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October 28: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 28, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “President Harry S. Truman told the nation in an historic Navy Day address yesterday that the United States, while retaining possession of the atomic bomb as ‘a sacred trust,’ intends to maintain its armed might to preserve world peace as the only sure method of making this country’s own freedom secure … Facing an audience estimated at more than 1,000,000 persons in Central Park and speaking over combined nation-wide radio networks, the president outlined a 12-point foreign policy, in his administration’s behalf, which highlighted the declarations that the United States, seeking no territorial expansion or selfish advantage for itself, will ‘refuse’ to recognize any government imposed upon any nation by the force of any foreign power.’ ‘We believe,’ he declared in ringing tones, ‘that all peoples who are prepared for self-government should be permitted to choose their own form of government by their own freely expressed choice, without interference from any foreign power.’ While the president’s remarks were construed by many among his listeners as a broad suggestion to Soviet Russia to alter its policy in setting up puppet regimes among her European neighbors, Mr. Truman went on: ‘That is true in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, as well as in the Western Hemisphere.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — House investigators of Communism in Hollywood today charged a second witness with contempt of Congress and heard another testify that Reds tried to capture all movie unions. Film writer Dalton Trumbo, alleged to be a Communist, was charged with contempt of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Trumbo, defiant on the advice of counsel, refused to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to questions as to whether he was a Communist. Another writer, John Howard Larson, was charged with contempt for the same reason yesterday. After the shouting Trumbo was removed from the witness stand, committee investigator Louis J. Russell testified that Trumbo was Communist party card holder No. 47187. He had testified yesterday that Lawson held card No. 47275.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “Brooklyn’s pledge to her heroic sons — a solemn promise made while fighting men were dying on the beaches of Normandy and Saipan — will be fulfilled Thursday with the dedication of the Brooklyn War Memorial. Conceived as a permanent testimonial of a gratitude that could never be fully expressed, the imposing memorial stands as a functional monument in S. Parkes Cadman Plaza park, which will be dedicated at the same time. Within the walls of the limestone memorial are inscribed in gilded letters the names of the more than 7,000 Brooklyn soldiers, sailors, marines and coast guardsmen who gave their lives during World War II. The War Memorial is an integral part of the Brooklyn Civic Center. First to be completed, and the only one built by public subscription, the building stands at the northern end of the plaza.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “STOCKHOLM (U.P.) — Ernest Hemingway today won the 1954 Nobel prize for literature for his book ‘The Old Man and the Sea,’ which he said he wrote ‘because I was broke.’ The writer of he-man tales, whose savage stories of bulls, bitterness and bravery repeatedly had been bypassed by the Nobel committee, got the award for his gentle story of a noble old man and a fish. Informed at his Havana ranch home that he had received literature’s greatest honor, the noted American novelist said, ‘I am very pleased and proud.’ But he said he will be unable to travel to Stockholm to receive the coveted award from the hands of Sweden’s King Gustav Adolf because of injuries received in two African plane crashes earlier this year. It was to raise money for that African adventure, Hemingway said, that he wrote ‘The Old Man and the Sea.’ He said he wrote and rewrote the manuscript until he was ‘exhausted.’ And he explained to his Havana press conference that he tested his writings on his wife, Mary, to see if they are good. ‘If she gets goose pimples,’ he said, ‘I know they are good.’”

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Julia Roberts
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Lenny Wilkens
Mark Duncan/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Basketball Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who was born in Brooklyn in 1937; “Soap” creator Susan Harris, who was born in 1940; “NYPD Blue” star Dennis Franz, who was born in 1944; “Family Matters” star Telma Hopkins, who was born in 1948; Songwriters Hall of Famer Desmond Child, who was born in 1953; Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who was born in 1955; “The Talk” co-host Sheryl Underwood, who was born in 1963; “Still Standing” star Jami Gertz, who was born in 1965; Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Atwater, who was born in 1966;  blogger and activist Matt Drudge, who was born in 1966; Oscar-winner Julia Roberts, who was born in 1967; and Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix, who was born in 1974.

Dennis Franz
Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

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LITERARY LANDMARK: “Gulliver’s Travels” was published on this day in 1726. Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece, set in such exotic locales as “Lilliput,” “Brobdingnag” and “Laputa,” was a satirical look at current events and human nature. The adventures of Lemuel Gulliver have been adapted numerous times for radio, television and film.

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MEDICAL MARVEL: Dr. Jonas Salk was born in New York City on this day in 1914. The Salk vaccine, which was introduced in 1955, was instrumental in the fight against the scourge of polio, one of the most feared diseases of the 20th century. Salk received the Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter in 1977. He died in 1995.

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

 

Quotable:

“I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.”

— medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk, who was born on this day in 1914

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