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MILESTONES: January 19, birthdays for Dolly Parton, Shawn Johnson, Paula Deen

January 19, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Dolly Parton. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Dolly Parton. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
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Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 19th day of the year.

On this day on Jan. 20, 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported on the unprecedented third-term inauguration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Asserting in his inaugural speech that “Democracy is not dying,” Roosevelt challenged those men who believe that “tyranny and slavery have become the surging wave of the future.” Mustering the spirit of America,” he said, “we do not retreat.”

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On this day in 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that, on the eve of his third inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was opening wide the documents on the European situation to his envoy, Wendell Willkie. Although Willkie was FDR’s opponent in the 1940 presidential election, there were many points on which they were in accord. Willkie had to warn the GOP against fighting Roosevelt’s lend-lease bill giving military aid to Great Britain. Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, son of the future president was in favor of aiding Great Britain; he nonetheless denounced the lend-lease program in its present form as being unnecessary.

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On Jan. 20, 1953, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page covered the first inauguration of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as the nation’s 34th president. In his inaugural speech, Eisenhower, who had served valiantly during World War II, particularly as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, opened the door for “honest negotiations” with the Soviet Union but warned that the U.S. would reject any appeasement with aggressors.

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On this day in 1937, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page covered the second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as the 32nd president of the United States. This occasion marked the first time that Inauguration Day was held on January 20. At the start of Roosevelt’s first term, the date was still March 4, which actually hindered his starting the recovery programs following the Depression. Soon after Roosevelt took office in 1933, the 20th Amendment was passed, moving the date from March 4 to Jan. 20. The earlier inaugural date was made possible by faster travel and communications, but still allowed a president-elect the time he needed to select cabinet members and present his goals and policies.

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On this day on Jan. 20 1949, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported on the inauguration of Harry S. Truman as the 33rd president of the United States. Truman had won the election in a surprise upset that caught many major newspapers by surprise — but not the Brooklyn Eagle, which had awaited full results. Truman used two Bibles for his oath of office. One was a reproduction of a 15th-century Gutenberg Bible. The second was the Bible he used for his first oath of office, succeeding FDR who had died unexpectedly less than three months into his fourth term. Truman had his Bibles turned to the 10 Commandments in Exodus, and the Beatitudes in the Gospels.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include singer and actor DESI ARNAZ JR., who was born in 1953; comedian FRANK CALIENDO, who was born in 1974; actor and singer MICHAEL CRAWFORD, who was born in 1942; actress DREA DE MATTEO, who was born in 1972; chef PAULA DEEN, who was born in 1947; Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East, who was born in 1992; actress SHELLEY FABARES, who was born in 1942; director RICHARD LESTER, who was born in 1932; broadcast journalist ROBERT MacNEIL, who was born in 1931; singer and actress DOLLY PARTON, who was born in 1946; actor WILLIAM RAGSDALE, who was born in 1961; orchestra conductor SIMON RATTLE, who was born in 1955; photographer CINDY SHERMAN, who was born in 1954; actress BITSIE TULLOCH, who was born in 1981; basketball coach JEFF VAN GUNDY, who was born in 1962; and actor SHAWN WAYANS, who was born in 1971.

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EDGAR ALLAN POE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1809. The American poet and storywriter is often called “America’s most famous man of letters.” Born in Boston, he was orphaned in poverty in 1811 and was raised by Virginia merchant John Allan. A magazine editor of note, he is best-remembered for his poetry (especially “The Raven”) and for his tales of suspense. Poe died in Maryland in 1849.

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“48 HOURS” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1988. The CBS prime-time news program airs each week. After 15 years, the program changed format to focus on crime mysteries presented by a revolving stable of reporters, who include Erin Moriarty, Peter Van Sant, Richard Schlesinger and others.

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PAUL CEZANNE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1839. The post-impressionist painter sought to “treat nature by the cylinder, the sphere, the cone.” His portraits, still lifes and landscapes are a seminal bridge from the Romantics and Impressionists to the Fauves, Cubists and later modernists. He created such masterpieces as “The Bathers” (1875), “The Card Players” (1892) and “Compotier, Pitcher and Fruit” (1892–94). Cézanne died in France in 1906 of pneumonia after painting outside in the rain.

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JOHN H. JOHNSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1918. The grandson of a slave, Johnson rose from abject poverty to become one of the most influential black businessmen in America. In 1942 he launched the first of his successful magazines, Negro Digest, which reached a circulation of 50,000 within eight months. In 1945 came Ebony, followed by Jet in 1951. By the time of his death in Chicago in 2005, Johnson’s company was the world’s largest African-American owned-and-operated publishing operation. He served the U.S. as goodwill ambassador and received numerous honors, the most important of which was the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996 for “building self-respect in the black community.”

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JANIS JOPLIN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1943. Possibly the most highly regarded white female blues singer of all time, Joplin’s appearance with Big Brother and the Holding Company at the Monterey International Pop Festival in August 1967 launched her to superstar status. Among her recording hits were “Get It While You Can,” “Piece of My Heart” and “Ball and Chain.” She died of a heroin overdose in 1970 in Hollywood. She was 27.

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

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“Who you are is what you settle for.” — Janis Joplin, who was born on this day in 1943

 


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