MILESTONES: March 20, birthdays for Spike Lee, Carl Reiner, Fernando Torres

Brooklyn Today

March 20, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Spike Lee. Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 79th day of the year.

On this day in 1912, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Brooklyn Baseball Club President Charles Ebbets faced a new setback in his goal of opening a $750,000 ballfield for his team in time for the 1912 season It was determined that a sewer would have to be built on two adjoining streets, involving water and electrical work. Meanwhile, the Board of Aldermen had not even raised this issue on their agenda. It took another season, but Ebbets Field did eventually open — more than a year later — on April 9, 1913, in a neighborhood that some call Flatbush and others insist is Crown Heights.

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On this day in 1942, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Gen. Douglas MacArthur, speaking from his headquarters in Australia, would lead a United Nations offensive against Japan to save the Philippines. He made the announcement as American and Allied forces fought against the Japanese to gain control of the approaches to the Australian continent. Saying that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had ordered him to break through Japanese lines, MacArthur made his now-famous declaration, “A primary purpose of this is relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall return.”

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On this day in 1914, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that the net estate of lumber magnate Louis Bossert totaled $1,999,150. This figure was after estate settlement expenses and the funeral, which itself cost more than $24,000. Bossert, whose real estate holdings included the hotel at Montague and Hicks streets that is named for him, left most of his assets to his widow and children. The remaining $15,000 was bequeathed to charities. Bossert died on the last segment of a worldwide tour with his wife.

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On this day in 1937, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page proclaimed that aviator Amelia Earhart was safe after her plane crashed upon takeoff from Honolulu. She and her two male companions walked away uninjured after the plane burst into flames. On that same front page, the Eagle featured an update on the previous edition’s story about an explosion that destroyed a school in New London, Texas. The death toll had risen to 455. Two theories had arisen on the cause of the explosion: one was that gas that had leaked into the tile walls because of inadequate radiator vents. The other theory was a nitroglycerine explosion.

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On this day in 1948, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle front page reported that Great Britain was surrendering the Mandate on Palestine and would be leaving the Holy Land by August. This decision was made notwithstanding the United States’ decision to abandon the U.N.’s Partition Plan that would have provided for Jewish and Arab states and a special international regime for Jerusalem. The U.S. was pressing for “decisive Security Council measures” to maintain order in the Holy Land.

In an adjacent story, the U.S., Great Britain and France joined together in an appeal to Russia to amend the Italian peace treaty, so that Trieste would be returned to Italy. This strategically placed region of northeastern Italy on the Adriatic Sea border was claimed by both Italy and Yugoslavia. The three Western powers accused Yugoslavia of initiating policies that violated the treaty.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include Oscar Award-winning actress HOOLY HUNTER, who was born in 1958; actor WILLIAM HURT, who was born in 1950; director, producer, writer and actor SPIKE LEE, who was born in 1957; actor HAL LINDEN, who was born in 1931; 18th Prime Minister of Canada BRIAN MULRONEY, who was born in 1939; Hall of Fame hockey player BOBBY ORR, who was born in 1948; actor, writer and director CARL REINER, who was born in 1922; basketball coach and former player PAT RILEY, who was born in 1945; actress THERESA RUSSELL, who was born in 1957; Hall of Fame soccer coach SIGI SCHMID, who was born in 1953; actor DAVID THEWLIS, who was born in 1963; soccer player FERNANDO TORRES, who was born in 1984; and Olympic snowboarder LOUIE VITO, who was born in 1988.

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FRED ROGERS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1928. Rogers first began producing TV for children in 1953. His first program, “The Children’s Hour,” was the precursor to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which premiered in Canada in 1966 and in the U.S. in 1968. The show ran on public television until Rogers’ death, and he became known worldwide for his dedication to the well-being of children and for his demonstrations of the importance of kindness, compassion and learning. He authored a number of books for parents and children, wrote more than 200 songs and won dozens of awards, including Emmys, Peabodys and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He died in 2003 in Pennsylvania.

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B.F. SKINNER WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1904. The American psychologist was a pioneer in behaviorism and is best known for developing the “Skinner box,” an enclosed experimental environment. He died in 1990 in Massachusetts.

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HENRIK IBSEN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1828. The Norwegian playwright’s best-remembered plays are “Peer Gynt,” “The Pillars of Society,” “The Wild Duck,” “An Enemy of the People” and “Hedda Gabler.” Ibsen died in 1906 in Norway.

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TODAY IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF A NERVE GAS ATTACK ON THE TOKYO SUBWAY SYSTEM. Twelve people were killed and 5,000 injured in a nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system during rush hour on this day in 1995. Suspected in the attack was the Japanese religious sect Aum Shinrikyo, founded and led by Shoko Asahara. The group, which professes belief in a hybrid of Buddhist-Hindu teachings, predicts an apocalypse. In a raid conducted against the sect’s main compound in Kamikuishiki on March 25, police seized literature that predicted 90 percent of the people in the world would be killed by poison gas. Also seized were two tons of chemicals for making sarin, the poison used in the March 20 attack. This cache was reported to contain enough material to kill 5 million people. In a second raid, Asahara was arrested.

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THE BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY (BHS) will host “A Socialist Revival?” tonight at 6:30 p.m. For the first time in a generation, socialism looks like a political ideology with a future in the U.S. Jacobin editor Bhaskar Sunkara and In Justice Today executive editor Sarah Leonard join “Politically Re-Active” host Hari Kondabolu to discuss socialism’s resurgent appeal in an age of rising inequality and its prospects for becoming a viable force in American politics. For more information, visit brooklynhistory.org.

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

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“Often out of periods of losing come the greatest strivings toward a new winning streak.” ― children’s TV producer Fred Rogers, who was born on this day in 1928