MILESTONES: February 21, birthdays for Jordan Peele, Ashley Greene, Sophie Turner

Brooklyn Today

February 21, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Jordan Peele. Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Share this:

Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 52nd day of the year.

On this day in 1934, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Casey Stengel had been hired to replace Max Carey as general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Stengel, who batted and pitched as a lefty, had made his Major League debut with the Dodgers in 1912. There were worries Stengel, coming from California, might still turn down the position as he had already once done because of the Dodgers’ dismal standings. The two-year contract offer was not expected to be a major salary boost for Stengel. However, he did accept the job and was general manager for two seasons until he too was sacked.

****

On this day in 1885, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page carried the full oration of the Hon. Robert Winthrop at the completion and dedication of the Washington Monument in the nation’s capital. Winthrop, in his speech, said that the obelisk was a fitting design to the monument. He also gave a sketch of Washington’s character, and quoted the Founding Father’s own words.

****

On this day in 1932, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle devoted extended coverage to the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth, including a magazine section (in addition to the women’s section described below) on the national celebration being planned. George Washington, born on Feb. 22, 1732, was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, became a Founding Father and served as the new nation’s first president.

Also on this day in 1932, the Eagle published a special section, “Brooklyn Eagle for Women.” It was separate from the customary society pages. In addition to additional coverage for the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth, the women’s section featured articles on views on peace in the United States and Asia and a piece that claimed that ovarian extract might have saved the Russian Empire and might have made it possible for the princess of Spain to marry.

****

On this day in 1954, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that former California Gov. Earl Warren had won the vote of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee to become chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. The subcommittee had rejected what it believed to be perjured testimony against him. Although a Republican, his tenure as chief justice was marked by several liberal decisions. Landmark cases during the Warren Court included Brown v. Board of Education (ending segregation in public schools), Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims (that dealt with one man/one vote and in which he taught that “The weight of a citizen’s vote cannot be made to depend on where he lives.”) He also handed down decisions on due process of indigents in Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the court ruled that the Sixth Amendment did require the state to provide free legal counsel to indigents accused of a crime.

****

NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor CHRISTOPHER ATKINS, who was born in 1961; actor WILLIAM BALDWIN, who was born in 1963; singer and actor CORBIN BLEU, who was born in 1989; actor TITUSS BURGESS, who was born in 1979; singer and musician MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER, who was born in 1958; singer CHARLOTTE CHURCH, who was born in 1986; actor JACK COLEMAN, who was born in 1958; Emmy Award-winning actor TYNE DALY, who was born in 1947; actress CHRISTINE EBERSOLE, who was born in 1953; record company executive DAVID GEFFEN, who was born in 1944; fashion designer HUBERT DE GIVENCHY, who was born in 1927; actor KELSEY GRAMMER, who was born in 1955; actress ASHLEY GREENE, who was born in 1987; actress JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, who was born in 1979; former U.S. Secretary of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, who was born in 1956; actor GARY LOCKWOOD, who was born in 1937; actress ELLEN PAGE, who was born in 1987; actor and comedian JORDAN PEELE, who was born in 1979; actor WILLIAM PETERSEN, who was born in 1953; and actress SOPHIE TURNER, who was born in 1996.

****

MALCOLM X WAS ASSASSINATED ON THIS DAY IN 1965. Just as he began a speech to his newly formed Organization of Afro-American Unity, the black activist and leader was gunned down by several men standing among the 400-plus crowd in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. The assassination occurred barely a week after his Queens home was firebombed. Three men were convicted of the murder in 1966 and sentenced to life in prison (two were released in the 1980s and the third won parole in 2010).

****

TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY. Since 2000, it has been a day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. It is observed on the anniversary of the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then-Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.

****

W.H. AUDEN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1907. The Pulitzer Prize–winning poet is best-known for his poems “Funeral Blues,” “The Shield of Achilles” and “For the Time Being.” He died in Austria in 1973.

****

NINA SIMONE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1933. The blues and jazz singer was initially determined to become a concert pianist, but instead found a career as a singer of a wide range of musical genres in which she could put her uniquely raw and emotional voice on display. Simone was an ardent supporter of the 1950s and ’60s civil rights movement. She died in France in 2003.

****

ERMA BOMBECK WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1927. The humorist and writer authored many books, including “The Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank.” Bombeck died in California in 1996.

****

TODAY IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF PRESIDENT NIXON’S TRIP TO CHINA. Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit any country not diplomatically recognized by the U.S. when he went to the People’s Republic of China for meetings with Chairman Mao Tse-tung and Premier Chou En-lai. Nixon arrived at Peking on this date in 1972 and departed China on Feb. 28.