander of the Liberation Army of the South. He advocated agrarian reform and championed the cause of the peasant. In 1919, Zapata was ambushed and assassinated at Morelos.

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

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“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” — journalist Sydney J. Harris

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