ON THIS DAY IN 1851, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “John James Audubon, the distinguished ornithologist, died at his residence, on the banks of the Hudson, on Monday morning last. The deceased was in the 76th year of his age, and in the department of science to which he particularly devoted himself, he has left no equal behind him. He was the son of an admiral in the French navy, and was born in Louisiana. As a man, he was beloved by all who knew him; and as an author, his fame is world-wide, and destined to endure.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle reported, “SHANGHAI (AP) — Fighting in the Chapel section of Shanghai continued with renewed force today, becoming virtually a massacre. The Chinese fought the Japanese invasion with a counter-attack on a Japanese club close to the border of the International Settlement. Although the Chinese were driven back, it was reported that the defenders in the counter-attack were dangerously near capture in the brief but bitterly fought engagement. The battled occurred after widely circulated rumors of a truce had been officially denied tonight by the Japanese authorities … Reports that American mission buildings and other American properties within the Settlement and without had been bombed by Japanese planes could not be confirmed and consular authorities said that lacking knowledge of such developments, they believed nothing of the sort had occurred. Nevertheless, consular officials penetrated the embattled areas and suggested that several American missionaries living there withdraw to the Settlement.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “The All-America Conference indicated today it is ready to call off the pro football war if the National Football League will do the same. Despite three court victories resulting from player raids by both leagues, the year-old A.C.C. now wants a ‘live and let live’ policy on the theory that there’s plenty of room for two major pro football groups. Reports that Big Bill Daley may jump from the All-America to the N.F.L. Pittsburgh Steelers put club owners of the new conference in a temporizing mood as they opened the second day of a scheduled three-day meeting in which the most urgent business is selection of a new commissioner to replace ‘sleepy’ Jim Crowley. ‘We expect to respect the contracts of others,’ said President Dan Topping of New York’s football Yankees. ‘But we also expect to defend our own contracts and our legal battles with the other league will start all over again if Daley signs with Pittsburgh.’”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Out in St. Louis, a young Negro named Elston Howard was packing his bags, prior to leaving for the Yankees’ rookie school, supervised by manager Casey Stengel, which opens next Tuesday at St. Petersburg, Fla. Howard, who’ll be the first of his race ever to wear a Yankee uniform, came to terms yesterday along with rookie Gus Triandos and Bill Virdon. The Yankees now have ten players under contract but only one regular — Yogi Berra. Howard, 24, is a right-handed hitter who batted. 286 with 10 homers and 70 runs batted in at Kansas City last season. Some Yankee officials consider him a better prospect than Vic Power, recently traded to the Athletics. Howard plays the outfield and first base.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “The Metropolitan Museum of Art is preparing to receive the greatest crush of visitors in its 93-year history when Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa goes on exhibit Feb. 7. Display of Rembrandt’s ‘Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer,’ purchased by the museum for a record $2.3 million in November 1961, hiked the museum’s attendance for 1961 by more than 30 percent. The Mona Lisa is expected to do even better, drawing as many as 1 million addition persons to the museum, which normally plays host to more than 3 million visitors annually. The masterpiece will be exhibited at the Metropolitan free of charge until March 4. The National Gallery in Washington reports that more than 300,000 persons viewed Mona of the mysterious smile in the first two weeks of its display there, breaking a previous record set when the exquisite treasures from King Tut’s tomb were shown in 1961. Undoubtedly the Mona Lisa is the all-time drawing card in the history of painting.”
