Brooklyn Boro

August 25: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 25, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1931, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Health Commissioner [Shirley] Wynne and school authorities will decide next week if the opening of schools Sept. 14 will be delayed a week or more. Dr. Wynne said: ‘The opening date is three weeks away and the number of cases [of polio] being reported is declining, but we are not in a position to say anything definitely. It will depend entirely upon whether the decline in the prevalence of the disease is enough in that length of time to ensure a degree of safety in opening the schools.’ Regardless of whether the schools are opened on time, Dr. Campbell, acting superintendent of schools, said pupils who do not come regularly the first few weeks will not be penalized, although their absence will be checked through the regular channels. Additional physicians will be added to Dr. Wynne’s staff so that he will be able to place one in every school building at the opening.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “Still shuddering from her terrifying first-hand experience with wholesale slaughter and destruction, Mrs. Ray Murphy stepped from a plane at Newark Airport today, the first American refugee to reach here from war-torn Shanghai. Mrs. Murphy, socially prominent wife of Dr. James B. Murphy, Rockefeller Institute cancer specialist, gave an account of the devastation which spread through the International Settlement following the first major bombing Aug. 14. She made her escape in a perilous trip down the Whangpoo River the following day. ‘It was dreadful,’ she explained breathlessly. ‘The streets were littered with the dead and injured. I will never forget what I saw there.’ She was at the Cathay Hotel when the Chinese planes started dropping their bombs. One exploded within a block of the hotel. After escaping from the war-shattered city, she flew to the West Coast on the China Clipper and then came East on a transcontinental transport plane. Mrs. Murphy, who lives at 603 Park Ave., Manhattan, was in Peiping when the conflict broke out. She managed to get to Shanghai by train. ‘Peiping, I found out later, was just a tea party compared to Shanghai,’ she said.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “All Brooklyn Democratic and Republican designees, rolling up wide victory margins in nine primary contests, today completely routed their insurgent rivals, including two congressional aspirants backed by the left wing American Labor party. Despite desperate ‘write-in’ attempts and hectic last-minute campaigning, the rebels failed to dent the regular party ranks, leaving the borough leaderships of the two major political parties undisputedly in strong control of their forces. Failure of the two American Labor party candidates to make stronger showings in their bids for major party nominations was a disappointment to Brooklyn supporters of Henry Wallace’s Progressive party. A.L.P.-endorsed candidates also lost out in Assembly primary fights in Nassau County and Manhattan. Particularly significant were the balloting triumphs for renomination scored by three of the nine Democratic representatives who handed stinging defeats to strong insurgent opposition.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “Manhattan Borough President Robert F. Wagner today branded Mayor [Vincent] Impellitteri’s action in lifting the ban on driver-controlled radios in taxicabs as a ‘cynical bid for support in the Democratic primary.’ Wagner, who is opposing the mayor in the primary, accused the mayor of entering ‘secret conclaves and loftily brushing aside the objections and counsel of the Police Department on a matter directly involving public safety.’ The mayor lifted the four-year-old ban over objections of the Police Department Hack Bureau and it went into effect immediately. Until today, the cab passenger held the one last privilege of controlling the radio. Opponents of the change charged the mayor had acted in a clandestine fashion to bring it about. The decision was made in Impellitteri’s office last Wednesday at a conference attended by representatives of the United Taxicab Owners Guild, headed by Salvatore Baron. Baron told reporters that the police objections didn’t hold water with the mayor and added that the Guild had told Impellitteri ‘we would plug for him for re-election.’”

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Blake Lively
Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
Rachel Bilson
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Saturday Night Fever” director John Badham, who was born in 1939; Baseball Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who was born in 1946; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Gene Simmons (Kiss), who was born in 1949; Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, who was born in 1951; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Elvis Costello, who was born in 1954; “Beetlejuice” director Tim Burton, who was born in 1958; “L.A. Law” star Blair Underwood, who was born in 1964; TV personality Rachael Ray, who was born in 1968; seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry, who was born in 1970; model and fashion designer Claudia Schiffer, who was born in 1970; “Game Shakers” star Kel Mitchell, who was born in 1978; “The O.C.” star Rachel Bilson, who was born in 1981; and “Gossip Girl” star Blake Lively, who was born in 1987.

Gene Simmons
Rich Fury/Invision/AP

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AMERICAN BEAUTY: The National Park Service was founded on this day in 1916. The Organic Act, which established the service within the Dept. of the Interior, stated that its purpose was to “promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments, and reservations … to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein.”

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THE CURTAIN GOES UP: “The Wizard of Oz” was released on this day in 1939. Directed by Victor Fleming, the musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s children’s book was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning for Best Original Music Score and Best Song, “Over the Rainbow.”

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

 

Quotable:

“Love may not make the world go ’round, but I must admit that it makes the ride worthwhile.”

— Oscar-winning actor Sean Connery, who was born on this day in 1930

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