April 12: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1914, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Easter Sunday this year has a double significance. Aside from the religious aspect of the day, it virtually marks the forty-ninth anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. … The exact anniversary of what was one of the most tragic events in the history of the country will occur next Tuesday. And now, after forty-nine years, comes forward a brave spirit to announce that the ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ of Booth is nothing but an historical fiction. ‘John Wilkes Booth never shouted ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ or anything else after he shot Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theater on the night of Friday, April 14, 1865. These picturesque words were the invention of an imaginative newspaper man.’ The smashing of traditions isn’t the regular business of William J. Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson, who is an actor, and who lives at 181 Midwood street, Brooklyn at the present time, was call boy in Ford’s Theater on the night of the murder, and was standing in the wings opposite the president’s box, rehearsing a scene with Laura Keene just as the shot was fired. Acting is a serious business, and Mr. Ferguson, as an actor and a member of a profession which is steeped in tradition, has great respect for the past, but he says he simply can’t stand hearing the ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ story every time the anniversary of the shooting comes around.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Jackie Robinson’s big league unveiling at Ebbets Field yesterday was all but lost in a deluge of hits and errors. The Dodgers evened their spring exhibition series with the Yankees 14 to 6 by staging their biggest inning of the year … good for 11 runs. The Bronx Bombers were very shaky afield, kicking in with five misplays. The Black Meteor didn’t get a hit among the 16 the Dodgers hammered to all sectors of the park. He did bat in three runs and got hold of a couple of balls — one of them a harmless foul deep into the left-field wing of the grandstand — and laid down a pretty sacrifice. Wearing No. 42, he was at first base for the entire game, and the Dodgers evidently haven’t given up on him as a first-base prospect. He didn’t make any mistakes around the bag, either mechanical or mental, but only had one ground ball to handle. It was after the game that the crowd outside the park put on an amazing demonstration. Jackie was mobbed by youthful autograph hunters. Hundreds of kids surrounded him and he literally had to fight his way through the press of admirers. Joe Louis never received such a reception.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.