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January 21: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 21, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1901, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — At the opening of today’s session of the Senate, the Chaplain, in his invocation, referred with deep pathos to the condition of Queen Victoria. ‘With a multitude which no man can number,’ he prayed, ‘we come with tremendous anxiety and the             profoundest awe to the bedside of the great, good Queen, who lies on the border of two worlds. Living for more than three score years in the fierce light which beats upon a throne, by her conduct and character she has won not only the loyalty of her own people, but the veneration and homage of all true hearted men and women around the world. And now, as it seems she is to depart from the earth, crowned with the blessings and love of countless myriads of the human family, let Thy heavenly grace cheer and sustain her in this supreme hour. Likewise minister Thy tenderness and sympathy to all the members of her bereaved family and to the people of her realm, who feel as if their mother were departing from them. We confide her, her children and her people to Thy Almighty care and providence, through Jesus Christ, Our Saviour.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1908, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — President [Theodore] Roosevelt is so much concerned over the lack of strong military defenses on the Pacific Coast and in the Hawaiian Islands that he is writing letters to members of Congress, calling their attention to the deplorable situation. The president thinks it is a matter of prime importance that Congress should this year provide liberally for guns for the Pacific Coast and also for Pearl Harbor in the Sandwich Islands … Chairman [John] Hull of the House Committee on Military Affairs has received one of the president’s letters. Incidentally, it has converted him to the president’s way of thinking, and while Mr. Hull is not a member of the committee which prepares the fortifications measures, he stands ready to give his support to a liberal bill. ‘I endorse every word the president says about the desirability of fortifying not only the Pacific Coast but the Hawaiian Islands,’ said Mr. Hull today. ‘The president’s letter referred exclusively to Hawaii, which he apparently regards as the vital point, in a strategic sense, to the West. There is no place in the entire continental United States so greatly in need of powerful batteries as Pearl Harbor. In my opinion it is far more essential to fortify this place than San Francisco, Puget Sound or any of the other coast cities.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (AP) — A new king, Edward VIII, took up the rule of the British Empire of nearly five hundred million people today. The man whom the world has known as the Prince of Wales discarded royal precedent to fly from the bier of his late father George V in Sandringham House to the capital. He made the 100-mile trip in his private airplane and was the first British monarch to travel by air. Four hours later the new ruler met the Privy Council in an ancient ceremony at St. James’s Palace. He made his declaration and received the oath of allegiance from the councilors who served his late father. The new title, King Edward VIII, was used for the first time tonight when Parliament met to swear allegiance to him … The formal coronation of the new King, in accordance with precedent, will not take place until more than a year hence, when the mourning period will have ended. The 70-year-old King George was crowned more than 13 months after his accession in 1910.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “One of America’s foremost educators charged yesterday that the City’s public colleges ‘are under heavy political control’ and called for reforms to give them greater fiscal independence. Former Dean Louis M. Hacker, the man who built Columbia University’s School of General Studies into a full-scale degree-granting college for adult education, told the Brooklyn Eagle he favored charging tuition at public colleges to help encourage academic freedom. He said tax monies saved could be used to improve the hard-pressed primary and secondary school systems. Hacker is a product of Brooklyn public schools himself, having attended Public School 43 and Boys High School. Trustees of the State University of New York will meet tomorrow in Manhattan to discuss imposing tuition fees at the 55 branches throughout the state. They were given power to charge fees in a law passed by the Legislature two years ago. At the time of passage of the legislation, City education officials objected that the law would open the way for charging fees at the City colleges, including Brooklyn College, which, by long tradition, have been free to all local residents meeting academic standards. The City colleges are not part of the State University. The latter institution maintains teachers colleges, agricultural and vocational colleges, and in recent years has been setting up many two-year community colleges. Some of the community colleges charge fees ranging from $300. ‘There is no reason why publicly supported colleges and universities in New York State and City should not charge tuition. All other states do so,’ said Hacker, who has retired as dean and is now a professor of economics at Columbia. ‘There will be greater independence for faculty in the budget-making process,’ Hacker asserted, ‘if revenues are largely independent of the public purse.’”

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Geena Davis
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Hakeem Olajuwon
Eric Christian Smith/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include World Golf Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus, who was born in 1940; “L.A. Law” star Jill Eikenberry, who was born in 1947; “Caribbean Queen” singer Billy Ocean, who was born in 1950; former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was born in 1951; painter and sculptor Jeff Koons, who was born in 1955; “Ice Castles” star Robby Benson, who was born in 1956; Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis, who was born in 1956; Basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, who was born in 1963; “NYPD Blue” star Charlotte Ross, who was born in 1968; “Lost” star Ken Leung, who was born in 1970; “Paranormal Activity” director Oren Peli, who was born in 1970; singer-songwriter Cat Power, who was born in 1972; decathlete and Olympic gold medalist Ashton Eaton, who was born in 1988; and “Baywatch” star Kelly Rohrbach, who was born in 1990.

Jack Nicklaus
Jay LaPrete/AP

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GRAND DESIGNS: Christian Dior was born on this day in 1905. The influential French fashion designer was the world’s premier style maker after World War II up until the 1950s. He was also one of the first designers to utilize licensing to help create his own brand. He died in 1957.

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UP TO SPEED: The supersonic Concorde airplane was put into service by Britain and France on this day in 1976. It was taken out of service on Oct. 24, 2003, bringing an end to supersonic air travel.

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

 

Quotable:

“Don’t be too proud to take lessons. I’m not.”

— World Golf Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus, who was born on this day in 1940

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