Brooklyn Boro

May 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

May 27, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History
Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1846, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “The war excitement which swallows up everything else makes dull times, notwithstanding, during the intervals. … In common with the rest of our citizens, we look with great eagerness for every successive mail from New Orleans and Washington. The anxiety now is that the brilliancy of the achievements of our general and his troops on the Frontier may not be clouded by any reverse. For our part, we do not anticipate any. It is hardly the nature of such men as now compose the American army to fail. There’s no such word in their lexicon!”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1847, the Eagle reported, “Elijah Burbank, aged eighty-five years — a respected resident of this city — died last evening at the residence of his son, Col. Burbank, 113 Willow Street. He served under the age of sixteen in the war of the revolution in a company commanded by his father in Rhode Island.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1894, the Eagle reported, “Memorial services will be held this afternoon in the Gravesend cemetery by Thatford circle, women of the G.A.R., of this city, assisted by the comrades of Thatford post No. 3, G.A.R., department of New York. … In this cemetery are buried the heroes of 1776, 1812 and 1861-65. The residents have been most interested in the memorial exercises and hope to erect a monument in the near future to those who fought for the Union.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1898, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — The administration is waiting to receive from Commodore Schley an absolute statement that Admiral Cervera and his fleet are surely locked up in the harbor of Santiago. There still remains in the minds of leading authorities a lingering doubt that the enemy is within the harbor of Santiago and until the true facts are established beyond the shadow of a doubt there will be no military operations, either against Porto Rico or Cuba.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Eagle reported, “For the benefit of the American Red Cross and the National League for Women’s Service, a patriotic rally was held last night in the Lewisohn Stadium of the College of the City of New York before 8,000 persons. Charles E. Hughes was the principal speaker. He said: ‘In a few days the time of registration will come. Let no young man think it is a dishonorable thing to serve his country.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “The guns of Fort Hamilton will boom a welcome for all returning generals that defeated Germany, Maj. Gen. Homer M. Groninger, commander of the New York Port of Embarkation, announced yesterday. In addition, General Groninger said, homecoming troops will be greeted by blasts from whistles from all harbor installations.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “TOKYO (U.P.) — Organized Red resistance virtually collapsed along the Korean battlefront yesterday as the Allies swept at will across the border and up to six miles inside North Korea. American and South Korean troops in division strength moved the main Allied line well beyond the Parallel on a 20-mile front below Hwachon and Kumhwa in west central Korea.”

***

ON MAY 28, 1922, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, MAY 27 — ‘In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.’ Under this inscription will gather on Memorial Day the statesmen and representatives of the people of the United States to pay one more measure of homage to the spirit of Lincoln. On that day the great Lincoln Memorial will be formally dedicated in this city. A little prayer, a few solemn words, the flutter of flags, strains of patriotic music — and this structure will be changed from a thing of marble and paint, the work of man’s hands, into a national sanctuary where the men of all nations may come.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1911, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Dreamland, the famous tower-crowned feature of Coney Island, has probably been permanently lost to the summer resort as a result of the fire which broke out at 1:44 o’clock this morning, laid waste a number of amusement places covering an area of five blocks, contributed one of the most spectacular conflagrations in the history of the island and caused a total damage estimated between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000. Of Dreamland itself there is nothing left and, according to the director of the By-The-Sea Company which owned it, it’s chances of being rebuilt are very slim. The commanding tower, which was most conspicuous of a night when it raised its light-emblazoned height above all surrounding structures, was among the first to fall; and between Surf avenue and the sea, from West Fifth to West Tenth street, all that remained this morning was a blackened, smoke-shrouded area over which drifted smoke and dust. The various concessions within the enclosure known as Dreamland were destroyed with the rest.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “SAN FRANCISCO (A.P.) — A hundred thousand persons started out today to walk across the Golden Gate as San Francisco’s new $35,000,000 bridge, the world’s largest suspension span, was turned over to the public after nearly five years of work. Their pathway lay across 4,200 feet of shining concrete and red steel which swings high over the tides of a world-famous waterway, joining San Francisco to Marin County. The occasion was ‘Pedestrian Day.’ Tomorrow the bridge will be opened to automobile traffic. An anti-Nazi boycott threat by the Maritime Federation of the Pacific hung over San Francisco’s week-long fiesta and the city’s largest hotels still were tied up by a strike that was in its 27th day. Neither appeared to affect the gayety of thousands of visitors.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, “An unusually large number of folks will flock to Brooklyn over the holiday weekend, judging by the heavily increased advanced bookings in the St. George, Bossert, Pierrepont and other Brooklyn hotels. Hotel managers today reported heavy demand on accommodations. Railroads and bus companies anticipated heavy demand on their facilities in view of gas rationing. The Long Island announced it will be prepared ‘to take care of everybody who wants to ride.’ ‘It looks now as if we will be completely sold out,’ said Operations Manager Wilkins of the Greyhound Bus Lines. ‘The real test of the effect of gasoline rationing,’ said another traffic expert, ‘will be to ascertain as nearly as possible how many persons are turned away by the railroad and bus lines after they have sold out all their available seating capacity, which we expect to be the case over this weekend. The number of persons compelled to stay at home by the lack of facilities will provide the real answer. Don’t be surprised if Coney Island, Prospect Park, Central Park and in fact every recreation ground in the city is more closely crowded than ever. The travel problem is further complicated by the large number of service men on official and furlough trips.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “LAKE SUCCESS (U.P.) — The Arab nations are preparing to reduce their conditions for a truce in Palestine and perhaps give up demands for the complete surrender of the new State of Israel, reliable diplomatic sources said today. These sources, usually correct on the tangled Palestine issue, said the roundabout rejection by the Arabs of the Security Council ceasefire appeal indicated a willingness to compromise. Two important facts point to compromise: 1. Some Arab diplomats now admit privately that the Jewish state is a reality. 2. Members of the Arab League are far from agreed on the policy they should follow in the military and political struggle for Palestine. ‘The fighting still goes on,’ said one source, ‘but the door seems to be opening to a retreat from the insistence on wiping out all semblance to a Jewish state.’”

***

Louis Gossett Jr.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Peri Gilpin
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who was born in 1923; Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., who was born in Brooklyn in 1936; “Hill Street Blues” star Bruce Weitz, who was born in 1943; “The West Wing” star Richard Schiff, who was born in 1955; journalist Cynthia McFadden, who was born in 1956; Siouxsie and the Banshees founder Siouxsie Sioux, who was born in 1957; Crowded House founder Neil Finn, who was born in 1958; “Frasier” star Peri Gilpin, who was born in 1961; talk show host Adam Carolla, who was born in 1964; Baseball Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell, who was born in 1968; Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who was born in 1968; “Shakespeare in Love” star Joseph Fiennes, who was born in 1970; “Glee” star Chris Colfer, who was born in 1990; and “A Faithful Man” star Lily-Rose Depp, who was born in 1999.

Joseph Fiennes
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

***

SOUND FORTH THE TRUMPET: Julia Ward Howe was born in New York City on this day in 1819. The author, feminist, social activist and orator is best known for the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which she composed in 1862 after visiting military camps during the Civil War. She was also a leading figure in the abolition and women’s suffrage movements. She died in 1910.

***

SEMPER FORTIS: The USS John F. Kennedy was launched on this day in 1967 by the slain president’s widow Jacqueline and daughter Caroline two days before what would have been his 50th birthday. Kennedy earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal during World War II.

***

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

 

Quotable:

“The strokes of the pen need deliberation as much as the sword needs swiftness.”

— author and activist Julia Ward Howe, who was born on this day in 1819

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment