June 18: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 18, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “LONDON (A.P.) — The transatlantic monoplane Friendship, carrying the first woman ever to span the Atlantic by air, landed near Burry Port, Wales, at 12:40 p.m. today (6:40 a.m. Eastern standard time), just 20 hours and 49 minutes after taking off from Trepassey, Newfoundland. The plane, which had been sighted 75 miles west of Ireland by the steamship America, landed in Burry Inlet because of a shortage of fuel. Wilmer Stultz, the pilot, [brought] his ship down without difficulty close to shore … It had been more than just a hop across the Atlantic for Miss [Amelia] Earhart, for she took her turn at the stick in the long journey through mist and rain that marked most of the trip. The crew of the Friendship, which included Louis Gordon, mechanic, was in the best of spirits and looked none the worse for their flight across the almost 2,000-mile stretch between Newfoundland and Great Britain.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “LAKE SUCCESS (U.P.) — The United States and Great Britain, and some other nations, are planning to propose to the Security Council that the 28-day truce in Palestine be extended another month, it was reported today. The proposal probably will be made a few days before the present truce expires July 9, it was said. U.N. Secretary General Trygve Lie, in recruiting 50 U.N. employees for an unprecedented “U.N. army” to help patrol Palestine during the truce, signed up the volunteer guards for two and three month terms, not just for the period of the truce.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “The proposed Narrows Bridge got a boost from Mayor [William] O’Dwyer yesterday when he officiated at the cornerstone laying of the new $20,000,000 St. George ferry terminal on Staten Island. The mayor said the big bridge would not eliminate need for the ferry service because ‘traffic is going to increase so fast,’ both will be needed to relieve jams in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. The new ferry terminal, replacing the ancient structure that was wiped out by fire more than a year ago, will be open in October, although it will not be fully completed until late next year.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Declaration by the U.S. Supreme Court that recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and bible reading in public schools is unconstitutional drew mixed reactions in Brooklyn as it did throughout the nation yesterday. In a sweeping 8 to 1 decision, the court ruled that such religious exercises violated the first amendment which prohibits governmental ‘establishment of religion,’ stating that the state must maintain strict ‘neutrality’ between man and the worship of God. Brooklyn and other New York City schools — never having adopted the New York State Regents prayer which was struck down by the Supreme Court last June — will be affected only to the extent that bible reading, required under Board of Education bylaws at the opening of regular weekly school assemblies, will be dropped.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, an Eagle editorial said, “The resignation of David Ben-Gurion must shock even his enemies — and any politician anyplace in the world must have enemies. But even his most vigorous rivals did not dream, it seems, that the dynamic ‘young’ 76-year-old premier would quit. David Ben-Gurion’s name is synonymous with that of Israel. He was its first, and until now, its only prime minister — in a nation where politics is always in a ferment, and every citizen is a politician. We regret whatever personal reasons motivated Mr. Ben-Gurion’s decision. Israel, and the Free World, owe him much. He will be missed.”

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Alana de la Garza
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include businessman and politician Brooks Firestone, who was born in 1939; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Paul McCartney, who was born in 1942; “Taxi” star Carol Kane, who was born in 1952; “Blue Velvet” star Isabella Rossellini, who was born in 1952; “Dream On” star Brian Benben, who was born in 1956; Boyz II Men founder Nathan Morris, who was born in 1971; Olympic gold medalist and former New York Ranger Martin St. Louis, who was born in 1975; “Law and Order” star Alana de la Garza, who was born in 1976; country music superstar Blake Shelton, who was born in 1976; eight-time Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates, who was born in 1980; and former N.Y. Rangers center Derek Stepan, who was born in 1990.

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THE HEAT OF BATTLE: Red Adair was born on this day in 1915. The Houston native began fighting oil well fires after serving in an Army bomb disposal unit during World War II. He founded Red Adair Co. in 1959 and during his career battled more than 2,000 land and offshore oil fires. In his 70s, he took part in extinguishing oil fires in Kuwait that were set by retreating Iraqi troops during the 1991 Gulf War. He died in 2004.

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SPACE FOR EVERYONE: The first American woman went into space on this day in 1983. Dr. Sally Ride, a 32-year-old physicist and pilot, functioned as a mission specialist on a six-day mission aboard the space shuttle Challenger. The near-perfect mission was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Ride was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007. She died in 2012.

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

Quotable:

“I’ve done made a deal with the devil. He said he’s going to give me an air-conditioned placed when I get down there, if I go there, so I won’t put all the fires out.”
— firefighter Red Adair, who was born on this day in 1915