June 7: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 7, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1897, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — G. Creighton Webb, son of Dr. Seward Webb of New York, and Erskine Hewitt, son of Abram S. Hewitt of New York, have been appointed additional secretaries to the special embassy appointed to represent the United States at Queen Victoria’s jubilee ceremonies.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Roosevelt said today he is asking Congress for power to trade in guns for sale to the Allies, in a manner similar to that in which the government already is sending 50 Navy reserve planes back to the manufacturer to be sent to France and Great Britain. The president said he already has the authority to trade in airplanes and ammunition for replacement by manufacturers, but lacks the authority to effect such trade-ins for guns. He said he referred specifically to large quantities of French and British 75-millimeter field guns which have been in storage in the Army Ordnance Department since 1919. This type of gun has proved effective the last few weeks against German tank attacks. Mr. Roosevelt at his press conference made no estimate of how many guns might be turned back to manufacturers on a replacement basis, insisting he does not know the numerical details. He said specifically that 50 Navy reserve planes are being turned back to the Curtiss Company to be replaced by modernized fighting machines protected by armor and puncture-proof gasoline tanks. The old planes will go to the Allies.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “The increase of nursery schools will weaken the influence of the home and result in paternalism, where the state is everything and the individual nothing but ‘a cog in the state machinery,’ the Rev. Dr. Reginald McKernan declared yesterday. Pointing out that woman’s main purpose in life is motherhood and denouncing the absorption of many into war plants as ‘an escape from their idea of drudgery in the home or for big wages,’ Dr. McKernan, pastor of St. Ann’s Shrine Church and a professor at St. Francis College, said: ‘Since Dec. 8, 1941, the First Lady has been going up and down this land of ours calling for the establishment of day nurseries, under the specious plea of day care for the children of mothers working in war plants. Day nurseries spell the neglect of the home. They do more than care for the physical needs of the child; they are a substitute for schooling the child as a future ward of the state. The basis of greatness of every country depends upon its homes, and we do not want our fighting men to return, having won the war, to find they have lost the peace if our republican form of government has been exchanged for a totalitarian one.’ Single women, Dr. McKernan said, may join the armed forces, because only work suited to their nature is assigned them, or volunteer for canteen work and the nursing services. However, he declared, married women, under no circumstances, should leave the home unless it is economically necessary. He encouraged them to do Red Cross work in their spare time.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — Queen Elizabeth II today knighted a New Zealand beekeeper who marked her coronation by conquering the world’s highest peak — Mt. Everest. An announcement from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s office said Edmund Hillary, 33, had been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. The announcement also said that Col. John Hunt, who led the British expedition which scaled the 29,002-foot summit for the first time, also had been knighted. Churchill’s office said it also is Her Majesty’s desire to recognize the achievement of ‘Tiger’ Tensing, the 39-year-old Sherpa native guide who climbed to Mt. Everest’s peak with Hillary May 29. But, since Tensing ‘is not a British subject,’ the announcement said, ‘this requires consultation and no immediate announcement can be made.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winning filmmaker James Ivory, who was born in 1928; “It’s Not Unusual” singer Tom Jones, who was born in 1940; “Schindler’s List” star Liam Neeson, who was born in 1952; former Vice President Mike Pence, who was born in 1959; “Jane’s Addiction” guitarist Dave Navarro, who was born in 1967; “Man vs. Wild” star Bear Grylls, who was born in 1974; Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, who was born in 1975; “Barry” star Bill Hader, who was born in 1978; tennis player Anna Kournikova, who was born in 1981; “Arrested Development” star Michael Cera, who was born in 1988; singer-songwriter Iggy Azalea, who was born in 1990; model and actress Emily Ratajkowski, who was born in 1991; and rapper and singer Fetty Wap, who was born in 1991.

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BREAKING AWAY: On this day in 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia put a motion before the Second Continental Congress which said: ‘Resolved: That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

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THE ENTERTAINER: Dean Martin was born on this day in 1917. His show business career was barely moving when he met Jerry Lewis in 1946. Together they formed an unforgettable comedy act that carried them to dizzying heights of success. When the team broke up, Martin found continued success as a singer and actor. His signature songs include “Everybody Loves Somebody,” “Volare” and “That’s Amore.” He died in 1995.

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

Quotable:

“I can’t stand an actor or actress who tells me acting is hard work. It’s easy work. Anyone who says it isn’t never had to stand on his feet all day dealing blackjack.”

— entertainer Dean Martin, who was born on this day in 1917