December 3: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 3, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1842, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “One of the Lowell representatives to the Massachusetts Legislature received a majority of two votes. Last year the same gentleman was chosen by a majority of one, and he says the last choice is such a fair evidence of his growing popularity, that they may consider him up for a third term.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1867, the Eagle reported, “Dickens read ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘The Trial Scene from Pickwick,’ in Tremont Temple, Boston, last night. The large hall was crowded, and the audience included the most distinguished people of Boston — and therefore of course the foremost men of all this world. A correspondent describes Dickens’ personality and the peculiarities of his style of acting-reading at some length. The novelist wears a white carnation in his button-hole, a pink rosebud on his shirt front, a gold stud, much watch chain, and a diamond ring. He does not confine himself to the text, either as originally printed or as condensed for the readings, but ‘gags’ freely, and in a measure adapts his matter to the new locality. The reading last night occupied two hours, and was received with every expression of satisfaction.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (A.P.) — King Edward of England won in a first show of strength today in his all-critical fight with Britain’s government to keep his throne and his American friend, Wallis Warfield Simpson. Defiant, yet with his empire’s fate close at heart, England’s sovereign insisted stubbornly on his right to a private life. Gray and shaken, [Stanley] Baldwin, his first minister, stood before the House of Commons in emotional anticlimax to insist he had nothing to say to the British people. Then, dramatically, the Laborite colonel, Right Hon. Josiah Clement Wedgwood, told the British Press Association in apparent confirmation of the authoritative impression that the King was winning at least the first phase of his empire-shaking battle: ‘The King is beloved. The thing we have got to avoid more than anything else is abdication. Any change will tear this country in two.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “The South Shore L.I.R.R. train was crowded with tired commuters. Many were standing. The women were festooned with Yule packages like so many overloaded Christmas trees. From a front seat came the strains of ‘Silent Night, Holy Night.’ Two women were singing to four restless children. The tired commuters perked up. Some grinned. The train rattled into Rockville Centre to the tune of ‘White Christmas.’ Three stations later the women still hadn’t exhausted their repertoire. Faces fell again. Along came ‘Jingle Bells’ near Bellmore, with the four kids joining in, and people started moving out of the car. At Massapequa one of the kids said: ‘I don’t sing that one,’ and a relieved passenger remarked, ‘Now he’s getting smart and we’ll have quiet.’ But stations and songs went on and on and on.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, Eagle columnist Uncle Ray wrote, “Several thousand meteor cinders have been located during the past century. Many of these have been analyzed and have been found to contain one or more metals. The metals include iron, copper, nickel and aluminum. Besides the metal meteorites we have some which are made of stone. The stone in them is a great deal like the hardened lava of volcanoes. In past times there were people who supposed that the stone meteorites were blown out of the craters of volcanoes. It was proved, however, that many of them come down from heights of more than 100 miles. No volcano has been known to blow ashes to a height greater than 17 miles and there is a record of only one volcano — Krakatoa — which sent bits of stone that high.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath), who was born in 1948; Jefferson Starship singer Mickey Thomas, who was born in 1949; Oscar-winner Julianne Moore, who was born in 1960; hockey player and Olympic gold medalist Mike Ramsey, who was born in 1960; N.Y. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who was born in 1969; “Charmed” star Holly Marie Combs, who was born in 1973; former N.Y. Giants defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin, who was born in 1976; “Veep” star Anna Chlumsky, who was born in 1980; actress and former Sunset Park resident Dascha Polanco, who was born in 1982; and “Mean Girls” star Amanda Seyfried, who was born in 1985.

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THE GIFT OF LIFE: Dr. Christiaan Barnard of South Africa performed the first successful heart transplant on this day in 1967. The donor was 25-year-old Denise Darvall, who died in a car accident. The recipient was 53-year-old Louis Washkansky, who lived for 18 days with his new heart before dying of pneumonia.

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BOXING DAY: “Rocky” was released in theaters on this day in 1976. Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the script, starred as underdog fighter Rocky Balboa, who gets his shot at fame and fortune. Made on a budget of only $1 million, the film was a huge financial success and won three Oscars, including Best Picture, and spawned a number of sequels, the most recent being 2018’s “Creed II.”

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

Quotable:

“I got rabies shots for biting the head off a bat, but that’s OK — the bat had to get Ozzy shots.”

— Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne, who was born on this day in 1948