Brooklyn Boro

April 17: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

April 17, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Washington, April 17 — A German submarine today fired on the destroyer Smith about 100 miles south of New York, somewhere off the Jersey coast. The presence of enemy submarines in American waters indicates that the threatened German submarine blockade of American Atlantic ports has begun. This announcement was made at the Navy Department: ‘Reported from Fire Island Lightship to the naval stations at Boston and New York at 8:30 a.m. on the 17th, an enemy submarine was sighted by the U.S.S. Smith, running apparently submerged. The submarine fired a torpedo at the U.S.S. Smith, which missed her by thirty yards. The wake of the torpedo was plainly seen crossing the bow. Submarine disappeared.’ … The attack by the U-boat is Germany’s first recognition of the state of war declared by the United States.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “They smiled politely back in 1908 when Sarah Stephenson was proposed for membership in the Brooklyn Bar Association. Sara Stephenson shrugged and smiled with them. In fact, she was known through the years to laugh when the subject came up and she even drew a chuckle now and then from some of the staid male lawyers around town who couldn’t help joining in the fun she made even though they thought woman’s place was not in the Brooklyn Bar Association. Well, today it’s all over. Sarah Stephenson, after 32 years, has become a member of the Brooklyn Bar Association … She was the first woman in Brooklyn to open her own law office. She spent 18 years at 16 Court St. until the building was torn down to make way for a skyscraper. Then she moved to 44 Court St., where she spent 11 months before moving on to her present office at 50 Court St. The American Bar Association saw fit to admit her as a member in 1919. The New York State Bar Association had taken her in a few years earlier … At last, on March 14, the Brooklyn Bar Association let down its barriers and voted to admit women to membership.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Although the two freshmen who started the season in the Brooklyn infield failed to get a base hit between them on opening day, Clyde Sukeforth declared that both Jackie Roosevelt Robinson and Johnny Jorgensen were regulars in the Dodger lineup. ‘They are in there for a real extended trial,’ said Sukey. ‘They’ll get a real chance to prove that they can hit and I think both of them will come through.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “There may be a cloud-seeding experiment late today, it was reported by Dr. Wallace E. Howell, the city’s $100-per-day rain-maker. Dr. Howell told Water Commissioner Stephen J. Carney that if he decides to act, he will fly from Harvard University, where he was early today, to Floyd Bennett Field, where the police plane with dry ice is based. In the 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. today, the city reservoirs gained 562,000,000 gallons, bringing the total to 196,656,000,000, or 77.7 percent of capacity. A year ago the percentage was 95.5.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Tomorrow we march! The tax protest and ‘secession’ march across Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall will be led by members of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Brooklyn Civic Council and other civic organizations. Councilman Angelo Arculeo and T.R. Dreyer, vice president, Brooklyn plant, American Machine & Foundry Co., are also expected to be in the front row of marchers. The nearly two-mile hike will follow a breakfast sponsored by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce at Schrafft’s, Fulton and Smith Sts. About 100 are expected to attend and then join the line of march. The marchers will carry signs. Slogans will include: ‘Squander Less, Tax Less,’ ‘Taxes Destroy Jobs, Industry,’ and ‘Should Brooklyn Secede?’ … Bitter opposition to the proposed sales tax hike to four percent continued to be expressed by business spokesmen. Bill Schwartz, president of the Kings Highway Board of Trade, said his organization had reserved time at the city council’s meeting Thursday and expects to present petitions with at least 100,000 signatures.”

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Boomer Esiason. Photo: Andy Kropa/Invision via AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Romeo and Juliet” star Olivia Hussey, who was born in 1951; “Maniac” singer Michael Sembello, who was born in 1954; “Fever Pitch” author Nick Hornby, who was born in 1957; former N.Y. Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason, who was born in 1961;

Jennifer Garner. Photo: Peter Kramer/ AP, file

“Waiting to Exhale” star Lela Rochon, who was born in 1964; baseball player Marquis Grissom, who was born in 1967; singer-songwriter Liz Phair, who was born in 1967; “Alias” star Jennifer Garner, who was born in 1972; Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, who was born in 1974; “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” star Rooney Mara, who was born in 1985; and former Pentatonix member Avi Kaplan, who was born in 1989.

Lela Rochon. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision via AP

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NEW WORLD MAN: Today is Verrazzano Day. It celebrates the discovery of New York harbor in 1524 by Florentine navigator Giovanni Verrazzano. The bridge that bears his name opened in 1964 and was once the longest suspension bridge in the world.

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FOUNDER’S DAY: Samuel Chase was born on this day in 1741. The Maryland native signed the Declaration of Independence and served as an associate justice of the U.S. (1796-1811). Due to his reddish complexion, he was given the nickname “Old Bacon Face.” He died in 1811.

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

Quotable:
“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see farther.”
— financier J.P. Morgan, who was born on this day in 1837


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