September 23: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 23, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1913, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “ALBANY — Late this afternoon a vote will be taken by the Court of Impeachment which will end the [William] Sulzer defense, so far as technical attack on the articles of impeachment and their constitutionality is concerned. The question upon which the court will vote is whether or not allegations made concerning acts committed before he was governor can lie against him in an impeachment proceeding to remove him. This is the last stand of the Sulzer lawyers, so far as the preliminary motions are concerned. It is expected that a vote will be taken on this question about 5 o’clock. The statement from the Sulzer attorneys today that Governor Sulzer had practically abdicated his office and would perform none of the executive functions from now on until the close of the trial was the first feature today of the court proceedings.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Eagle reported, “Unanimous approval of the projected World’s Fair in Queens during 1939 and 1940 was given today at a special meeting of the Board of Estimate. Announcement of the gigantic exposition which is to be the greatest fair in history, to be staged on the 1,003-acre tract in Flushing Meadows extending from Kew Gardens to Flushing Bay, was made yesterday. In its resolution of approval there were three reservations by members of the Board of Estimate: Borough President James J. Lyons of the Bronx declined to commit himself by vote on the proposed site in Queens, and offered Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx as an alternative. Borough President Samuel Levy of Manhattan declined to commit himself on any site until he had made an individual study of the situation. Acting Controller Thomas P. Smith Jr. cast his vote of approval with the reservation that he would not commit the city in any way to any expenditures in connection with the proposal. Otherwise the World’s Fair idea swept through the meeting without a hitch.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Eagle reported, “Through approval of a PWA grant for partial financing of the Circumferential Parkway, Brooklyn has reached the half-way mark in its long sought program for a shoreline arterial belt reaching directly into lower Manhattan and Queens and has obtained a toe-hold on the rest, it became apparent today. Announcement that the PWA will advance $12,000,000 for construction of the $28,000,000 belt around Brooklyn and Queens was considered an outstanding civic victory in itself, and a clear indication that its integral link, the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel, although sidetracked for the time being, was next in line. In an effort to skirt the time limit barrier, the outstanding objection of PWA officials to the tube plan, Park Commissioner Robert Moses and Rexford G. Tugwell, chairman of the City Planning Commission, had lumped the tunnel and parkway projects together at the last minute and presented them as one, it was learned. This was done because the city’s spokesmen realized that boring of the tunnel proper could not be completed by July 1, 1940 to come under the prescribed deadline.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “UNITED NATIONS HALL, FLUSHING (U.P.) — U.N. Secretary General Trygve Lie warned the great powers today that continuation of their disunity and suspicion of each other will wreck the United Nations and lead to war. In a solemn address closing general debate at the U.N. Assembly, Lie appealed to the great powers — especially the United States and the Soviet Union — to abandon their diplomatic war and ‘show a willingness to compromise.’ ‘Without such a will, without cooperation and agreement, let me emphasize that no mechanism for the maintenance of international peace and security, however perfect, can be effective,’ he said. Russia countered Lie’s address by accusing the United States of willfully seeking to break its postwar international agreements.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “All of You” singer Julio Iglesias, who was born in 1943; “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” star Mary Kay Place, who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neal Smith (Alice Cooper), who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen, who was born in 1949; “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” star Rosalind Chao, who was born in 1957; former NFL coach Marvin Lewis, who was born in 1958; “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander, who was born in 1959; “Boston Public” star Chi McBride, who was born in 1961; former N.Y. Mets pitcher Pete Harnisch, who was born in 1966; singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, who was born in 1970; “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” star Anthony Mackie, who was born in 1978; and former N.Y. Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain, who was born in 1985.

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EIGHTH ROCK FROM THE SUN: Neptune was discovered by German astronomer Johann Galle on this day in 1846. The planet is 2.796 billion miles from the sun and takes 164.8 years to revolve around it. Its diameter is about 31,000 miles, four times the size of Earth.

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SPACE FOR LIVING: “The Jetsons” premiered on ABC on this day in 1962. The cartoon sitcom followed the exploits of George Jetson and his family, who lived in the space age of the mid-21st century. Although it was canceled after one season, its popularity in syndication led to a brief revival in 1985.

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

Quotable:

“If you listen, you’ll learn. If you talk over each other, you don’t accomplish anything.”

— Oscar-winning actor Mickey Rooney, who was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1920