June 14: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 14, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1895, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “This is flag day in the schools. By that is meant the anniversary of the adoption of the national colors. State Superintendent Skinner sent his notification too late to Superintendent Maxwell to have any good use made of it. Only in a few schools were becoming exercises held.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1914, the Eagle reported, “The happenings of the past week herald the dawn of a new era in Brooklyn banking. The Mechanics Bank, the oldest and largest state bank here, under the spur of an awakened interest which certain large Manhattan stockholders have taken in Brooklyn as a field for banking development, has been revitalized into life and has embarked upon a policy of expansion of which the acquisition of the Nassau Trust Company is only the initial step. And the Franklin Trust Company, the fourth largest institution of its kind whose activities are confined within the limits of Brooklyn, has passed into the control of a powerful syndicate of men who represent varied financial and commercial interests here and in Manhattan. The great possibilities of Brooklyn as a banking center are beginning to be borne in upon the consciousness of the leading bankers of Manhattan as never before. This is due to two principal factors: the rapid growth in the population and wealth of Brooklyn and the enactment of the new Federal Reserve act. A third factor, perhaps, is the growing conviction among Manhattan bankers that the island of Manhattan, as a field for banking, does not permit of much, if any, further expansion.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle reported, “ALBANY — Governor [Franklin] Roosevelt today requested the Citizens Committee organized to bring about reductions in the New York City budget to aid him in a drive to effect a sharp decrease in the state budget. At the same time, the governor announced that he has sent letters to heads of statewide organizations and local chambers of commerce asking similar cooperation and urging that they file with him, before work is started on the new budget, their ideas about how the cost of state government can be reduced. In some quarters the governor’s move was interpreted as a shrewd attempt to head off the Republicans from making state economy their major issue in the fall gubernatorial campaign.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “TOURS, FRANCE (A.P.) — France abandoned Paris to the Germans today and the victorious Nazi legions were reported to have rolled in soon afterward to complete their latest blitzkrieg in nine days. Berlin announced flatly that the Germans had entered the French capital. The Germans at the same time suddenly drove deep into France between Paris and the Maginot Line, and this great fortification was fast being turned. This would indicate a grave threat to the 1,000,000-odd French troops defending the line. If the fight goes on, the Loire River line running through Tours and Orleans would be the next really strong natural barrier behind which the French could defend themselves. The Loire is 65 miles south of Paris at its nearest point.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — More than 1,500 American Flying Fortresses and Liberators blasted a chain of Nazi targets from the suburbs of Paris to western Germany today in the greatest daylight bombing assault ever hurled at the embattled continent, while waves of U.S. medium bombers smashed at enemy supplies and reinforcements moving into the battle for Caen. Allied air forces swarmed to the attack, beginning with the first light of dawn, in a seemingly endless parade of power that continued through the late afternoon without letup.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, Eagle editor and columnist Robert M. Grannis wrote, “Today is Flag Day and a lot of Americans won’t bother to pay any attention to it. Others will explore the attic and drag out the banner which guarantees their freedom. It will be dusty and worn and there will be moth holes here and there but the colors will remain intact. Nothing ever happens to the significance of this emblem and nothing ever will so long as folks retain even an ounce of appreciation. I decided to write about the flag today to answer a neighbor who thinks that nationalism is something to be ashamed of. Personally, I think he is an ass and I hope he reads this.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “The Jeffersons” star Marla Gibbs, who was born in 1931; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who was born in 1939; former President Donald Trump, who was born in 1946; Country Joe and the Fish co-founder Barry Melton, who was born in Brooklyn in 1947; Culture Club singer Boy George, who was born in 1961; journalist and school choice activist Campbell Brown, who was born in 1968; Tennis Hall of Famer Steffi Graf, who was born in 1969; “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody, who was born in 1978; “Glee” star Kevin McHale, who was born in 1988; “Pretty Little Liars” star Lucy Hale, who was born in 1989; and former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, who was born in 1991.

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HOT AND COLE: Nat King Cole recorded “The Christmas Song” on this day in 1946. Mel Torme and Robert Wells wrote the song during a blistering heat wave in July 1945. Cole’s original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.

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BROOKLYN BENCHMARK: President Bill Clinton nominated Brooklyn native Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the U.S. Supreme Court on this day in 1993. The Senate confirmed her by a vote of 96-3 on Aug. 3. Ginsburg served until her death on Sept. 18, 2020 and was succeeded by Amy Coney Barrett.

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

Quotable:

“Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

— John Adams’ resolution to Congress, June 14, 1777