History Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 13, birthdays for Chris Evans, Kat Dennings, DJ Snake

June 13, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Chris Evans. Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Chris Evans. Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
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Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 163rd day of the year.

On this day in 1946, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Board of Estimate voted unanimously to go ahead with construction of the sewage disposal plant at Gowanus Parkway and Owl’s Head Park after hearing strong protests from a Bay Ridge delegation. Chief spokesman in opposition was Margery Cederstrom of the Bay Ridge Citizens Committee … She cited from newspaper clippings a pledge which she said Borough President [John] Cashmore made in November 1940 [when] he declared that construction of the Owl’s Head plant would be ‘a blight’ on Bay Ridge. Mr. Cashmore, now in favor of the project, voted along with other members of the board.”

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On this day in 1901, the Eagle reported, “Two cases of smallpox have been discovered in the most thickly populated section of the West End of Coney Island and great excitement prevails there today. The local physicians fear that an epidemic might ensue, but are taking strenuous measures to avert a serious calamity … Last evening it got abroad that a man, who was suffering from smallpox, was running through the streets.”

On the same page, the Eagle reported, “The Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, former pastor of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, and now pastor emeritus of that church, has declined to give his consent to the erection of a memorial statue in Cuyler Park to perpetuate the name and memory of the venerable minister.” In a letter, Dr. Cuyler wrote, “If my most esteemed friend the Park Commissioner will kindly have my name visibly and permanently affixed to that little park, and will direct that it always be kept as bright and beautiful with flowers as it now is, I shall be abundantly satisfied.”

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On this day in 1918, the Eagle reported, “The Allies now excel the Germans in gas warfare, Carl Arlsberg, chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, told the Senate Agriculture Committee today. They not only have more gas at their disposal and are applying it more effectively than the Germans, he said, but in defensive warfare they have more improved gas masks.”

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On this day in 1920, the Eagle reported, “Marion, Ohio, June 12 — This little central Ohio city of nearly 35,000 people went wild with joy and enthusiasm tonight when it learned that one of its citizens, Senator Warren G. Harding, had been nominated for the presidency by the Republican National Convention … Factory whistles were tooted, church bells were rung and Harding’s friends and neighbors gathered on the streets in shouting, laughing groups … Harding’s father and sister, who live here, were the center of enthusiastic groups of townspeople … The father, Dr. J.P. Harding, a practicing physician, received the news of the honor to his son on his 76th birthday.”

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On this day in 1927, the Eagle reported, “As spectacularly as a Fourth of July skyrocket, but as cool as a cucumber, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh came down to earth to get his first taste of New York’s reception at Mitchel Field, Mineola, at 11:58 o’clock this morning … Exactly 23 minutes after he had set foot on Mitchel Field he was set down again, this time in the waters of the Narrows, between Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth, where the city’s flagship, the Macom, with the official reception committee aboard, was waiting for him between the lines of 160 craft, the greatest civilian naval display the harbor ever has witnessed.”

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On this day in 1948, the Eagle reported, “Mighty Citation took his place among the great performers of the turf at Belmont Park yesterday where he breezed to an easy victory in the Belmont Stakes, his third jewel in the ‘Triple Crown.’ The crowd of 43,046 gave the Calumet Cannonball a tremendous ovation as he straightened away in the stretch run to come home by eight lengths … [Jockey Eddie] Arcaro was also riding for turf history. As Citation became the eighth horse to win the ‘Triple,’ the Newport, Kentucky Italian became the first jockey to win the Triple for the second time.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include comedian and actor TIM ALLEN, who was born in 1953; former U.N. Secretary-General BAN KI-MOON, who was born in 1944; conceptual artist CHRISTO, who was born in 1935; actress KAT DENNINGS, who was born in 1986; musician DJ SNAKE, who was born in 1986; actor CHRIS EVANS, who was born in 1981; actor MALCOLM McDOWELL, who was born in 1943; fashion designers and actresses ASHLEY AND MARY-KATE OLSEN, who were born in 1986; actress ALLY SHEEDY, who was born in 1962; actor STELLAN SKARSGARD, who was born in 1951; and actor RICHARD THOMAS, who was born in 1951.

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THE WORLD’S FIRST ROLLER COASTER OPENED ON THIS DAY IN 1884. Built and later patented by LaMarcus Thompson, the Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway in Coney Island boasted two parallel 600-foot tracks that descended from 50 feet. The cars traveled at six miles per hour. Riders paid 5 cents each for their rides. The roller coaster was a sensation, and soon amusement parks all over the U.S. and the world featured them.

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MEDGAR  EVERS WAS ASSASSINATED ON THIS DAY IN 1963. The civil rights leader was active in seeking integration of schools and voter registration. He was killed by Byron de la Beckwith, a white supremacist. The public outrage following his death was one of the factors that led President John F. Kennedy to propose a comprehensive civil rights law.

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TODAY IS THE MUSEUM MILE FESTIVAL. On the second Tuesday in June each year, 10 museums — all ones that call Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue home — collectively open their doors from 6 to 9 p.m. for free to visitors for a mile-long block party and visual art celebration. Participating museums include the National Academy Museum, Museum of the City of New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum for African Art, El Museo del Barrio New York, The Jewish Museum, Cooper-Hewitt, Guggenheim, Neue Galerie and Goethe Institute. For more information, visit museummilefestival.org.

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

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“This Earth is our only home. Together, we must protect and cherish it.” — former U.N. Secretary-General  Ban Ki-moon, who was born on this day in 1944

 


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