March 21: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 21, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — President Wilson has met the war situation which now exists between the United States and Germany by calling Congress to meet on Monday, April 2, two weeks in advance of the date already fixed for the extra session. The proclamation was issued today. The early announcement at the White House simply said that the president was calling Congress to deal with ‘grave questions of national policy.’ When Congress meets, twelve days hence, there is no doubt that it will proceed to the formal declaration that a state of war exists. It may declare that such a state of war has existed prior to that day, perhaps from the date of the sinking of three American ships by German submarines on March 16. Circumstances will determine whether the president will flatly call upon Congress for a declaration of war or whether he will simply submit the facts, without recommendation. In either event, a formal declaration cannot long be delayed.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “ATLANTIC CITY (U.P.) — F.H. LaGuardia, former mayor of New York, was reported unofficially today as willing to accept the director generalship of the United States Relief and Rehabilitation Administration if the position is offered him unanimously by the member nations. Mr. LaGuardia was only one of several candidates being considered by the American delegation; however, so far as could be determined, he is the only candidate being talked up to the central nominating committee. No opposition to Mr. LaGuardia has been heard from Russia, China, Britain or France, and these are the members of the central committee who must agree to a candidate before he is submitted to the full Council of Nations. The salary for the position is $15,000 a year, although the present director general, Herbert Lehman, has never accepted it. Members of the American delegation feel Mr. LaGuardia would be well qualified to administer the UNRRA, the activities of which terminate in Europe at the end of this year and end in Asia after the first quarter of 1947.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — President Truman plugged for prompt Senate ratification of the Atlantic Treaty today as his aides speeded completion of an arms-for-Europe program. Mr. Truman, in a letter to Sen. Arthur V. Watkins (R., Utah), hailed the treaty as a step toward permanent peace. Watkins promised to read the letter in the Senate today. The president plans to send the treaty to the Senate for ratification as soon as it is signed here next month. A United Press poll showed top-heavy support for the pact. Of the senators willing to comment, 52 said they would vote for ratification while only two said they would oppose it. Spurred by Soviet tough talk abroad and congressional needling at home, diplomatic aides said that portions of the plan to help rearm the Atlantic powers will be submitted to Mr. Truman for final approval and be made public within 10 days.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA (UPI) — President Kennedy predicted yesterday that in attempting to export communism into the Americas the Soviet Union will go the way of England’s George III and the Spanish conquerors of Latin America. Addressing students at the University of Costa Rica, the president stressed that the United States and Latin American countries share a common heritage of independence. ‘Too much blood has been shed over too many years to preserve our independence from foreign rule,’ he said. ‘And we can never be secure in our hemisphere until the Soviet Union goes the way of George III, the Spanish conquerors, Maximillian and William Walker. And indeed it must and will.’ Walker was an American soldier of fortune who proclaimed himself president of Nicaragua early in this century. Kennedy addressed the students in the windup of his three-day visit to Costa Rica after he met during the day with the presidents of the six Central American nations. A helicopter took him directly to El Coco airport for the return to Washington.”

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Matthew Broderick
Andy Kropa/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Pro Football Hall of Famer Tom Flores, who was born in 1937; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rose Stone (Sly and the Family Stone), who was born in 1945; “License to Kill” star Timothy Dalton, who was born in 1946; Supertramp co-founder Roger Hodgson, who was born in 1950; The Stylistics singer Russell Thompkins Jr., who was born in 1951; former “Saturday Night Live” star Brad Hall, who was born in 1958; Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman, who was born in 1958; Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, who was born in Brooklyn in 1961; “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” star Matthew Broderick, who was born in 1962; TV personality Rosie O’Donnell, who was born in 1962; former N.Y. Mets shortstop Shawon Dunston, who was born in Brooklyn in 1963; writer and political commentator Jonah Goldberg, who was born in 1969; former MTV veejay Ananda Lewis, who was born in 1973; rapper and record producer Large Professor, who was born in 1972; former N.Y Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, who was born in 1985; and “Henry Danger” star Jace Norman, who was born in 2000.

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FOUNDER’S DAY: Francis Lewis was born in Wales on this day in 1713. Lewis represented New York in the Continental Congress and was one of the oldest signers of the Declaration of Independence. He died in 1802. Francis Lewis Boulevard, which stretches across much of Queens, is named for him, as are two schools, a park and a Masonic lodge.

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THE SKY’S THE LIMIT: The first round-the-world balloon flight ended on this day in 1999 when Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and British copilot Brian Jones landed in the Egyptian desert having flown 29,056 miles nonstop. The trip took 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes. Piccard is the grandson of Auguste Piccard, who was the first to ascend into the stratosphere in a balloon.

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

Quotable:

“I just want the money and the fame and the adoration, and I don’t want any of the other stuff.”

— actor Matthew Broderick, who was born on this day in 1962