January 11: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 11, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1851, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “FROM VENEZUELA — The brig Haywood, from Curacao 17th ultimo, reports that great excitement exists in Venezuela relative to the presidential election. President [Jose Tadeo] Monagas has called congress to meet on the 20th, and it is feared by many that if his brother is not elected by them, the scenes of violence of former years will be re-enacted.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1903, the Eagle reported, “Three hundred gambling houses are in full blast in Greater New York at the present time. While no exact statistics on the subject can be obtained, for obvious reasons, it is a conservative estimate to say that there are three thousand professional gamblers in the city, that those whose living depends upon work in or for gambling houses, such as cooks, doorkeepers and lookouts, number another 3,000; that their patrons are in the neighborhood of 15,000 daily and that the amount of money lost each year by the players and won by the gamblers amounts roughly speaking to $14,000,000. … It may be asked how the District Attorney, on whose authority the foregoing figures are given, arrived at the estimate of three hundred gambling houses in the greater city. There are no exact statistics on the subject, and even the best informed gamblers could give no figures. The only statistics known to be in existence are those furnished by the police captains to police headquarters. The District Attorney says: ‘Add 35 percent to these reports and you would still be wrong, but that is the nearest way.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “CHICAGO (U.P.) — Most scientists working on infantile paralysis agree that the answer to the problem of this disease eventually must be an effective vaccine to prevent and control the spread of infection. Such an effective, but harmless, vaccine is the goal of scientists at the Michael Reese Research Foundation here, working for the last two years with March of Dimes money from the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Science has tried many times to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. Some of the early vaccines were dangerous because in some instances they caused infection. Reese research experts have developed a new technique of rendering the virus harmless without taking away its ability to stimulate protection in experimental animals. The germ-killing properties of ultra-violet light are used in this new technique. So far, 90 percent of the white mice treated with this new vaccine and then inoculated with large doses of live virus have been protected against polio, while all unvaccinated mice have died. This new development represents one step — but a mighty big one — in preparing a vaccine for possible human use.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “The Brooklyn Bar Association today had ruled Communists and fellow-travelers out of its ranks. The association, meeting last night in the Supreme Court Building, Joralemon and Fulton Sts., passed by a vote of 103 to 10 the report of the association’s Special Committee on Communist Affiliation, including a new canon of ethics, which declares: ‘No lawyer shall be a member of, or be affiliated with, the Communist party, or knowingly of any organization dominated or controlled by the Communist party, or be a member or be affiliated with any organization that teaches or advocates the propriety or the necessity of the overthrow by force or violence, or by other illegal or unconstitutional means, of the Government of the United States, or the governments of any of the States or territories of the United States.’ ‘It should be distinctly understood,’ Julius Applebaum, president of the association, told the Brooklyn Eagle following the meeting, ‘that this resolution and proposed canon do not in the slightest degree imply any suggestion of thought control or deny the espousal of any political belief, however silly or obnoxious. The canon and the report of the committee also have no bearing whatsoever on the right of any person to counsel or on counsel to defend any person charged with any crime whatsoever.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tony Kaye (Yes), who was born in 1945; singer-songwriter Naomi Judd, who was born in 1946; World Golf Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw, who was born in 1952; Bangles guitarist Vicki Peterson, who was born in 1958; stock car racing driver Brett Bodine, who was born in 1959; former N.Y. Mets coach Manny Acta, who was born in 1969; singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, who was born in 1971; “Brockmire” star Amanda Peet, who was born in 1972; “Prison Break” star Rockmond Dunbar, who was born in 1973; former N.Y. Giants tight end Kevin Boss, who was born in 1984; and N.Y. Jets tight end Ryan Griffin, who was born in 1990.

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IMMIGRANT SONG: Alexander Hamilton was born on this day in 1755. The American founding father, diplomat, soldier and coauthor of The Federalist papers was born in Charlestown, Nevis, British West Indies. President George Washington appointed Hamilton the first secretary of the Treasury in 1789, and in that position he established the basis for all future American fiscal policy. Hamilton was shot by Vice President Aaron Burr in a duel on July 11, 1804 and died the next day.

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A BURNING ISSUE: On this day in 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first government report saying that smoking cigarettes may be hazardous to one’s health.

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

Quotable:

“Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.”

— U.S. founding father Alexander Hamilton, who was born on this day in 1755