ON THIS DAY IN 1920, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “SANDY HOOK, N.J. — Sir Thomas Lipton’s challenger, Shamrock IV, and the American cup defender, Resolute, found nothing more than a cupful of wind and a flat sea in which to engage on the second race of the America’s cup match when they towed out to the starting line at Ambrose Lightship just before noon today. The yachts sloshed and wallowed in the mild ground swell and their sails flapped lifelessly in the dead air. The regatta committee signaled a postponement of the race until later in the day at 15-minute intervals. No signs of wind were observed in any quarter even should a start be made in the triangular race. The skippers that have handled coastwise ships along these shores declared that no finish could be made within the time limit of six hours given for any contest. At 11:45 a.m. a stray zephyr came in from the south, which gave the yachts just steerage way, but not enough to warrant starting the race.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1921, the Eagle said, “Bidders on the New Jersey vehicle tunnel work have made a legal issue over daylight saving — is a bid too late, if 4 is the hour set, and it comes after 3 by standard time? The official ruling in the negative satisfies common sense, but the courts are still to be heard from.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle said, “Probably the outstanding feature of ‘Warming Up,’ the new film at the Paramount Theater, is the fact that it includes Movietone sound effects and as such represents the initial effort of the Paramount company in the so-called ‘talking movie’ field. A less important attribute of the production is its uninspired, machine-made story which has to do with a rookie pitcher (Richard Dix) who wins a place on the Yankee team and, inevitably, turns out to be the hero of the deciding game of the World Series with Pittsburgh. Being their first attempt at a synchronized feature production, the Paramount craftsmen perhaps may be excused for paying slightly more attention to the mechanical details of this screening than to its actual dramatic composition.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “CINCINNATI (AP) — Humidity is nature’s greatest aid to man in his efforts to prevent and control forest fires, a recent survey shows, and lack of humidity outranks scanty rainfall and high winds as the greatest enemy of the firefighter. These are the findings of Prof. Daniel R. Bergsmark of the Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, who made a study of the effects of relative humidity on forest fires at Lake States Forestry Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota. Records of the prevalence of forest fires in times of great drought, such as during recent months, have aided Professor Bergsmark in his investigations. ‘Studies conducted by the Wind River Forest Experiment Station, Wisconsin, showed fires did not spread when the relative humidity was above 60 percent,’ Professor Bergsmark explains. ‘They spread very slowly and only in very favorable material when the relative humidity was between 50 and 60 percent. When the humidity was between 40 and 50 percent, fires increased. With a humidity of 30 to 40 percent, fires gained some headway, and some rapidly spreading fires occurred. A humidity below 30 percent caused fires to spread beyond control. Crown fires occurred when the humidity dropped to 25 percent or lower.’ Similar relations between humidity and fire conditions have been found after observations in such typical forest areas as Connecticut and Idaho, according to Professor Bergsmark.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “A $10 prize will go to the driver of the horse-drawn vehicle conveying the most persons from outside the village limits to the shrine baseball game between the White Sox and Dodgers at Cooperstown, N.Y., on Monday.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (U.P.) — Uruguay won the world soccer championship for the third time when it upset Brazil yesterday, 2 to 1, before 160,000 stunned spectators in Rio’s huge new Municipal Stadium, which was built especially for the international tournament. In another upset at Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sweden took third place in the final standings by defeating Spain, 3 to 1.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Today, despite the blazing weather we’ve had lately and will have again before first frosts, something can be done about making yourself comfortable as the result of completion of the design for the world’s first scientific air conditioning system just 52 years ago, on July 17, 1902, by Willis H. Carrier. Born in ‘working clothes,’ for Dr. Carrier’s initial design was for a Brooklyn, N.Y., color lithographing plant which had printing difficulties due to weather changes, air conditioning has grown to the point where more than 4,000,000 people enjoy it, completely or partially in their homes, plus many more millions who work in air conditioned offices, stores or industrial plants. Dr. Carrier’s device was the first to combine control of both humidity and temperature, finally beating the old expression, ‘It isn’t the heat, it’s the humidity.’ The general public’s experience with air conditioning got started in a big way in the middle ’20s with installation of cooling systems in theaters and department stores. In 1951, the current boom in home air conditioning took on large-scale proportions, first with room units and then with year-round systems that heat in Winter and cool in Summer for entire homes.”
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OG Anunoby. Photo: Business Wire via AP
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include QueenCamilla, who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), who was born in 1949; “Here’s Lucy” star Lucie Arnaz, who was born in 1951; “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff, who was born in 1952; N.Y.
Bryan Trottier. Photo: Kathy Kmonicek/AP
Islanders legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, who was born in 1956; “The Apprentice” creator Mark Burnett, who was born in 1960; “A Whole New World” singer Regina Belle, who was born in 1963; “A Nightmare on Elm Street” star Heather Langenkamp, who was born in 1964; “Bill & Ted Face the Music” star Alex Winter, who was born in 1965; “The Brave” star Mike Vogel, who was born in 1979; and N.Y. Knicks forward OG Anunoby, who was born in 1997.
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LEGACY OF LAUGHS: Phyllis Diller was born on this day in 1917. With her incisive wit, legendary verve and singularly female presence in the standup comedy boys’ club, Diller broke ground and busted guts for more than 60 years. She made her standup debut as a 37-year-old housewife. Appearances on “The Tonight Show” and “The Ed Sullivan Show” raised her profile, and a series of successful comedy albums appeared throughout the 1960s. She starred in films with mentor Bob Hope and was a regular on TV, often lending her trademark cackle to comedy and variety programs. She died in 2012.
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Regina Belle. Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP
QUITE A RIDE:Disneyland opened on this day in 1955. Built in Anaheim, California, under the direct supervision of animation legend Walt Disney, the theme park has had 900 million visitors since it opened. Attractions include Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“I think I lead by example, more than a guy that’ll be yelling and screaming.” — N.Y. Knicks forward OG Anunoby, who was born on this day in 1997.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
