MILESTONES: August 6, birthdays for Leslie Odom Jr., Robin Van Persie, Travie McCoy

August 6, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Leslie Odom Jr. Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 218th day of the year.

ON THIS DAY IN 1867, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The preparations for the organization of the East River Bridge Company and the commencement of the work are going on in the most satisfactory manner, and in a short time the company expect to be able to lay before the public a full and explicit detail of the plan of the bridge and its location and cost, and then there is no doubt but that the stock will be largely taken up … On Friday last, three workmen, under the direction of Mr. Spangler, commenced to bore near the Fulton Ferry for the purpose of finding the nature of the substratum. By noon on Saturday they reached 22 feet, in which they passed 17 feet of cinders and then reached something like hard pan and then cemented boulders were struck.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1844, the Eagle published the following announcement: “REWARD. By virtue of a resolution of the Common Council passed May 27th, 1844, I hereby offer a reward of 50 CENTS for every dog that is not muzzled so as to prevent him from biting, that may be killed while running at large in the city of Brooklyn, and afterwards buried, upon satisfactory evidence thereof being given to me, from this date. J. SPRAGUE, mayor.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1875, the Eagle reported, “The universal sorrow over the death of Hans Christian Andersen is something remarkable to witness and beautiful to contemplate. Deputations from various parts of the Continent are hastening to Copenhagen to attend his funeral … He was the son of a cobbler, himself a poor lad, uneducated and unknown, and yet today no ruler or potentate of the world could command such homage as he is receiving … He has lived in the hearts of the people of the world for many years, and he is one of the few of earth whose character commanded universal respect and loyal admiration.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1902, the Eagle reported, “Spokane, Wash., Aug. 6 — Harry Tracy, the outlaw, killed himself in a wheat field near Fellows early this morning … In a fight with the sheriff’s posse last night, Tracy was wounded in the right leg, between the knee and the thigh, and twenty minutes later, knowing that his capture was certain, he killed himself with a revolver … Sheriff Gardener and a posse had been on the murderer’s trail since his new haunts were located several days ago.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Eagle reported, “Cape Gris Nez, France, Aug. 6 (AP) — Gertrude Ederle, the American swimmer, started at 7:09 o’clock this morning in an attempt to swim the English Channel. The weather conditions when she took her plunge were fine and the sea was calm. At 4:45 o’clock Miss Ederle was within 7 miles of her goal, Dover, after having been in the water nine and a half hours. The sea was fairly calm but a heavy rain was falling and conditions were regarded as unfavorable.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “Four years ago tonight, Joseph Force Crater, justice of the Supreme Court in Manhattan, hailed a taxicab after dining in a mid-Manhattan restaurant and disappeared to create one of the most baffling mysteries in metropolitan history. Thousands of dollars have been spent by the city, press and private investigations without yielding a single clue to the jurist’s fate or whereabouts. Mrs. Stella Wheeler Crater, his wife, is understood to have nearly given up the hope she has held for four years that her husband would communicate with her. The jurist left property valued at $73,000 behind him, but three more years must pass before he can be declared legally dead and the estate pass to Mrs. Crater.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “Panmunjom, Aug. 6 (UP) — Seventy more Americans came back to freedom from Communist captivity today, most of them looking like victims of the Nazi torture camps of Dachau and Buchenwald. They hobbled on canes or crudely fashioned crutches to the reception tents for identification and preliminary medical examination. Some left the Communist ambulances on stretchers … One of the South Koreans was returned dead. Another ROK soldier was a living skeleton who tried to pull his tightened skin over his teeth to smile but couldn’t. Battle-toughened Marines on duty at the reception center were shocked by the appearance of the gaunt, haggard shells of men … There were more tales of Communist atrocities, with specific details of torture.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor PETER BONERZ, who was born in 1938; actress SOLEIL MOON FRYE, who was born in 1976; actress ROMOLA GARAI, who was born in 1982; actress MELISSA GEORGE, who was born in 1976; actor DORIAN HAREWOOD, who was born in 1950; actress CATHERINE HICKS, who was born in 1951; physicist SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, who was born in 1946; Hall of Fame basketball player DAVID ROBINSON, who was born in 1965; filmmaker M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN, who was born in 1970; soccer player ROBIN VAN PERSIE, who was born in 1983; and actress MICHELLE YEOH, who was born in 1962.

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LUCILLE BALL WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1911. The film and television pioneer and comedian was born in Jamestown, N.Y. In addition to her many film and TV credits, Lucille Ball will always be remembered for her role in the 1950s CBS sitcom “I Love Lucy.” As Lucy Ricardo, the wife of bandleader Ricky Ricardo (her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz), she exhibited a comedic style that became a trademark of early television comedy. She died in 1989 in Los Angeles.

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ANDY WARHOL WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1928. The artist, filmmaker and provocateur was born Andrew Warhola to Czech immigrant parents at Forest City, Pennsylvania. (Some sources cite his birth year as 1927.) A leader of the Pop Art movement, Warhol challenged the definitions of art. After a stint as a commercial artist, Warhol gained attention in 1962 with paintings of ordinary commercial products — most famously, Campbell’s Soup cans — and pop culture figures. He moved on to silk-screen portraits (of subjects such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Mao Tse-tung) and experimental film projects (“Empire” was a static depiction of the Empire State Building that ran more than eight hours). Warhol was the center of New York’s celebrity scene. He died in New York in 1987.

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LORD ALFRED TENNYSON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1809. The English poet’s celebrated works include the poems “The Lady of Shalott” and “Ulysses” and the verse novelettes “Maud,” “Enoch Arden,” “In Memoriam,” “Locksley Hall Sixty Years After” and “The Idylls of the King.” He was appointed English poet laureate in 1850 in succession to William Wordsworth and made a peer in 1884. Tennyson died in England in 1892.

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