November 17: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 17, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “LONDON — Electric and Musical Industries, Ltd., has developed and demonstrated a complete and entirely successful system of high definition television of undoubted entertainment value, Alfred Clark, chairman, told shareholders at the annual meeting. This system includes both transmission and reception by sets suitable for use in the home. These sets can be placed before the public at reasonable cost. He states it now remains for the Postmaster General to decide under which conditions broadcasting of television will be carried out, and until this decision is known there can be no commercial progress.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “Better not smoke or spit in the subway or litter the stations on your way to the office these days. City-wide figures for the first nine months of 1946 released by the Board of Transportation show that subway cops have given out a total of 33,827 summonses for such offenses against the Sanitary Code while the commuter has dug down in his jeans to the extent of $71,547 in fines. The following summonses were issued: for smoking, 27,762; for spitting, 1,108; for littering, 4,938, and for disorderly conduct, 19. Final disposition of these cases resulted in 31,338 fines, 727 suspended sentences, 39 prison terms, and 80 dismissals. Fines were mainly two or three dollars for each offense. Although transit police have been issuing summonses since January 1942, an accelerated drive began last December, it was learned, when Gen. Charles P. Gross, chairman of the Board of Transportation, took over. In Brooklyn, transit police said, thousands of summonses are being issued monthly at the present time — with November off to a record-breaking start.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Truman today asked Congress to attack inflation by giving him the authority to impose ceilings on wages and prices, and to revive consumer rationing if necessary. Mr. Truman’s domestic anti-inflation program contained 10 basic points on which he asked immediate action by Congress. But he said the Government would use the powers only if conditions become more acute. The President asked for the authority to put price ceilings only on selective cost-of-living items such as food, clothing, fuel and rent. He asked for rationing authority over the same items as ‘a preparedness measure — on a highly selective basis.’ Then he pointed out that if the Government imposed price ceilings, ‘in all fairness it should have the right to prevent wage increases.’ Mr. Truman coupled his call for a stringent anti-inflation action with a formal request for $597,000,000 of stop-gap aid to Europe during the next four and a half months. This request had been outlined previously by Administration spokesmen.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — Buckingham Palace reported today that Princess Elizabeth, who gave birth to a son Sunday, had an ‘excellent’ night. Speculation arose as to how soon Elizabeth would be permitted to leave her bed. The usual practice of British obstetricians is to get the mother up and about as soon as she is strong enough, usually 10 days after the birth. The Star reported that a first name for the infant prince had been agreed upon — it was still a royal secret — but the other three or four names the child will bear still were being discussed. No name was given the Westminster registrar when he visited the Duke of Edinburgh, the young prince’s father, at the palace yesterday. Without ceremony the duke listed his son as a child of ‘His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh,’ occupation ‘naval officer,’ and ‘Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh.’”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — The United States is attempting to fashion a new treaty that will guard Formosa [Taiwan] against a Communist attack without committing the United States to war on the Red-held China mainland, American officials said today. Nationalist China also is being pressed to give the United States some assurances that it will not engage in any unjustified provocative attacks against the Communists once the treaty is signed. The question of a defense pact has been complicated by the continuing Red threats to liberate Formosa and counter threats by Chiang Kai-shek to invade the mainland. U.S. policy stands behind the Nationalists but this government does not want to spark a new war in the Far East.”

***

Rachel McAdams
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Martin Scorsese
John Furniss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Songwriters Hall of Famer Gordon Lightfoot, who was born in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bob Gaudio (the Four Seasons), who was born in 1942; Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, who was born in 1942; actress and model Lauren Hutton, who was born in 1943; Basketball Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who was born in 1944; “Taxi” star Danny DeVito, who was born in 1944; “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, who was born in 1944; Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, who was born in 1946; former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who was born in 1949; “NewsRadio” star Stephen Root, who was born in 1951; “Scarface” star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who was born in 1958; “Falcon Crest” star William R. Moses, who was born in 1959; actress and model Daisy Fuentes, who was born in 1966; “Popular” star Leslie Bibb, who was born in 1974; “Eurovision Song Contest” star Rachel McAdams, who was born in 1978; and former NFL wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who was born in 1978.

***

KING OF THE HILL: Tom Seaver was born on this day in 1944. Known as “The Franchise,” he debuted with the N.Y. Mets in 1967 and became the team’s first pitching star, leading them to the championship in 1969. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1977, but returned to Queens in 1983 and later pitched for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992 and died in 2020.

***

HAVE A NICE LIFE: Today is National Unfriend Day. Inspired by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, it’s the day on which Facebook users take an honest inventory of their friends list and eliminate all those who aren’t true friends. By making cuts, they will be able to devote more time and energy to the people who really matter in their lives.

***

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

Quotable:

“There are only two places in the league — first place and no place.”

— Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, who was born on this day in 1944