History

July 22: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 22, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1898, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “Probably without his knowledge and certainly without his consent, Theodore Roosevelt is being boomed for governor of this state. Explanations are scarcely necessary. Not long ago he was one of the most popular and unpopular men in what was then New York City. There can be no doubt that he made many active enemies and many passive friends while he held the office of police commissioner. From the metropolis he went to Washington, where he proved to be anything but an idle official. Tremendous powers are placed in the hands of the assistant secretary of the Navy. He is to many intents and purposes the head of the department. Officers of the highest rank are anxious to ingratiate themselves with him. He becomes accustomed to ceremonies and pleasing receptions and is everywhere regarded as a factor of great consequence.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1925, the Eagle reported, “MONTAUK, L.I. — The latest sensational fishing story emanating from this port of good yarns is the report of eye witnesses of a fight between a monster swordfish and an equally big shark. Not only were two fishermen witnesses to the bloody scrap but they took part in it and were in at the death of both big fish. ‘Oh, for a movie camera,’ sighed one. ‘This battle is better than anything the movies ever faked.’ The report — and the two big fish, both weighing in the neighborhood of 800 pounds each — was brought ashore by Lester Wolcott and W.H. Bennett of Belmar, N.J., fishing 20 miles or so off shore here. When they visited their big sea net, they found the two fish trapped within and both of them fighting ferociously … During the melee the fishing boat was nearly overturned when both big fish at once crashed up against its side. The fishermen slashed at the fighting monsters with picks and axes and finally killed both of them. The swordfish is described as being more than 12 feet long and the shark was nearly as big.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, “A long-awaited attempt by Brooklyn-born Attorney General John J. Bennett’s political foes to cripple his chances of becoming New York’s next governor was formally set in motion today when Senator James M. Mead of Buffalo entered the race for the Democratic nomination for the governorship. In a carefully drawn statement which he issued at Washington, Senator Mead, by announcing his willingness to run, took a long step toward plunging the Democratic State Convention into a bitter intra-party row over the nomination. Denying, in effect, that his election would mean State Chairman James A. Farley’s ouster from his party post and holding out the olive branch to Farley, Senator Mead claimed that he had hitherto ‘resisted every appeal to become a candidate.’ He said he ‘hoped’ he might not be called upon to run.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “The current hot and humid spell was in its third day today with no relief in sight and with a high of 92 degrees forecast for this afternoon. The 9 a.m. temperature was 77 degrees and the early-morning humidity was oppressive. It was 92 percent at 4 a.m., dropped to 90 at 5 a.m., fell to 89 at 6 a.m. and returned to 90 at 7 and 8 a.m. As the day dawned hot and sunny, thousands of Brooklynites headed for beaches, parks and playgrounds in an effort to escape the heat. Coney Island police reported that some 1,500 persons spent the night on the beach.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “Mass gamma globulin inoculations of children in seven states have cost the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the American Red Cross $1,555,680. Basil O’Connor, foundation president who reported the expenditure yesterday, said it was a mark of progress toward the conquest of polio ‘that we at last are in the happy position of being called upon to spend this money.’ The gamma globulin, which tests indicate reduces the chances of paralysis in polio cases, has been administered in mass injection programs in Alabama, North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois and Michigan.”

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John Leguizamo
Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winning actress Louise Fletcher, who was born in 1934; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic), who was born in 1941; former N.Y. Yankees closer Sparky Lyle, who was born in 1944; “Lethal Weapon” star Danny Glover, who was born in 1946; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Don Henley (The Eagles), who was born in 1947; “The Cotton Club” star Lonette McKee, who was born in 1954; “Platoon” star Willem Dafoe, who was born in 1955; Indigo Girls cofounder Emily Saliers, who was born in 1963; “Carlito’s Way” star John Leguizamo, who was born in 1964; “Just Shoot Me!” star David Spade, who was born in 1964; former N.Y. Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who was born in 1972; and “Only Murders in the Building” star Selena Gomez, who was born in 1992.

David Spade
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

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GOING MOBILE: Alexander Calder was born on this day in 1898. The Pennsylvania native earned a mechanical engineering degree but turned to art in the 1920s. By the ’30s, he was the most famous American artist in the world. Calder invented the mobile, a delicate hanging kinetic sculpture whose form changed continuously due to air currents or motors. His stationary abstract sculptures were termed “stabiles,” and they influenced generations of artists to turn to industrial materials and monumental scope for expression. He died in 1976.

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MIND OVER MANNERS: Amy Vanderbilt was born on this day in 1908. The New York City native wrote “Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette” in 1952. In became the bible for manners of courtesy and society. She also hosted the TV program “It’s in Good Taste” from 1954 to 1960. She died in 1974.

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

Quotable:

“Good manners have much to do with the emotions. To make them ring true, one must feel them, not merely exhibit them.”

— etiquette expert Amy Vanderbilt, who was born on this day in 1908