November 30: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

ON THIS DAY IN 1875, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle said, “The New York hotels have given collectively over $10,000 toward the Centennial fund. How much has been handed in by the Quaker City caravansaries?”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1890, the Eagle reported, “An American art student, William Maurice, has been convicted by a Paris tribunal of shoplifting in the Louvre. The lenient sentence of fifteen days’ imprisonment was imposed.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1913, the Eagle reported, “Army defeated Navy on the Polo Grounds yesterday afternoon by 22 to 9, simply because the Cadets had a better trained football eleven. In almost every department of the game West Point proved that the men from the Hudson River Valley were the superiors of the Middies from the banks of the Severn. In only one department did the sons of the sea shine. Big ‘Babe’ Brown, who last year won the game for Annapolis on Franklin Field, again demonstrated that he is the best goal kicker from placement in the country by three times scoring in this manner. These were the only points scored by the Middies. Two of the Army scores came from forward passes over the goal line. Each throw was made by Pritchard and White to Merrilat. The other Army touchdown was the result of a line plunge by Captain Hoge. It followed a sensational run by Merrilat of more than forty yards. Army also scored a goal from placement. The kicker was Woodruff, who was sent in to make the play and then called out of the game. Army kicked one goal after the touchdowns.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Eagle reported, “WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE, NOV. 29 (AP) — National Guardsmen from every State in the Union have arrived in France, it is today permitted to announce. They are among the troops now training or lately arrived. While it is not permitted to disclose the identity of units, it may be said that all those which sailed from the United States have arrived safely and that some already are in training within sound of the guns on the battlefront.” 

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ON THIS DAY IN 1925, the Eagle reported, “With a three-year contract calling for a salary of $25,000, Capt. Billy Burch, the star of the New York team, is the highest paid man in professional hockey.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported, “While a Grand Jury was investigating, without result, the mystery of who killed Arnold Rothstein, notorious gambler of the Great White Way, three hitherto missing witnesses in the case appeared in the office of District Attorney Banton this afternoon and were held in $10,000 bail each to assure their appearance as material witnesses later on. These were Sam and Myer Boston and ‘Tough Willie’ McCabe. Willie had appeared once before since the mystery began, establishing a complete alibi as to his whereabouts on the day Rothstein was fatally shot. He as well as the Bostons came today accompanied by counsel. They were hurried before General Sessions Judge Francis X. Mancuso, to whom Mr. Banton explained that he wanted the men at 2 p.m. Monday and he would take no chance of having them fail him then. No objection was raised to the bail figure, and the trio promptly began telephoning arrangements to supply the necessary bonds.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Sesame Street” creator Joan Ganz Cooney, who was born in 1929; Oscar-winning filmmaker Woody Allen, who was born in Brooklyn in 1935; “Alien” director Ridley Scott, who was born in 1937; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Roger Glover (Deep Purple), who was born in 1945; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, who was born in 1947; “The Princess Bride” star Mandy Patinkin, who was born in 1952; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Sancious (E Street Band), who was born in 1953; “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” star Colin Mochrie, who was born in 1957; Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie, who was born in 1959; former baseball and football player Bo Jackson, who was born in 1962; “Zoolander” star Ben Stiller, who was born in 1965; “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” star Walter Emanuel Jones, who was born in 1970; singer and TV personality Clay Aiken, who was born in 1978; “24” star Elisha Cuthbert, who was born in 1982; “The Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco, who was born in 1985; and model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen, who was born in 1985.

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TRAILBLAZER: Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1924. The first black woman elected to the House of Representatives, she represented Bedford-Stuyvesant as a Democrat from 1969 to 1983. In 1972, she became the first black candidate for a major party’s presidential nomination. She died in 2005.

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RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: “The Joy of Cooking” was published on this day in 1931. America’s favorite all-purpose cookbook, self-published by Irma Rombauer (1877-1962), was a comforting voice for cooks during the Depression. The first commercial edition of the book appeared in 1936 and offered a revolutionary “action format” (chronologically ordered ingredients followed by instructions) now commonplace in cookbooks.

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UNCHARTED TERRITORY: “Thriller” was released on this day in 1982. Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album is one of the most popular records of all time, charting seven songs in the top 10 and selling more than 110 million copies. It broke pop charts wide open for black artists, who had often been relegated to R&B charts.

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

Quotable

“I’d like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That’s how I’d like to be remembered.” — U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who was born on this day in 1924