Brooklyn Boro

January 5: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 5, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History
Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, JAN 4. (U.P.) — Senator-elect Theodore G. Bilbo bowed tonight to a determined Republican drive against seating him and Southern Democrats called off a two-day filibuster that had tied the chamber in knots. The Senate unanimously accepted a compromise proposal put forward by Senator Alben W. Barkley (D., Ky.). Senator Barkley told the Senate the little Mississippi Democrat was suffering from cancer of the mouth and would leave Washington tonight or tomorrow to undergo an operation in New Orleans. Bilbo said later he would leave Washington tomorrow afternoon. He said he would come back as soon as he could ‘with my fighting clothes on.’ … The compromise merely postponed Senate action on charges that Bilbo is unfit to sit in the Senate because he prevented Negroes from voting in Mississippi, and because he accepted gifts from war contractors whom he had helped to get government jobs.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — Prince Charles of Edinburgh was taken for his first drive in the country today, riding in the rear seat with his mother, Princess Elizabeth, while his father, Philip, drove.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1955, the Eagle reported, “Transit Authority officials today flatly denied it has any plans to boost subway and bus fares. Chairman Hugh J. Casey declared: ‘I can say definitely that nothing in the present picture will result in any increase in the fare barring any major change in the country’s economy.’ Harris J. Klein, Brooklyn member of the Authority and frequent opponent of Casey, backed him up with stronger language: ‘The fare will never be increased as long as I am a member,’ he said. ‘If anything, I still maintain it can be reduced.’ Their denials came after comment by Mayor [Robert] Wagner on published reports there would be a transit deficit of $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 this year. Asked if that meant a fare boost, the Mayor had said: ‘I suppose if the deficit continues, under the law as written now, there will have to be a fare increase because the Transit Authority is required to be self-sustaining.’”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1955, the Eagle reported, “Football fatalities in 1954 took their largest toll in five years as 25 players lost their lives in gridiron accidents, according to a survey conducted by Dr. Floyd B. Easterwood of Los Angeles State College. Dr. Easterwood, chairman of the Committee on Injuries and Fatalities of the American Football Coaches Association, reported to that group last night that the 1954 death total was almost seven percent higher than the average for the 23 years during which he has been keeping records. The yearly average for that period is 17.8 fatalities. There were 19 direct and six indirect football fatalities during the past season, he said. The most disturbing figure was the increase from six to 12 in high school direct fatalities. The 1954 overall total compares with 19, 10, 20, 19 and 26 going back to 1949. Two of the direct fatalities came in college football games, two in professional or semi-professional contests and three in unsupervised or sandlot play. Sixteen of the 19 direct fatalities resulted from blows to the head. The indirect deaths were caused incidentally by football, such as heart attacks. One of these claimed Dave Sparks, Washington Redskins lineman, last Dec. 5, after a game against the Cleveland Browns. Sparks’ death was attributed to a coronary thrombosis.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (UPI) — The United States lost 19 million man-days of labor in 1962 due to strikes, the Labor Department reported in Washington today. This was almost 3 million more than was lost in 1961, but was below most post-war years. There were about 3,550 work stoppages last year due to strikes involving 1,250,000 workers. There were 16 strikes involving 10,000 workers or more during the year.”

***

Bradley Cooper
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Carrie Ann Inaba
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall, who was born in 1931; former talk show host Charlie Rose, who was born in 1942; former U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who was born in Brooklyn in 1944; Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton, who was born in 1946; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chris Stein (Blondie), who was born in Brooklyn in 1950; “Dynasty” star Pamela Sue Martin, who was born in 1953; former CIA Director George Tenet, who was born in 1953; “Our Town” singer Iris DeMent, who was born in 1961; actress and model Suzy Amis Cameron, who was born in 1962; “Dancing with the Stars” judge Carrie Ann Inaba, who was born in 1968; “American Sniper” star Bradley Cooper, who was born in 1975; former NFL running back Warrick Dunn, who was born in 1975; “Mad Men” star January Jones, who was born in 1978; and model and actress Suki Waterhouse, who was born in 1992.

Robert Duvall
Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP

***

UP WHERE WE BELONG: Jeannette Ridlon Piccard was born on this day in 1895. The first woman to qualify as a free-balloon pilot, she set a record in 1934 when she ascended more than 57,000 feet into the stratosphere with her husband, Jean Felix Piccard. She died in 1981.

***

LET’S DANCE: Alvin Ailey was born on this day in 1931. The Texas native began his noted career as a choreographer after a successful career as a dancer. He founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, drawing from classical ballet, jazz, Afro-Caribbean and modern dance idioms to create the 79 ballets of the company’s repertoire. He and his work played a central part in establishing a role for black people in the world of modern dance. He died in 1989.

***

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

 

Quotable:

“The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off; it’s with you all the time.”

— choreographer Alvin Ailey, who was born on this day in 1931

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment