December 4: ON THIS DAY in 1936, Baldwin bars Wally!
ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin faced a historic session of Parliament today and threw a clear-cut challenge to King Edward VIII to drop his plans to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson or abdicate. There could be no mistaking the meaning of the blunt country squire who heads His Majesty’s Government. Baldwin informed Commons that a morganatic marriage is contrary to English law and anyone the King marries automatically becomes Queen. Since the Government has taken an irrevocable stand against Mrs. Simpson becoming Queen, the King would have no choice but to give up his throne and empire if he persists in marrying her. There were strong indications that the strong-willed monarch intends to accept the challenge and fight back, carrying the issue to his people and risking losing the dominions which, Baldwin said, are opposed to the marriage. The King has sent Mrs. Simpson into seclusion with friends in France while he faces his crisis alone. It was said on the highest authority that he intends to defy Baldwin, the Conservatives, the clergy and the press and form a government headed by the brilliant, erratic Winston Churchill.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “SHANGHAI (U.P.) — German and Japanese sources reported today that German Far East diplomats were going to Shanghai to participate in discussions to determine the extent of Nazi participation and aid to Japan in event of war in the Pacific. Capt. Fritz Weidemann, former German consul general in San Francisco, was scheduled to arrive from Nanking, where he has been conferring with Shunruko Hata, Japanese ambassador to the Wang Ching-Wei regime. Heinrich Stahmer, German ambassador to Nanking, also was scheduled to arrive. Ernst Wendler, new German minister to Bangkok, formerly minister to Bolivia, arrived yesterday. Because Germany is so distant from the Far East, it was doubted she could render much aid to Japan, but diplomatic circles reported that the Germans had a two-fold program calling for dispersal of British and American strength from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Some diplomatic quarters also expressed the opinion that the long-range German program was not averse to destruction of Japanese power so that Germany would be able to control the wealth of the Far East in event of victory in Europe.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.