November 30: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 30, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1890, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Old Fort Putnam and the rounded top of Crow’s Nest looked down upon an unwonted spectacle at West Point yesterday afternoon, one which had never come to pass in the history of the military academy. It was a game of football between the West Pointers and a team from the naval academy in Annapolis. Never before had a visiting team played within the sacred precincts of West Point, and never before had the two schools tried conclusions against each other in the athletic arena. It was, therefore, a remarkable occasion, and one long to be remembered by the cadets themselves, and by the crowd of visitors who witnessed the contest. This first meeting of the embryonic army and navy had been widely heralded by the alumni of Annapolis, who were mainly instrumental in bringing about the innovation, and in consequence an extended interest in the contest was aroused.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Eagle reported, “Mauna Loa Mountain, Hawaii’s restless volcano, boiled over.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1939, the Eagle reported, “HELSINGFORS (U.P.) — Soviet Russia invaded Finland by land, sea and air today, raining death-dealing explosives on Helsingfors, Viborg and half a dozen other centers. Red airplanes roared out of cloudy skies throughout the day and in mid-afternoon unloaded a hail of thermite bombs on the dazed population of Helsingfors, destroying public buildings and apartment houses, starting fires in the center of the capital and inflicting hundreds of casualties. Three big fires burned in downtown Helsingfors tonight and at least three suburban homes in Viborg were set afire. Unofficial estimates of the dead were as high as 200, with many more wounded and rescue forces still dug into the wreckage in search of bodies and survivors. Finland’s reply to the undeclared war was given by roaring anti-aircraft guns that brought down one and perhaps two Soviet planes by stubborn return fire in the frontier areas, especially at Kivena, and an official decree declaring a state of war existed against the Soviet Union.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, NOV. 29 (U.P.) — Railroad and union representatives agreed today to resume direct negotiations in their wage dispute in an effort to avert a nationwide strike Dec. 7. Immediate resumption of direct negotiations was requested by Wayne Lyman Morse, chairman of President Roosevelt’s special fact-finding board which now will sit in on the negotiations as a mediation group. Morse requested that direct negotiations be tried again after the board had concluded a two-day hearing on union demands that the railroads grant bigger wage increases than those originally recommended by the five-man fact-finding board. Stating that he believed the dispute could be adjusted by negotiation and mediation, Morse said: ‘It is of the utmost importance to the welfare of the country that there be no strike.’”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “Rockefeller Center’s 1951 Christmas tree, an 82-foot Norway spruce, is scheduled to arrive at Rockefeller Plaza next Monday morning after being hauled overnight by truck and trailer from a field near Lake Ronkonkoma.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle reported, “With the north wind puffing up winter weather, Brooklynites can dip into their closets and sharpen up their ice skates. Lovers of flashing blades and ice scur flying in their faces will have plenty of opportunity to do figure 8’s in our borough this year. The Department of Parks has announced the 1962 ice skating schedule for eight natural and one artificial rink in Brooklyn. Eager beavers needn’t wait for a deep freeze. The Kate Wollman Rink at Prospect Park is now in operation, the only artificial rink in Brooklyn, with three sessions at moderate fee.”

***

Chrissy Teigen
Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Sesame Street” creator Joan Ganz Cooney, who was born in 1929; “Alien” director Ridley Scott, who was born in 1937; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Roger Glover (Deep Purple), who was born in 1945; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, who was born in 1947; “The Princess Bride” star Mandy Patinkin, who was born in 1952; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Sancious (E Street Band), who was born in 1953; “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” star Colin Mochrie, who was born in 1957; Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie, who was born in 1959; former baseball and football player Bo Jackson, who was born in 1962; “Zoolander” star Ben Stiller, who was born in 1965; “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” star Walter Emanuel Jones, who was born in 1970; singer and TV personality Clay Aiken, who was born in 1978; “24” star Elisha Cuthbert, who was born in 1982; “The Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco, who was born in 1985; and model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen, who was born in 1985.

***

TRAILBLAZER: Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1924. The first African-American woman elected to the House of Representatives, she represented Bedford-Stuyvesant as a Democrat from 1969 to 1983. In 1972, she became the first African-American candidate for a major party’s presidential nomination. She died in 2005.

***

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: “The Joy of Cooking” was published on this day in 1931. America’s favorite all-purpose cookbook, self-published by Irma Rombauer (1877-1962), was a comforting voice for cooks during the Depression. The first commercial edition of the book appeared in 1936 and offered a revolutionary “action format” (chronologically ordered ingredients followed by instructions) now commonplace in cookbooks.

***

UNCHARTED TERRITORY: “Thriller” was released on this day in 1982. Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album is one of the most popular records of all time, charting seven songs in the top 10 and selling more than 110 million copies. It broke pop charts wide open for black artists, who had often been relegated to R&B charts.

***

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

Quotable:

“I’d like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That’s how I’d like to be remembered.”

— U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who was born on this day in 1924