August 14: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 14, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1848, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “We understand that an earnest petition is to be presented to the mayor of this city, to cause the inspector and attorney to carry into effect the law intended to abate the monstrous nuisance caused by keeping one hundred and ninety cows on a small space of ground in Johnson Street near Bridge. The inhabitants are much alarmed on account of the danger to their health.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1868, the Eagle reported, “Bathers at Coney Island, Fort Hamilton, and other points along the shore, should be careful not to venture out far just about this time, as there is reason to believe a shoal of sharks are prowling about the bay. One of these murderous monsters, seven feet in length, was captured yesterday off the pier foot of Barclay Street, North River.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “HYANNIS, MASS. (U.P.) — Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., 21, a naval aviator and son of the former Ambassador to England, has been killed in the European theater, according to word received today … Young Kennedy had been on active duty as a navy pilot … A brother, Lt. John F. Kennedy, was commander of a PT boat in the navy. He returned to this country recently after having taken part in several hazardous engagements in the Pacific. For 10 days he was listed as missing, but later was rescued from a desolate island.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “The city’s joy, long pent by tension, fear and disappointment, began to trickle out with the pre-dawn report of Japanese surrender in an increasing flow that promised to become a flood of jubilation as the day went on. Chinatown, whose people have suffered the longest from war, was first to let go. Barely an hour after the 1:49 a.m. Domei flash, they were snake-dancing and shooting off firecrackers and breaking out flags along the narrow winding streets. By 6 a.m. the famous New Year’s papier-mache dragon was being paraded on Mott Street and extra police were out … Church bells started to ring in Flatbush, and before 4 a.m. there were bonfires in Borough Park and Red Hook … In the Borough Hall section, people pouring out of the subways to their jobs made a rush for papers.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “TAIPEH, FORMOSA (U.P.) — An estimated 100,000 Red Chinese infantrymen and 12,000 paratroopers have swung into position along the China coast facing Formosa, it was reported today. Chinatone News Agency, which claims close connections with Nationalist Chinese intelligence, said the troops bore the name of ‘Formosa Liberation Army’ and received intensive training by Communist instructors. The Chinatone report followed a declaration earlier in the day by Communist Chinese Premier Chou En-Lai that the Peiping regime is determined to ‘liberate’ Formosa. ‘The government of the People’s Republic of China once again declares that Taiwan (Formosa) is inviolably Chinese territory, that its occupation by the United States absolutely cannot be tolerated, and that it is equally intolerable to have it placed under UN trusteeship,’ Chou said. Chinatone said an entirely new command had been set up to attempt to carry out Red China’s repeated threat to assault Formosa. Nationalist quarters feared the Reds will attack Nationalist-held outpost islands off the China mainland coast before attempting to invade Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s island bastion.”

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Halle Berry
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Summer Breeze” singer Darrell Crofts, who was born in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby, who was born in 1941; “The Jerk” star Steve Martin, who was born in 1945; “Kate & Allie” star Susan Saint James, who was born in 1946; romance novelist Danielle Steel, who was born in 1947; International Swimming Hall of Famer Debbie Meyer, who was born in 1952; former Commander of U.S. Forces – Afghanistan Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who was born in 1954; “Sister, Sister” star Jackee Harry, who was born in 1956; Oscar-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden, who was born in 1959; Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, who was born in 1959; Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, who was born in 1966; “JAG” star Catherine Bell, who was born in 1968; “That ’70s Show” star Mila Kunis, who was born in 1981; and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who was born in 1987.

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ALLIED FORCES: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter on this day in 1941. The eight-point agreement grew out of a three-day conference aboard a ship off the Newfoundland coast and stated policies and hopes for the future agreed to by the two nations.

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CODE OF HONOR: Today is Navajo Code Talkers Day. It was established by the Navajo National Council as a tribal holiday recognizing and honoring the distinguished record of the Code Talkers during World War II. The Code Talkers transmitted military messages in the Navajo language that the Axis powers were unable to decipher.

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

Quotable:

“In baseball, you can’t kill the clock. You’ve got to give the other man his chance. That’s why this is the greatest game.”

— Baseball Hall of Famer Earl Weaver, who was born on this day in 1930