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August 27: ON THIS DAY in 1926, NYC welcomes first woman to swim English Channel

August 27, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Eagle file photo
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ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “New York went mad today over a girl. Nothing like the welcome to Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim the English Channel, has happened before in this city. The receptions accorded to Lieutenant Commander Byrd, who flew over the North Pole, faded into insignificance in comparison. Even that accorded General Pershing did not arouse the tremendous popular acclaim accorded to this 19-year-old girl whose courage and endurance have made her an international heroine. Fifty launches, tugs and river craft roared a welcome as the Berengaria emerged out of the fog of the Narrows at 11 o’clock, two circling airplanes swooped low and dropped wreaths of flowers on the water, fireboats shot their water salutes and a great cheer such as the harbor has never heard before greeted the girl in the blue hat, who stood beside her father, waving an American flag from the lower deck.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1882, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Park Commissioners met Thursday and transacted considerable business. Mr. J. Litchfield appeared before the board and protested against the building of the proposed stables on the west side of Prospect Park, near Ninth Avenue and Third Street, on the ground that they would be a nuisance and an injury to adjacent property. The committee which was in charge of the construction of the proposed stables was directed to report the selection of a site for those buildings at the next meeting. The commissioners refused the Salvation Army permission to preach the Gospel on the sands at Coney Island.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1911, the Eagle reported, “A cloud of winged ants struck the Bedford and Bushwick sections last night and made life miserable for about everybody on the streets. The air seemed filled with the insects. Motormen on trolley cars suffered perhaps as much as any one class of individuals. The ants — there were millions of them — invaded restaurants and other business places with open doors. They proved to be real pests. Nobody was able to explain where they came from or give any reason for the sudden invasion.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported from Paris, “Representatives of 15 leading nations of the world today signed the Kellogg-Briand treaty renouncing war as an instrument of national policy and condemning recourse to war for the solution of international difficulties … The first to sign the historic document was Dr. Gustav Stresemann, German Foreign Minister, who attached his signature at 3:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. New York time). Then followed, in turn, Secretary of State Kellogg of the United States and 13 others, ending with Foreign Minister Benes of Czechoslovakia.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1930, an Eagle editorial stated, “Other movie actors have got their names into the household vocabulary and others have founded their fortunes on their faces, but none in quite the same way as Lon Chaney. His death cuts short a career that sailed right against the breeze of the traditions of his profession. Except in one or two parts, no one ever saw Lon Chaney act a part on the screen; the part was there but Chaney was not to be seen … As the Man with a Thousand Faces we shall vividly remember him. Also as the man with a thousand figures and personalities. His protean gift will no doubt inspire imitators. By their performances we shall know whether he simply possessed a peculiar gift not communicable to others or, rather, originated a new source of entertainment in which later comers might replace him.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1933, the Eagle reported, “Helen Hull Jacobs, for long years California’s Helen the Second, not only defended her national singles championship at Forest Hills yesterday but, in an astounding final, cleanly won her way to the title of Helen the First. She drove Mrs. Helen Willis Moody into a default in the third set, thus bringing an end to the 46th Annual Women’s Tennis Championships … Both girls were playing against doctor’s orders. One had an injured back; the other an aching side … The gallery of 8,000, already sensing the defeat of the young woman who had held the title for seven years and who was yesterday trying to tie Molla Mallory’s record of eight championships, roared ‘No, no.’ Miss Jacobs stood stunned after she had put her arm around Mrs. Moody’s shoulders and patted her on the back.”

 

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