October 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 27, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1898, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — The Roosevelt train had hardly pushed out of Rochester before Colonel William J. Youngs notified Colonel [Theodore] Roosevelt that Dr. Depew wished to see him in the dining car forward. As they passed through the train, the politicians and speakers followed on and in a few minutes there was an unusual gathering in the big dining car. At the head of the car sat Dr. Depew, and Colonel Roosevelt took a seat near him with a look of great surprise upon his face as he saw all the others file in. Dr. Depew, when all were seated, arose and said: ‘This morning we start upon our trip under singularly auspicious circumstances. We have ascertained that this is the fortieth birthday of our candidate for governor. With the ordinary man, forty years is a climacteric period and he begins to run downhill, but with the colonel his fortieth year is to be marked by his elevation to a higher place than he has ever held before, with a larger appreciation by his fellow citizens of his word as a man, citizen and soldier.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1916, an Eagle editorial said, “The birth control movement has flourished greatly in Brownsville for nearly a week, but it was, in spite of the best that its promoters could do for it, merely a local or neighborhood propaganda, passed from mouth to mouth. The one thing it needed to translate this beginning into a national campaign was the advertisement of martyrdom. This has now been obligingly supplied by the authorities, who procured the warrant on which the police acted yesterday in the arrest of Mrs. [Margaret] Sanger and her associates. What the persecution of Thomas Mott Osborne did toward making prison reform a national movement is now likely to be repeated in behalf of this doctrine, which so many people believe to be pernicious. Whatever may happen to Mrs. Sanger, the wider result will be to force the discussion of the small family out into the open.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Eagle reported, “What appeared to be the beginning of a return to normalcy was witnessed on the Stock Exchange yesterday following a chaos of shattered values resulting from the worst cataclysm the market has seen in at least 15 years. The fact that trading quieted down to 2,081,900 shares — a normal Saturday volume judged by recent standards — was one of the most hopeful signs. The action of leading issues was another factor of optimism. Although selling out of weakened margin accounts continued in fairly large volume, shares of most of the country’s largest corporations held within a few points of Friday’s final quotations and not a few scored small gains. These levels were in virtually all cases well above the extreme low points reached in the dark hours of Thursday.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (UPI) — The United States served notice Friday that further action, presumably military, is being considered against the Soviet missile bases in Cuba if they are not voluntarily dismantled. State Department press officer Lincoln White said construction work at the Russian bases ‘is continuing.’ He said he wanted ‘to underline’ President Kennedy’s Monday statement that if these ‘offensive military preparations’ did not stop, ‘further action will be justified.’ Major attention in administration orders centered not on the diplomatic battle in the UN but on feverish activity by the Reds to rush completion of eight or 10 medium and intermediate-range missile bases. Intelligence sources reported at least 30 ‘offensive missiles’ capable of striking deep in the United States were known to be in Cuba. Officials declined to say flatly that the ‘further action’ threatened would consist of bombing the bases or invading Cuba, but that was the impression they left. White’s remarks made it clear the United States was not talking about diplomatic action. He said: ‘As to specific further steps, that is not my function here. I simply cite to you the gravity of the situation.’”

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Kelly Osbourne
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” star John Cleese, who was born in 1939; “God Bless the U.S.A.” singer Lee Greenwood, who was born in 1942; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Garry Tallent (E Street Band), who was born in 1949; author and public speaker Fran Lebowitz, who was born in 1950; former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, who was born in 1951; “Body and Soul” star Jayne Kennedy, who was born in 1951; Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni, who was born in 1952; “Star Trek: Voyager” star Robert Picardo, who was born in 1953; World Golf Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan, who was born in 1956; Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon, who was born in 1958; actress and model Marla Maples, who was born in 1963; TV personality Kelly Osbourne, who was born in 1984; and Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who was born in 1997.

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AMERICAN CENTURY, PART 1: Ruby Dee was born 100 years ago today. The Ohio native pioneered groundbreaking stage and screen roles for African-American women. Her films include “The Jackie Robinson Story” (1950), “A Raisin in the Sun” (1961), “Do the Right Thing” (1989) and “American Gangster” (2007), which earned her an Oscar nomination. Dee was also a civil rights activist and, together with her husband, actor Ossie Davis, led the 1963 March on Washington. She died in 2014.

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AMERICAN CENTURY, PART 2: Ralph Kiner was born 100 years ago today. The slugging outfielder debuted with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946 and led the National League in home runs for seven straight years. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. Kiner gained new generations of fans as a broadcaster for the expansion N.Y. Mets and as host of the postgame show “Kiner’s Korner.” He retired in 2013 and died the next year.

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

Quotable:

“The greatest gift is not being afraid to question.”

— actress and activist Ruby Dee, who was born on this day in 1922