November 9: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 9, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1911, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “It is interesting to understand that the street cleaners employed by the City of New York have formed themselves into a labor union, affiliated that union with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and gone on strike against night work in the removal of ashes and garbage. There are said to be 2,500 of them idle. It is a general satisfaction that Mayor [William] Gaynor has fully sustained Commissioner Edwards, that the places of the strikers will be filled without difficulty, if they do not return, and that they will be barred from future employment. In this the mayor has adopted the same wise policy that put a quick end to expected and partially developed labor troubles on the city’s ferries.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (British Wireless Service) — A German wireless message received in London this afternoon states — ‘The German Imperial Chancellor, Prince Max of Eden, has issued the following decree: ‘The Kaiser and King has decided to renounce the throne. The Imperial Chancellor will remain in office until the questions connected with the abdication of the Kaiser, the renouncing by the Crown Prince of the throne of the German Empire and of Prussia and the setting up of a regency have been settled.” The Eagle also reported, “PARIS — It is probable that the German reply to the Allied terms for an armistice will be brought back by the same courier that took them to German headquarters at Spa yesterday. Under the circumstances, it is believed the reply cannot be delivered before the middle of this afternoon at the very earliest. The German government, however, may use the wireless, in which case the plenipotentiaries at Marshal Foch’s headquarters will have only to ratify the decision thus conveyed to them.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1921, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — Her progress up the Potomac River marked by periodic rendition of the salute usually accorded the Chief Executive (21 guns), the cruiser Olympic brought to his homeland today the Unknown Soldier — representative of thousands of American soldiers dead overseas. The program designed to express the nation’s honor for its war dead began when the Olympic turned this morning into the wide reaches of the Potomac. The battleship North Dakota, lying at anchor off the Piney Point entrance to the river, dipped her ensign in salutation as her guns tolled welcome. As the cruiser proceeded toward her berth at the Washington Navy Yard, Fort Washington and Washington Barracks signaled her passage, each with the presidential salute of 21 guns. The Olympic was scheduled to dock about 4 o’clock this afternoon. The casket bearing the remains of the man who fell, unknown but undaunted, will be given at the dock to the hero escort which will accompany it to Arlington Friday … The historic catafalque on which the body of the Unknown Soldier will lie in state was installed today in the Capitol.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Eagle reported, “Beginning next March 1, Chicago will go on Eastern standard time. The ordinance authorizing the change was adopted by the City Council by a vote of 44 to 3, after a public debate, which revealed wide differences of opinion with the opposition centered in the early rising group. The effect of this change will be to give Chicago daylight saving all the year round instead of in summer only. City dwellers and country folk have always split on the daylight saving issue, and the enthusiasm of the former has increased with the years. Frequently, regret is heard expressed here that it does not begin earlier and, especially, continue later. It is only a step to an argument in favor of all-year-round daylight saving, although it is difficult to see the advantage of it for the three shortest months of the year, unless it were to avoid the confusion of changing time twice a year. It is significant that its foremost advocates included physicians, recreational leaders and educators. The experiment will be watched with deep interest by New Yorkers. There will be the constant conflict with the railroad and shipping schedules to be adjusted. Though annoying, this has been endured every summer in New York during our daylight saving. There will also be the confusion incident to the difference in time with the surrounding area, both urban and rural. These problems, however, seem no more insuperable than did all the objections raised to daylight saving when it was first suggested back in the war days.”

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Vanessa Lachey
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Baseball Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog, who was born in 1931; “CSI” star Robert David Hall, who was born in 1947; Oscar-winning director Bille August, who was born in 1948; Blue Oyster Cult bassist Joe Bouchard, who was born in 1948; “The Incredible Hulk” star Lou Ferrigno, who was born in Brooklyn in 1951; L7 drummer Demetra Plakas, who was born in 1960; “Star Trek: Voyager” star Robert Duncan McNeill, who was born in 1964; rapper and actress Pepa, who was born in 1964; U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Bill Guerin, who was born in 1970; “Grey’s Anatomy” star Eric Dane, who was born in 1972; actor and singer Nick Lachey, who was born in 1973; TV personality Vanessa Lachey, who was born in 1980; “Huge” star Nikki Blonsky, who was born in 1988; and “Crazy, Stupid, Love” star Analeigh Tipton, who was born in 1988.

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KING OF THE HILL: Bob Gibson was born on this day in 1935. The Omaha native broke into the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959 and was one of the most dominant pitchers of the 1960s and early 1970s, winning 20 or more games five times. In 1968, he had a 1.12 ERA, the lowest in major league history. He was also the MVP of the 1964 and 1967 World Series. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981 and to the MLB All-Century Team in 1999. He died on Oct. 2, 2020.

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LIGHTS OUT: A massive northeast blackout occurred on this day in 1965. The electric power failure began in western New York at 5:16 p.m., cutting power to much of the northeastern U.S. as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada. More than 30 million people in an area of 80,000 square miles were affected. The experience provoked studies of the vulnerability of 20th-century technology.

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

Quotable:

“Why do I have to be an example for your kid? You be an example for your kid.”

— Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, who was born on this day in 1935