January 8: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 8, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Fighting her way through smoke and flame to an inside fire alarm box, Sister St. Clare, principal of St. Malachy’s Parochial School at Hendrix St. and Atlantic Ave., stood this morning with her black robes ablaze until she had sounded an alarm. Then, beating out with her bare hands the flames that threatened to envelop her, she ran from classroom to classroom, giving the alarm and assisting in getting every one of the 213 pupils of the school to safety. As a result of her courageous action, the police were able to assure hundreds of frantic mothers who hurried to the school that their children were safe. The school building, a two-story frame structure, 40 by 100 feet, with 16 classrooms, and more than 50 years old, was burned to the ground.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “Nikola Tesla, 86, the electrical genius who discovered the fundamental principle of modern radio, was found dead in his room at the Hotel New Yorker, Manhattan, last night. Tesla never married. He had always lived alone, and the hotel management did not believe he had any near-relatives. Despite his more than 700 inventions, he was not wealthy. He cared little for money, and so long as he could experiment was happy. He was the first to conceive an effective method of utilizing alternating current, and in 1888 patented the induction motor, which converted electrical energy into mechanical energy more effectively and economically than by direct current. Among his other principal inventions were arc lighting and the Tesla coil. ‘The radio, I know I’m it’s father, but I don’t like it,’ he once said. ‘I just don’t like it. It’s a nuisance. I never listen to it. The radio is a distraction and keeps you from concentrating. There are too many distractions in this life for quality of thought, and it’s quality of thought, not quantity, that counts.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Truman told Congress and his countrymen today that the sole hope of peace lies in a rapid buildup of the free world’s ability to wage ‘a full scale war’ of defense against Soviet Russia. Only by bending all efforts toward such a buildup of power, the President said, can we hope to make the Soviet rulers ‘lay aside their plans to take over the world.’ Declaring that Russia has tipped her aggressive plans in Korea and in the United Nations, where she refuses to ‘live and let live,’ the President said we must get ready ‘for full wartime mobilization, if that should be necessary.’ He presented a program calling for expansion of weapon production to 50,000 military planes a year and 35,000 tanks a year. He said we must be ready ‘on short notice’ to produce all the modern arms and supplies ‘that may be needed for a full scale war.’ In a grim State of the Union message delivered in person to the new Congress and via radio and television to the nation and the world, Mr. Truman offered again ‘to negotiate honorable settlements’ with the Soviet Union. But, he said, ‘we will not engage in appeasement.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1955, the Eagle reported, “An event long overdue took place at the Metropolitan Opera House last evening. Marian Anderson, making her debut as the fortune teller, Ulrica, in Verdi’s opera, ‘Un Ballo in Maschera,’ became the first Negro to sing with the company. For Miss Anderson, it was the realization of a long-cherished dream; for many other artists of her race, it meant the opening of a door heretofore barred to some notable singers, several of whom were in last night’s audience. The part of Ulrica is usually not the most important role in the opera. She appears in only one scene — the second scene in Act 1 — but that role and that scene became the focal point of last evening’s performance … If other prominent Negro artists are admitted, it may prove to be a great era indeed.”

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Shirley Bassey
Valery Hache, pool via AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include journalist Charles Osgood, who was born in 1933; “History Repeating” singer Shirley Bassey, who was born in 1937; game show host Bob Eubanks, who was born in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Robby Krieger (The Doors), who was born in 1946; Loverboy singer Mike Reno, who was born in 1955; singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, who was born in 1964; former N.Y. Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, who was born in 1971; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Mike Cameron, who was born in 1973; “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Amber Benson, who was born in 1977; “Transparent” star Gaby Hoffmann, who was born in 1982; and singer and actress Noah Cyrus, who was born in 2000.

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A BRIEF HISTORY: World-renowned physicist and author Stephen Hawking was born on this day in 1942. Hawking came to prominence in the early 1970s through his groundbreaking work on black holes, in which he suggested that their properties must be governed by the laws of both quantum theory and general relativity (that is, by the physics of very small and very massive objects). His books included the bestselling “A Brief History of Time” (1988). He died in 2018 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and was the longest-living person with the disease.

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RENAISSANCE MAN: David Bowie was born in London on this day in 1947. A relentless creative who explored rock, folk, electronic music, film and visual art in a career that spanned five decades, Bowie defined pop stardom as a chameleonic innovator. From his hit debut, 1969’s “Space Oddity,” through his outsized Ziggy Stardust persona of 1972, and onward to numerous experiments in spectacle and showmanship, Bowie’s work shape-shifted freely and greatly influenced the next generation. He died in 2016.

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

Quotable:

“Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming.”

— Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Bowie, who was born on this day in 1947