March 2: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 2, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “ALBANY, MARCH 1 — After two months of rambling activity and adherence to a policy of watchful waiting, New York State’s defense-minded Legislature arrived tonight at the traditional turning point of the annual session here. Marking the transition, which puts an end to preliminaries and places the Legislature on the road toward final adjournment, was a clear-cut strengthening of beliefs, held on both sides of the party fence, that because of war clouds spreading abroad, partisan politics would become increasingly taboo. Unless predictions of the party leaders are suddenly upset, the session is apparently destined to go down as one characterized by the lowest ebb witnessed in purely political hostilities in years. The evident fact, according to the leaders, is that the future has become an unpredictable one, and happenings abroad and at Washington are echoed in the corridors of the Capitol atop the famous hill here. The disposition has been toward cooperation, regardless of politics.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — The Soviet Union put Secretary of State James F. Byrnes on the spot today by refusing to make good on a promise to withdraw its forces from Iran. Moscow’s announcement that some parts of Iran (Persia) would continue to be occupied came less than 24 hours after Secretary Byrnes’ speech announcing a no-appeasement policy toward the Soviet Union. He said, specifically, that there was no right by which troops could be held in territories of other sovereign states without the free consent of the latter. If Moscow persists in the occupation of Iranian provinces, Mr. Byrnes will be under strong pressure to protest and make it stick if possible. The alternative which would get him off the spot would be agreement by the Iranian government to continued occupation. The administration already is alarmed by the vigor with which its critics are demanding a stronger hand in dealing with Moscow.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “HELSINKI (U.P.) — The Social Democratic and Agrarian parties indicated today that their parliamentary delegations favored negotiating with Russia — a twin decision which with the already declared Communist stand apparently gave the Soviet proposal a majority in parliament. President Juho K. Paasikivi this afternoon summoned Vice Speaker of the Diet Urno Kekkonen to the palace and urged him to induce political parties to speed up their decisions. The chairmen of the Social Democratic and Agrarian groups made it clear at a press conference that they expected to support the Soviet request for negotiating a pact. The expressions by the chairman did not, however, represent formal party action, which must be taken as soon as possible. Each party has 48 seats in the 200-seat parliament, while the Communist-dominated Democratic union has 50 seats. Enni Peltonen, Social Democratic chairman, and Juho Koivisto, Agrarian chairman, said they thought it would be extremely difficult to refuse the Russian proposal, and they were unable to find any reason to say no to it. Hertta Kuusinen, chairman of the Communist group, told the press that her party already had acted and gone on record officially in favor of the proposal.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Truman told a news conference today that he would never go to Moscow while president of the United States. Mr. Truman’s apparently all-inclusive statement about not going to Moscow followed news conference inquiries about a proposal yesterday by Senator Brien McMahon (D., Conn.). McMahon proposed that the Atlantic Council lay out the strategy for atomic peace, and that the U.N. Assembly then meet in Moscow to consider a new peace program. Mr. Truman declined to comment on the feasibility of the McMahon proposal, but said he would cooperate wholeheartedly with anything that would contribute to the peace of the world. Asked if he would be willing to go to Moscow to talk with the Russians, the president said he would not go to Moscow at all. But he added, as he has said many times, that the door is always open here at any time for discussions on any subject.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Northern Exposure” star John Cullum, who was born in 1930; “The World According to Garp” author John Irving, who was born in 1942; “Ghost Story” author Peter Straub, who was born in 1943; original “Saturday Night Live” star Laraine Newman, who was born in 1952; Missing Persons singer Dale Bozzio, who was born in 1955; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi, who was born in 1962; former Atlanta Braves outfielder Ron Gant, who was born in 1965; rapper and actor Method Man, who was born in 1971; “Pitch Perfect” star Rebel Wilson, who was born in 1980; “Jurassic World” star Bryce Dallas Howard, who was born in 1981; former N.Y. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who was born in 1982; and singer-songwriter Becky G, who was born in 1997.

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TAKE ME OUT TO THE SPY GAME: Moe Berg was born on this day in 1902. The New York native, who graduated from Princeton University and Columbia Law School, spent 15 seasons as a catcher in the major leagues, making his debut with the Brooklyn Robins in 1923. During World War II, he worked as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services, a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. He died in 1972.

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A TALL ORDER: Wilt Chamberlain hit triple digits on this day in 1962. The Philadelphia Warriors center scored 100 points in a 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pa. It was and still is the single-game scoring record. The second highest-total is 81, recorded by the late Kobe Bryant in 2006.

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STILL SOUNDS GOOD: “The Sound of Music” premiered on this day in 1965. The perennially popular family film musical, starring Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp, was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise).

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

Quotable:

“The problem with fiction, it has to be plausible. That’s not true with non-fiction.”

— author Tom Wolfe, who was born on this day in 1930