ON THIS DAY IN 1875, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The second annual report of the Centennial Board of Finance says that $3,500,000 are still needed to complete the work.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1901, the Eagle reported, “Eggs continue firm in price, notwithstanding that receivers report the largest Western production this year ever known. To the speculative impulse to place eggs in refrigerative storage for winter sale is attributed high prices for eggs at the time of the year when they should naturally be cheapest. Long Island is sending more eggs to market this year than in any previous year, the increase being placed as high as 20 per cent. The island supply ranks as one of the best in quality and the freshest this market receives.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1903, the Eagle reported, “NAPLES — The royal yacht Victoria and Albert, with King Edward on board, arrived here today and received an enthusiastic welcome. The Italian squadron saluted and the crews manned ship and cheered warmly. After the yacht had anchored, King Edward received the Duke of Abruzzi, Foreign Minister Morin and others who welcomed His Majesty in the name of King Victor Emanuel.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1911, the Eagle reported, “Scientists sent to the Panama Canal Zone by the Smithsonian Institution, for the purpose of making a complete survey of the animal and plant life of that territory, have gleaned a great mass of interesting information there. This is contained in a letter just received from Professor H. Pittier, who is in charge of the botanical work.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, “‘Fantasia Games’ will be given to the first thousand youngsters to attend the Kiddie matinees in local RKO theaters and the Albee Saturday. The Walt Disney film will have its first Brooklyn showing Wednesday at the Albee.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “The Brooklyn C.H.S.A.A. baseball race, although in its infancy, has been narrowed down to three unbeaten teams, namely, St. John’s Prep, Brooklyn Prep and Bishop Loughlin. Each team has won two games. St. John’s and Brooklyn Prep gained their second victories yesterday … Jimmy Greene twirled the St. John’s victory, his second of the campaign, allowing five hits and fanning 12. Mario Cuomo, center fielder, clouted a home run with the bases empty in the fourth inning.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, APRIL 22 (U.P.) — Secretary of State Dean Acheson warned tonight that Soviet Communism is a ‘challenge and a threat to the very basis of our civilization and to the very safety of the free world.’ Grimly, the Secretary pictured a world struggle between the United States and Russia which, he said, cannot end until the Soviet Union gives up its policy of aggression. ‘We do not propose to subvert the Soviet Union,’ Acheson said. ‘We shall not attempt to undermine Soviet independence. And we are just as determined that Communism shall not by hook or crook or trickery undermine our country or any other free country that desires to maintain its freedom.’ To meet the Soviet challenge, Acheson called on the American people to unite behind the effort which he calls ‘total diplomacy,’ and outlined six ‘lines of action’ to be pursued. Acheson spoke at a dinner meeting of the American Society of Newspaper editors. His speech was carried to a nation-wide radio audience by the Mutual Broadcasting System. Acheson said the ‘threat of Soviet Communism’ is more than ‘just the old idea of tyranny.’ ‘This fanatical doctrine dominates one of the greatest States in this world, a State which controls the lives of hundreds of millions of people, and which today possesses the largest military establishment in existence,’ he declared. He said Communists picked the United States for their ‘principal target’ because only the United States ‘stands between the Kremlin and domination over the entire world.’”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “OTTAWA (UPI) — Liberal leader Lester B. Pearson yesterday became Canada’s 14th Prime Minister and immediately said he would acquire nuclear warheads for the nation’s armed forces. He pledged the ‘friendliest possible relations with the United States.’ The Nobel Peace Prize-winning diplomat, who will be 66 today, took the oath of office at the bedside of Governor-General George Vanier. Vanier is recovering from a minor heart attack suffered the day after the April 8 election which gave the Liberals 130 members in the 265-seat House of Commons. With Pearson were the members of the new Liberal Cabinet which will manage the country’s affairs in the days ahead. They too were sworn in by Vanier.”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “The Six Million Dollar Man” star Lee Majors, who was born in 1939; “Fringe” star Blair Brown, who was born in 1946; “One Day at a Time” star Valerie Bertinelli, who was born in 1960; actor and comedian George Lopez, who was born in 1961; windsurfing legend Robby Naish, who was born in 1963; “Providence” star Melina Kanakaredes, who was born in 1967; former N.Y. Yankees outfielder Andruw Jones, who was born in 1977; “House” star Kal Penn, who was born in 1977; “Hart of Dixie” star Jaime King, who was born in 1979; “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel, who was born in 1990; “American Idol” winner Caleb Johnson, was born in 1991; and supermodel Gigi Hadid, who was born in 1995.
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THE WHEEL IS COME FULL CIRCLE: William Shakespeare was born on this day in 1564 — and died on this day in 1616. In between, he wrote some of the world’s greatest literature, including “Hamlet,” “Henry V,” “Othello,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Tempest.” He contributed thousands of words to the English language and expanded the dramatic possibilities of blank verse, making it mimic the rhythm of speech even as he elevated speech to poetry.
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ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE: The first movie theater opened on this day in 1896 when a screen was installed in Koster and Bials Music Hall in Manhattan. Up until this time, people saw films individually by looking into a kinescope, a boxlike “peep show.”
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.”
— actress Shirley Temple, who was born on this day in 1928
