January 10: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 10, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “An automated traffic regulation system that will use judgment in the flashing of a red or green light, and will countermand a red light that is given unnecessarily, was demonstrated last night at the meeting of the New York Electrical Society in the Engineering Societies Building on W. 39th St., Manhattan. The system was developed by Dr. William Thomas of the research department of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. … This consisted of a miniature reproduction of 10 feet square of a busy avenue intersected by a less busy cross street … Often a long line of traffic on a busy avenue is held up at a cross street by a red light when there are no cars on the cross street waiting to cross the avenue. When this condition prevails, the ‘electric eye’ system developed by Dr. Thomas causes the red light holding up the avenue traffic to be changed to green, permitting traffic to proceed. If, however, a car should approach the intersection on the cross street, the avenue green light is changed to red and the cross street traffic is allowed to have the right of way.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1933, the Eagle reported, “‘Alcohol in moderation never appreciably shortened a life and smoking is a mild sedative that often is beneficial,’ according to Dr. Morris Fishbein, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, interviewed at the Waldorf-Astoria yesterday.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President [Harry] Truman submitted to Congress today the first balanced federal budget since the 1930 depression, with a stern warning against tax reduction. It was an optimistic budget based on expectation of better business and higher individual incomes in the 1948 fiscal year. But he said there ‘is no justification for tax reduction now.’ The president proposed to spend $37,528,000,000 in the 1948 fiscal year, which begins July 1 this year. That is several billions in excess of the sum to which Republican leaders insist government spending must be reduced for economy and tax reduction purposes. Mr. Truman provided for a small surplus of $202,000,000 and asked Congress to increase revenue to make the surplus $1,800,000,000. But he demanded that all of this be applied to debt retirement. ‘I cannot recommend tax reduction,’ he said in direct challenge to the Republican Congress. ‘The responsibilities of the federal government cannot be fully met in the fiscal year 1948 at a lower cost than here indicated. At the present time, in my judgment, high taxes contribute to the welfare and security of the country.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1955, the Eagle reported, “Lafayette High School is making plans to tackle the juvenile delinquency problem in a positive way. Mrs. Mary C. Graham, principal of the school, located at Benson Ave. and Bay 43rd St., is inviting the students to help draft a code of behavior, which will include conduct in and outside the school and which will affect their dress. The novel plan, first to be tried in the city, will evolve from a panel discussion at the Parent-Teacher Association meeting, Wednesday at 8:30 p.m., in the school auditorium. Students and teachers will participate in the discussion with parents. The code formulated will serve as a pattern of behavior at the school. Mrs. Gloria Zegans, program chairman of the P.T.A. at Lafayette High School, who arranged the program, said the idea may spread citywide as a weapon to combat the menace of juvenile delinquency.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “IOWA CITY, IOWA (UPI) — A team of scientists led by University of Iowa Prof. James A. Van Allen recommended that the first man on the moon take a robot along for the ride. The scientists, reporting on a study of the U.S. space program, said robots could extend scientific study by exploring hostile regions on other planets. The report, prepared by the National Academy of Sciences for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, advised that work be accelerated on ‘Telepuppets’ — robots capable of learning tasks and adapting to changing conditions.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include opera singer Sherrill Milnes, who was born in 1935; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rod Stewart, who was born in 1945; opera singer James Morris, who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), who was born in 1948; International Boxing Hall of Famer George Foreman, who was born in 1949; “Shadows of the Night” singer Pat Benatar, who was born in Brooklyn in 1953; “Sunny Came Home” singer Shawn Colvin, who was born in 1956; Crash Test Dummies singer Brad Roberts, who was born in 1964; International Boxing Hall of Famer Felix Trinidad, who was born in 1973; “Person of Interest” star Sarah Shahi, who was born in 1980; and N.Y. Giants safety Landon Collins, who was born in 1994.

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PUBLISH OR PERISH: Common Sense was published on this day in 1776. Thomas Paine’s 50-page pamphlet sold 150,000 copies within a few months of its first printing and had a great influence on the authors of the Declaration of Independence.

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THE CURTAIN RISES: “Masterpiece Theater” premiered on this day in 1971. PBS’s long-running anthology series consists of highly acclaimed original and adapted dramatizations, many of which are produced by the BBC. Notable programs include “Upstairs Downstairs” (1974-77), “I, Claudius” (1978) and “Downton Abbey” (2011-16). The title of the series is now “Masterpiece.”

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

Quotable:

“Sure the fight was fixed. I fixed it with a right hand.”

— boxing legend George Foreman, who was born on this day in 1949