History

July 25: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 25, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1916, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “OYSTER BAY, L.I. — Colonel Theodore Roosevelt addressed members of the Town Board and residents of this village yesterday afternoon in the Town Hall. The meeting was called for the purpose of investigating the sanitary conditions of the section and to consider precautions against the spread of infantile paralysis. Col. Roosevelt impressed upon his audience the importance of keeping a close watch on conditions in the village.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “Weakfish are being caught right near the ferry slip at Jacob Riis Park, which, as you probably know, is right at Brooklyn’s back door. Bernard Levinsohn, 141-10 Cronston Ave., Belle Harbor, furnished the information. Levinsohn, with several companions, spotted a shark in the surf near his street a few days ago. The scavenger was barely ten feet from shore and the outlines of his body could be seen clearly. Before a policeman could take a shot at it, the shark headed out to sea. Surprisingly, it was in only about four feet of water.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — A majority of British political experts believed today that Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Conservative party would not have more than 40 percent of the total votes cast in the recent election when they are counted tomorrow. Some experts went even further. They believed Mr. Churchill might have the backing of as little as 36 percent, which would be the lowest any conservative leader has polled since the last war … Mr. Churchill arrived by plane from Potsdam this afternoon. Tonight he will be received in audience by King George VI. The chief feature of this election may be summed up in three words: The middleclass revolt. This has been evidenced by the crowded and frequently electric labor or commonwealth party meetings in middleclass neighborhoods, and by well authenticated reports of big labor gains in previously ‘square-ridden’ rural constituencies. This revolt is partly a national inquest on the political party which openly or behind the scenes ruled the country over the entire period between the two World Wars.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Truman today asked Congress to approve a $1,450,000,000 arms program to help free nations make themselves secure against the threat of Communist conspiracy and the ‘massed military might of the Soviet Union.’ To a Congress certain to be highly critical of his proposed program the president sent a 3,000-word message arguing the program is necessary because no free nation is safe while the Soviet Union maintains one of the largest peacetime armies in history. He sent the arms message to Congress an hour after he formally ratified the North Atlantic Treaty — the pact which the military program is designed to implement. Mr. Truman hailed the 12-nation pact, which the Senate approved last Thursday, as a ‘historic step toward a world of peace.’ In unusually strong words President Truman said that Russia has ‘deliberately created an atmosphere of fear and danger’ in Europe. He said that in the face of what has occurred in Greece, where Communist rebels are fighting the government, and in Berlin and Iran, the nations of Western Europe need our arms support.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1958, the Brooklyn Spectator reported, “‘Operation Bum’s Rush’ went into full swing last week, when Coney Island detectives unceremoniously ousted 26 ‘sleeping beauties’ camped on the resort beach and under the boardwalk. Capt. Thomas Pendergast, of the 60th Pct., ordered the rude awakening be given to 25 men and one woman, some of them making merry with song and bacchanalian revelry, while others slumbered, undisturbed by the sounds of their high-spirited comrades. Police expect to maintain a constant watch for similar groups, with an eye to making the resort area less attractive to, what one observer called, ‘gypsy types.’”

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D.B. Woodside
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jim McCarty (The Yardbirds), who was born in 1943; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire), who was born in 1951; Red Rider cofounder Ken Greer, who was born in 1954; model and actress Iman, who was born in 1955; Sonic Youth cofounder Thurston Moore, who was born in 1958; celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, who was born in 1959; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher Doug Drabek, who was born in 1962; former N.Y Rangers left wing Tony Granato, who was born in 1964; “Friends” star Matt LeBlanc, who was born in 1967; “24” star D.B. Woodside, who was born in 1969; former N.Y. Mets pitcher Billy Wagner, who was born in 1971; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez, who was born in 1976; former NBA forward Kenny Thomas, who was born in 1977; and “One Tree Hill” star James Lafferty, who was born in 1985.

Matt LeBlanc
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

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WINGING IT: On this day in 1909, aviator Louis Bleriot — after asking from the cockpit, “Where is England?” – took off from Les Baraques, France, and landed on English soil at Northfall Meadow, near Dover. This, the world’s first international airplane flight, was accomplished in a 28-horsepower monoplane with a wingspan of 23 feet.

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POWER PLAY: On this day in 1965, folk star Bob Dylan rocked the Newport Folk Festival by playing an electric set. Audience members responded with catcalls or silence. Dylan had previously played at Newport as a solo troubadour, but this time he brought along the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and blasted out “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” It was a short set, but it went down in music history as a seminal moment.

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

Quotable:

“Life is too short not to have pasta, steak and butter.”

— model and actress Iman, who was born on this day in 1955