MILESTONES: June 11, birthdays for Kodak Black, Dr. Oz, Hugh Laurie

June 11, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Kodak Black. Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 161st day of the year.

On this day in 1944, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that the Eagle had given $5,000 toward the building of a war memorial. Publisher Frank D. Schroth, in making the announcement, designated Brooklyn Borough President John Cashmore and other leading citizens. Schroth liked the idea of each borough having one central memorial in each borough to the soldiers of World War II. Schroth pointed out, “The paper has no motive other than the arousing of public opinion so that what will be done to memorialize our war heroes shall be wisely done.” According to the New York City Parks Department’s website, the contest concluded on April 1, 1945 — before VE (Victory in Europe) Day — with more than 243 entries received. “The memorial was dedicated on Nov. 12, 1951 at an elaborate ceremony attended by elected officials and veterans groups. Though there were some 3,500 contributors, mainly from local businesses to the public subscription, the full plan was never realized due to a lack of funding. The scaled-back version of the memorial consists of a memorial hall with an honor roll listing the names of those who died serving during the war,” according to the department.

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On this day in 1927, the Eagle covered the triumphant return of Col. Charles E. Lindbergh, who by his successful solo trans-Atlantic flight between New York’s Long Island and Paris, won love and the nicknames “Lucky Lindy” and the “Lone Eagle.” “Col. Charles A. Lindbergh came home from his great adventure in the air to receive from his fellow-countrymen full homage and from President [Calvin] Coolidge an official welcome and the Distinguished Flying Cross,” the article read. Another story detailed the plans in place for Lindbergh’s visit to New York the following Monday. And a photo caption pointed out that even the most accomplished pilot can always learn more: “Col. Lindbergh spent a good part of his time aboard the Memphis, learning how piloting a destroyer across the Atlantic differs from flying a monoplane.”

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On this day in 1912, the Eagle reported that the sister of prominent sugar and coffee magnate John Arbuckle would administer his estate, since he had died without making a will. Christina Arbuckle was deemed qualified to serve as the administrator — the legal term used instead of executor in cases where no valid will exists for a deceased person. “The value of the great estate is placed, conservatively, at $137,500,000. Surrogate Herbert T. Ketcham, in an opinion handed down today, decided that Miss Arbuckle is entitled to manage the estate, and granted her letters of administration.” Rival applicants for administrator objected against her appointment, using the grounds that she was not a resident of New York state at the time of her brother’s death. However, she prevailed and a small fraction in statutory fees would be payable to the Arbuckle family instead of to the City of New York.

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Also on this day in 1912, the Eagle featured a story on the saucy retort one Brooklyn clergyman received from Mayor William Jay Gaynor. The pastor had objected to Sunday ball playing on the grounds that the Sabbath was to be honored in a “moral” way. Gaynor, who was raised and educated in a devout Roman Catholic household and then in a monastic school of the Christian Brothers monastic order, encouraged those who play Sunday baseball in Brooklyn. His sharp-toned reply to one Rev. Dr. Edward D. Bailey of the Prospect Heights Presbyterian Church, read, in part: “I myself was brought up to the observance of a still Sabbath. But as we had to work hard in the fields and woods we were willing to keep still on Sunday. Of course you know that this is not the case with our city men and boys. Many of them have no day of recreation except Sunday.” He furthermore challenged Dr. Bailey to explain how he managed to solve the problem, and added, “Some of our clergymen who have not been able to solve it are offering to go into the fields and play with the boys of their congregations on Sunday afternoons. They dread to have the boys driven to the saloons, or to worse places.” He reminded the pastor that people have the right to enjoy any form of recreation that is not prohibited by law. Gaynor was known as a compassionate mayor. A plaque memorializing him now sits on the northern end of Cadman Plaza Park, where baseball, soccer and other games are played daily.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress ADRIENNE BARBEAU, who was born in 1945; actor PETER BERGMAN, who was born in 1953; South Dakota Gov. DENNIS DAUGAARD, who was born in 1953; actor PETER DINKLAGE, who was born in 1969; actor JOSHUA JACKSON, who was born in 1978; rapper KODAK BLACK, who was born in 1997; actor HUGH LAURIE, who was born in 1959; Hall of Fame football player JOE MONTANA, who was born in 1956; surgeon, TV personality and author DR. OZ, who was born in 1960; and actor JACKIE STEWART, who was born in 1939.

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JEANNETTE RANKIN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1880. The reformer, feminist and pacifist was the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She was the only member of Congress to vote against a declaration of war against Japan in December 1941. Rankin dies in 1973 in California.

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RICHARD STRAUSS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1864. The German romantic composer, musician and conductor is best remembered for his operas “Salome,” “Elektra” and “Der Rosenkavalier,” and his acclaimed symphonic poems included “Don Juan” and “Don Quixote.” Strauss died in Germany in 1949.

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VINCE LOMBARDI WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1913. The Pro Football Hall of Fame coach played football for Fordham’s famed “Seven Blocks of Granite” line in the mid-1930s, became a teacher and began to coach high school football. He became offensive line coach at West Point in 1949 and moved to the New York Giants in 1954. Five years later, he was named head coach of the Green Bay Packers. His Packers won five NFL titles and two Super Bowls in nine years, and Lombardi was generally regarded as the greatest coach and the finest motivator in pro football history. He retired in 1968 but was lured back to coach the Washington Redskins a year later. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame posthumously in 1971. Lombardi died in Washington, D.C., in 1970.

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JACQUES COUSTEAU WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1910. The French undersea explorer, writer and filmmaker invented the Aqua-Lung, which allowed him and his colleagues to produce more than 80 documentary films about undersea life, two of which won Oscars. This scientist and explorer was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his work in the Resistance in WWII. He died in 1997 in Paris.

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

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“You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.” Jeannette Rankin, who was born on this day in 1880