History Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 29, birthdays for Nicole Scherzinger, Kawhi Leonard, Camila Mendes

June 29, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Nicole Scherzinger. Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP
Nicole Scherzinger. Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP
Share this:

Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 179th day of the year.

On this day in 1948, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The body of Col. David Marcus, Brooklyn war hero who was killed on June 10 while leading Hagana forces in Palestine, will arrive between 11 a.m. and noon tomorrow at LaGuardia Field. The body of Col. Marcus, who left Brooklyn secretly to become supreme commander of the Jewish forces in Palestine, will be flown from Paris, where it has been sent from Tel Aviv … Borough President [John] Cashmore will be the principal speaker at memorial services for Col. Marcus, sponsored by the Non-Pareil Club of Brooklyn tomorrow night at the clubhouse, Eastern Parkway and Prospect Place.”

****

Subscribe to our newsletters

On this day in 1852, the Eagle reported, “The colors and flags of the city are displayed today on the City Hall, out of respect for the memory of Henry Clay. The vessels in the river have their flags hung at half-mast in honor of the illustrious dead. Our own flag is also draped in black.”

***

On this day in 1863, the Eagle reported, “The corps of General Ewell marched through Boonsboro, towards Greencastle, by way of the Cave Town road. At first it was supposed this corps intended to operate in the vicinity of Gettysburg and York; but on marching in that direction some 10 or 15 miles, it changed its course, and proceeded towards Greencastle, indicating a concentration of the whole rebel army, and Hill and Longstreet’s corps also took Greencastle in their advance towards Chambersburg.”

***

On this day in 1914, the Eagle reported, “Sarayevo, Bosnia, June 29 — Death masks were taken today of the late Archduke Francis Ferdinand and of the Duchess of Hohenberg, who met their death yesterday at the hands of the young assassin, Gavrio Prinzip, while on an official visit to the Bosnian capital … According to the semi-official report of the tragedy, at the time the fatal shots were fired Field Marshal Oskar Potiorek, governor of Bosnia, was seated in the Archduke’s motorcar. Count Francis von Harrach was standing on the footboard of the car, acting as a shield to the occupants, of whom he had constituted himself the special bodyguard after the bomb had been thrown, a short time before, by Nedeljo Gabrinovics … The Archduke was joking with the count about his precautions when the reports of several shots rang out. The aim of the assassins was so true that each of the bullets inflicted a mortal wound.”

***

On this day in 1928, the Eagle reported, “Convention Hall, Houston, June 29 — Gov. Alfred E. Smith will make his fight for the presidency largely on the Prohibition issue. The governor today sent an acceptance telegram to Sen. [Joseph] Robinson, chairman of the convention, to be read to the convention after the balloting for vice president has been completed later in the day.” It was also reported, “Gov. Smith’s first public appearance after his nomination was a brief speech from his doorstep to friends and neighbors gathered on the lawn of the Executive Mansion early this morning. ‘The returns on the radio from Texas,’ he said, ‘indicate that New York state, myself, my family and all of my friends are greatly honored by the confidence placed in me by an overwhelming majority of the delegates … I am overwhelmed by the news and my heart is where my palate ought to be.”

***

On June 30, 1950, the Eagle reported, “Sunday in Rio de Janiero, the U.S. World Cup will play its third game in the series against Chile. Last Sunday, after leading Spain, 1-0, at halftime the team faltered in the second half and finally lost, 3-1. The second opponent was England yesterday.” Going into the 1950 World Cup, the U.S. team, made up of part-time players, was given little chance of succeeding, particularly against England, known as the “Kings of Football.” But the U.S shocked the favored Brits, defeating them 1-0 in a match many consider legendary. The only goal was scored by Joe Gaetjens off a pass by Walter Bahr. Despite losing its match to Chile, the entire U.S. team was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976. Bahr, the last survivor of the team, died on June 18 during the first week of this year’s World Cup, for which the U.S. did not qualify. He was 91.

****

NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor GARY BUSEY, who was born in 1944; former hockey player THEO FLEURY, who was born in 1968; actor and former U.S. Rep. FRED GRANDY, who was born in 1948; basketball player JOE JOHNSON, who was born in 1981; and actress SHARON LAWRENCE, who was born in 1962.

****

GEORGE WASHINGTON GOETHALS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1858. The Brooklyn-born American engineer and Army officer was the chief engineer of the Panama Canal and first civil governor of the Canal Zone. Goethals died in New York in 1928.

****

THE DEATH PENALTY WAS BANNED ON THIS DAY IN 1972. In a decision that spared the lives of 600 individuals who at the time were sitting on death row, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, found capital punishment a violation of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.” Later overruling themselves, the court determined in 1976 that the death penalty was not cruel and unusual punishment, and in October of that year lifted the ban on the death penalty in murder cases. In 1977, Gary Gilmore became the first individual executed in the U.S. in more than 10 years.

****

JAMES VANDERZEE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1886. The pioneering African-American photographer set up a portrait studio in Harlem, N.Y. in 1916, just as that black community was exploding culturally, politically and materially. VanDerZee was the semiofficial photographer of the Harlem Renaissance (1920s to World War II), capturing such luminaries as poet Countee Cullen and Jamaican leader Marcus Garvey, as well as dancers, soldiers, street preachers and prosperous middle-class residents. He died in 1983 in Washington, D.C.

****

BERNARD HERRMANN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1911. Herrmann was a pioneering film composer, working with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Martin Scorsese. He introduced the theremin in his score for “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” Other notable credits include Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” Welles’ “Citizen Kane” and Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” as well as the TV shows “The Twilight Zone” and “Lost in Space.” Herrmann died in 1975 in California.

****

TODAY IS NATIONAL HANDSHAKE DAY. Get a grip on a professional handshake today! The handshake is an important part of corporate America and can make or break a business deal, interview or other encounter. Take this day to perfect your own handshake and put it into practice.

****

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

****

“Knowledge of our duties is the most essential part of the philosophy of life. If you escape duty you avoid action. The world demands results.” — George Washington Goethals

 


Leave a Comment

Related Articles

Leave a Comment