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December 1: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 1, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1899, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle travel ad said, “A visit to Hawaii, our new possession, which has been truly called the Pearl of the Pacific, is one of the most delightful imaginable. A week will be devoted to the volcano trip.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1907, the Eagle reported, “‘What shall I give?’ This is the query that looms large, and is apt to become more insistent during the next three weeks, in the mind of the gift-giving element of the community. Nothing helps so much in the satisfactory solution of this problem as taking time by the forelock, making out a list and beginning the search before the air becomes charged with that indefinable but recognizable quality that is a positive exhilaration when one’s purchases have been made, but nerve-racking and maddening when the hunt has been prolonged until the eleventh hour. Begin your Christmas shopping early, is set forth as a cardinal precept in altruism. In reality, it is the most delightfully selfish experience one can have, provided the shopping is finished as well as begun early. Few normal mortals, and women in particular, can keep away from the shopping centers during holiday times, but there is a vast difference between merely looking on or making ordinary purchases and forming part of the ‘madding crowd.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Chairman Wayne Lyman Morse of President Roosevelt’s special fact-finding board told railroad labor and management representatives today that he planned to keep them in continuous conference all day and tonight, if necessary, to reach an agreement in their wage dispute. Morse reconvened the negotiators after a recess of 1 hour and 30 minutes, which followed almost 24 hours of continuous sessions. He was trying to compromise the revised demands of the 19 unions for a $1 a day increase and the roads’ latest offer, which averaged about 72 cents a day. ‘The situation does not look so good right now but we will continue the conferences all day, and tonight if necessary, in an effort to report an agreement to Mr. Roosevelt tomorrow,’ Morse said. The negotiators returned to separate conference rooms after refreshing themselves with catnaps and shaves. Morse said that separate meetings would continue ‘for a while’ and that he would convene a joint meeting ‘when there is anything to discuss jointly.’ The ‘Big Five’ operating brotherhoods have threatened a strike starting Dec. 7 if union demands are not met. The 14 non-operating brotherhoods have voted a strike but have set no date.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, NOV. 30 (U.P.) — Coal strike or no, you can still light up your Christmas tree. Civilian Production Administrator John D. Small said tonight that government regulations against unnecessary use of electric current during the soft coal walkout will not be interpreted as forbidding Christmas tree lights in homes. Small bulbs on family trees indoors, Small said, use only a negligible amount of current, which householders can more than make up by careful use of other electric appliances during the present emergency. But, Small said, the regulations prohibit lighted Christmas trees outdoors in the 21 brownout states and the District of Columbia.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Senator H. Alexander Smith (R., N.J.) said today that the United States should take ‘a firm stand now’ in the Far East to avert a third world war. He hinted that occupation of Formosa [Taiwan] to keep the strategic island from falling into Communist hands should be the first step in that direction. Demanding ‘positive’ support for anti-Communist forces in Asia, Smith vigorously opposed any step to recognize the Chinese Communist regime because it was ‘initiated in Moscow.’ ‘Its leaders were trained in Moscow,’ he said, ‘and it is now being directed from Moscow.’ Smith, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, outlined his views in a 20-page report on his recent six-week tour in the Far East. The document was prepared for the Senate group and its House counterpart.”

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Janelle Monae
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Zoe Kravitz
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino, who was born in 1939; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Densmore (The Doors), who was born in 1944; “Wind Beneath My Wings” singer Bette Midler, who was born in 1945; actor and comedian Jonathan Katz, who was born in 1946; “Prince of the City” star Treat Williams, who was born in 1951; “Sex and the City” creator Candace Bushnell, who was born in 1958; model and actress Carol Alt, who was born in 1960; Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Walker, who was born in 1966; “Lost” star Nestor Carbonell, who was born in 1967; actress and comedian Sarah Silverman, who was born in 1970; “Hidden Figures” star Janelle Monae, who was born in 1985; and “Spider Man” star Zoe Kravitz, who was born in 1988.

Sarah Silverman
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

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STANDING UP: Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Ala., on this day in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat and move to the back of a municipal bus. Her arrest triggered a yearlong boycott of the city bus system and led to legal actions that ended racial segregation on municipal buses throughout the southern U.S. The event has been called the birth of the modern civil rights movement.

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KING OF COMEDY: Richard Pryor was born on this day in 1940. The African-American comedian and actor was known for his use of profanity, and his humor was frequently based on racial stereotypes. Extremely successful as a stand-up, he won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums, and he also wrote or starred in numerous classic comedy films, including “Stir Crazy,” “Silver Streak” and “Car Wash.” His drug problems were well documented in his comedy act and he struggled with multiple sclerosis late in his life. He died in 2005.

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

 

Quotable:

“There’s a thin line between to laugh with and to laugh at.”

— comedian Richard Pryor, who was born on this day in 1940

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