History Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: August 1, birthdays for Chuck D, Leon Thomas, Max Carver

August 1, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Chuck D. Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP
Chuck D. Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP
Share this:

Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 213th day of the year.

ON THIS DAY IN 1920, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The schedules announced by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company for its new line through the Montague Street tunnel open today, and the changes on its old subway lines made necessary by this additional line, are complex and it will probably take the public quite as long to become familiar with them as it did with the use of the Broadway-Canal Street station as a transfer point or with the West Side subway in Manhattan. But such a serviceable new line as the express service promised from the Brighton Beach line across the Manhattan Bridge to Times Square is worth far more than the effort which will be required to learn which trains cross the bridge and which run through the tunnel.”

ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “Berlin, Aug. 1 (AP) — Under cloudy, slightly dripping skies, all of Berlin seemed to have turned out today to give the Olympic Games a rousing send-off with the eyes of the athletic world focused on the vast Reich Sportfield and representatives of 53 nations gathered for the opening ceremonies. … Overnight the Americans, ostensibly motivated by a desire to avoid giving the equivalent of a Nazi salute, changed plans for their part in the parade of the athletes before Chancellor [Adolf] Hitler. Instead of extending their right arms outward at an upward angle with their hats in their hands, they decided instead to hold their hats over their hearts, then give an eyes right salute while passing in review.”

Subscribe to our newsletters

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “Washington, July 31 (U.P.) — A confessed communist spy today reeled off for a congressional committee the names of some 30 wartime government officials, including two inner-circle New Dealers, who she said fed her detailed and highly secret information about America’s war effort for transmission to Russia. Heading the list were Laughlin Currie, White House favorite and for years an administrative assistant to the late President [Franklin] Roosevelt, and Harry D. White, former assistant secretary of the Treasury … Their names and others were given to the House Committee on Un-American Activities by Elizabeth T. Bentley, a New England girl who was a college socialist at Vassar and later became a key communist espionage agent in her native land. Finally disillusioned, she told all to the FBI in 1945.”

It was also reported, “The New York International Airport at Idlewild was formally dedicated yesterday to the accompaniment of the biggest air show on earth and in the presence of more than 215,000 onlookers, including the president and the next president of the United States. Where old-line bombers circled overhead and the last word in jet planes flashed at incredible speeds through the sky, President [Harry] Truman and Governor [Thomas] Dewey, rival candidates for the presidency, spoke from the same platform, expressed, though in different words, the same understanding of this biggest demonstration of American’s aerial might and its meaning for peace or war.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “If the schedule doesn’t get the Milwaukee Braves out of town pretty soon, Walter O’Malley’s dream of a new Brooklyn ball park is likely to become a necessity rather than a vision of luxury. These guys seem intent upon knocking Ebbets Field apart … Milwaukee has scored 38 runs in three games … The Ebbets Field front office moved to do something about the shambles the slinging has become. They’ve brought young Tom Lasorda up from Montreal and optioned Bobo Milliken to St. Paul to make room for him … Lefty Lasorda has a 14-5 record and won nine straight for the Royals, but people wonder why he wasn’t brought up when Johnny Podres tripped over his appendix a month ago and the need for a southpaw pitcher became urgent.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1969, the Brooklyn Spectator reported, “Postmaster General Winton M. Blount has announced the design of the 10-cent moon landing commemorative air mail stamp, according to Brooklyn Postmaster Edward J. Quigley. A die proof of this stamp, attached to an envelope, was taken to the moon and cancelled there by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. It bears a cancellation reading ‘Moon Landing U.S.A. July 20, 1969.’ The moon explorers also carried with them the master die from which the printing plates will be made.”

****

NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor DEMIAN BICHIR, who was born in 1963; talk show host and actress TEMPESTT BLEDSOE, who was born in 1973; rapper and producer CHUCK D, who was born in 1960; singer, guitarist and songwriter ROBERT CRAY, who was born in 1953; actor GIANCARLO GIANNINI, who was born in 1942; author and journalist JAMES GLEICK, who was born in 1954; soccer manager and player DAVID JAMES, who was born in 1970; Oscar Award-winning stage and film director SAM MENDES, who was born in 1965; and actor JACK O’CONNELL, who was born in 1990.

****

MARIA MITCHELL WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1818.  An interest in her father’s hobby and an ability for mathematics resulted in Mitchell becoming the first female professional astronomer. In 1847, while assisting her father in a survey of the sky for the U.S. Coast Guard, Mitchell discovered a new comet and determined its orbit. She received many honors for her work, including being elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as its first woman. Mitchell joined the staff at Vassar Female College in 1865 as the first U.S. female astronomy professor and in 1873, was a cofounder of the Association for the Advancement of Women. Mitchell died in 1889 in Massachusetts.

****

FIRST U.S. CENSUS WAS TAKEN ON THIS DAY IN 1790. The census revealed that there were 3,939,326 citizens in the 16 states and the Ohio Territory. The U.S. has taken a census every 10 years since 1790.

****

FRANCIS SCOTT KEY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1779.  The American attorney, social worker and poet is best known as the author of the U.S. national anthem. While on a legal mission, Key was detained on a ship off Baltimore during the British bombardment of Fort McHenry on the night of Sept. 13-14, 1814. Thrilled to see the American flag still flying over the fort at daybreak, Key wrote the poem “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Printed in the Baltimore American in 1814, it was soon popularly sung to the music of an old English tune “Anacreon in Heaven.” It did not become the official U.S. national anthem until 117 years later when, in 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed into law an act for that purpose. Key died in Baltimore in 1843.

****

MTV PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1981. The all-music video channel debuted on this date. VH1, another music channel owned by MTV Networks that is aimed at older pop music fans, premiered in 1985.

****

HERMAN MELVILLE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1819. The American author and poet is best known for his epic novel “Moby-Dick.” Its first sentence — “Call me Ishmael.” — is one of the most famous in literature. Melville died in 1891 in New York.

****

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

****

“Do not look at stars as bright spots only. Try to take in the vastness of the universe.” — astronomer Maria Mitchell, who was born on this day in 1818

 


Leave a Comment

Related Articles

Leave a Comment