MILESTONES: February 2, birthdays for Shakira, Gerard Pique, Lauren Bushnell

Brooklyn Today

February 2, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Shakira. AP Photo/Jens Meyer

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 33rd day of the year.

On this day in 1949, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the now-famous standoff between Holy Trinity Church and its rector. The vestry was trying to oust the Rev. John Howard Melish, and by extension, the Rev. William Howard Melish, the rector’s son who was serving as assistant priest. The younger Melish was a widely suspected communist, because of his leadership in the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship. The vestry refused to speak to the press about a closed-door meeting it held on the Melishes. They ceded only that the matter was now in the hands of the diocese.

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On this day in 1943, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the military draft was being widened so that fewer men would be granted deferments, and that married men with children would no longer be exempt. War Manpower Commissioner Paul V. McNutt told an open hearing of the House Military Committee that by the end of the year, all able-bodied men (those who could pass the military physical) ages 18-38 would be on call after April 1. Among those occupations no longer eligible for deferments were those in the arts and design industries, sign makers, florists, club managers, dishwashers, chauffeurs and gardeners. According to a list of military eligibility classifications, among those who were fit for duty, deferments would still be granted to those men who were essential for farm labor, national defense and clergy and divinity students, as well as some other categories.

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On this day in 1949, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported on the invitation that Russia’s Premier Joseph Stalin extended to President Truman to meet one-on-one. A few days earlier, Stalin had expressed willingness to sign a “no-war pact” with the U.S. Explaining that his health and doctor’s orders precluded his own travel to the United States, Stalin proposed that the meeting take place in Russia, Czechoslovakia or Poland — the latter two being Russian satellite countries. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson gave a blistering response back to the Kremlin, calling Stalin’s invitation a “political maneuver.” The United States’ commitment to the U.N. Charter and other treaties already prohibited the States from causing any aggression towards Russia.

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On this day in 1952, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported on a brewing scandal within the Brooklyn Dodgers’ managing office. The Brooklyn District Attorney had launched an investigation into what the Eagle called a “rhubarb.” This was a $25,000 shortfall from the aborted sale of 1951 World Series tickets. The shortfall was discovered during a post-season audit of advance ticket sales. The Dodgers never made it to the ’51 World Series, having lost the league pennant in a humiliating playoff. As a result of the shortfall, longtime Dodgers business manager John F. Collins was said to have resigned and was to be replaced by the team’s road secretary Harold Parrott, a former Eagle sportswriter. However, Collins, who had worked for the Dodgers for 40 years, starting as an office boy for Charles Ebbetts, denied he had resigned and promised to fight his removal.

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On Feb. 3, 1953, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle began a series on an epidemic of juvenile vandalism in the city’s schools. Eagle reporter Al Salerno set out to determine why the courts and social service agencies for children “consider such acts outside the realm demanding punishment.” As the schools were already struggling to upgrade older buildings, they were dealing with an additional $500,000 yearly expense (from an already paltry city treasury) that “had to go to repair and replace property ruined through raids by ruffians.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include model CHRISTIE BRINKLEY, who was born in 1953; former “Bachelor” winner LAUREN BUSHNELL, who was born in 1990; U.S. Sen. JOHN CORNYN, who was born in 1952; chef, cookbook author and TV personality INA GARTEN, who was born in 1948; actor BO HOPKINS, who was born in 1942; actress ZOSIA MAMET, who was born in 1988; actor ROBERT MANDAN, who was born in 1932; musician and singer GRAHAM NASH, who was born in 1942; soccer star GERARD PIQUE, who was born in 1987; singer SHAKIRA, who was born in 1977; comedian TOM SMOTHERS, who was born in 1937; and actor MICHAEL T. WEISS, who was born in 1962.

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AYN RAND WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1905. The writer is known for her novels “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged.” She founded the Objectivism school of philosophy. She died in New York in 1982.

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TODAY IS GROUNDHOG DAY. It is believed that if the groundhog sees his shadow today, six more weeks of winter will ensue. It was inspired by the ancient Roman tradition “Hedgehog Day,” in which Romans observed whether a hedgehog emerging from hibernation could see its shadow in the moonlight — if it could, then six more weeks of winter were expected.

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FARRAH FAWCETT WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1947. The actress and ’70s pop-culture icon is as famous for her feathered hairstyle as for her acting. She was the star of TV’s “Charlie’s Angels” and later earned several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her dramatic roles in made-for-television movies such as “The Burning Bed” and “Small Sacrifices.” Fawcett’s 1976 swimsuit poster is the bestselling pinup of all time. She died in California in 2009.

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JAMES JOYCE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1882. The Irish novelist and poet is the author of “Dubliners,” “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” “Ulysses” and “Finnegans Wake.” Joyce died in 1941 in Switzerland.

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GEORGE HALAS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1895. After playing football at the University of Illinois and baseball with the New York Yankees, the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and team owner helped to found the National Football League and the Chicago Bears in 1920. As coach of the Bears for 40 years, he compiled a record of 324 wins, 151 losses and 31 ties. He was also a charter member of the Hall of Fame in 1963. Hallas died in Chicago in 1983.

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THE GERMANS SURRENDERED IN STALINGRAD ON THIS DAY IN 1943. Two pockets of starving German soldiers remained in Stalingrad on this date. They had received few supplies since Soviet soldiers had encircled the city the previous November. Friedrich Paulus, whom Hitler had promoted to field marshal only the day before, was forced to seek surrender terms, thereby becoming the first German marshal to surrender. Hitler was furious with Paulus, believing he should have preferred suicide to surrender. Approximately 160,000 Germans died in the Stalingrad Battle; 34,000 were evacuated by air. Of the 90,000 captured and sent to Siberia on foot, tens of thousands died on the way. This Allied victory is generally considered the psychological turning point of WWII.