February 2: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

February 2, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1860, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The long-drawn battle for the Speakership is happily brought to a close. Upon the first ballot yesterday, 233 being present and 117 necessary to a choice, Mr. Briggs, of New York, added his vote to those which Mr. Pennington had secured the day before, and Mr. Pennington, having thus 117 votes, was declared elected. He was conducted to the chair by Messrs. Sherman and Bocock, and the oath of office having been administered, the members were also sworn in.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “The fuel shortage remained critical today despite increased oil deliveries to homes and temperatures that were headed above the freezing mark for the first time since Jan. 22. A new cold snap was predicted for late tomorrow. In another move to meet the situation, top officials, including Mayor [William] O’Dwyer, Police Commissioner [Arthur] Wallander and Rear Admiral Monroe Kelly, commandant of the 3rd Naval District, scheduled a meeting behind closed doors this afternoon at Manhattan Police Headquarters. There was no official explanation of the purpose of the meeting beyond the fact that the fuel shortage would be canvassed with the aid of a number of top-ranking oil dealers. Nor was there any explanation of the presence of Admiral Kelly, although observers assumed that his position would have a bearing on the problem of distribution of fuel by tankers along the coast.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “OSLO (U.P.) — Norway joined the Western Powers in their cold war with Russia today by declaring officially that it wished to join the proposed North Atlantic defense pact for ‘increased security.’ The government of this constitutional monarchy of 3,000,000 assured Russia that no foreign power would be permitted to establish bases on Norwegian soil ‘as long as Norway is not attacked or subject to threats of attack.’ But, said Norway, the United Nations is not yet strong enough to provide full protection. Therefore, ‘as a typical seafaring country,’ Norway was hoping to join a regional defense pact of Atlantic nations. This tremendously significant declaration of policy was contained in a short government reply to Russia’s recent request for information on Norway’s attitude toward the Atlantic pact. In this request Russia noted that the Soviets have a common boundary with Norway. The reply meant that Norway under the pressure of the cold war has abandoned her traditional Scandinavian neutrality to defy Russia and side with the Western Powers. At the same time, Norway’s Ambassador to Washington, Wilhelm Morgenstierne, announced that he would leave Oslo for Washington at the end of this week. He was called to Oslo to advise his government on the American attitude.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA. (U.P.) — The Punxsutawney groundhog made his annual groundhog day appearance today at 8:03 a.m. and cast a shadow three feet two inches long, followers reported after a secrecy-shrouded meeting atop nearby Gobbler’s Knob. Members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club said the ancient woodchuck waddled back into his den to sleep out six more weeks of Winter. According to an old tradition, if the groundhog had cast no shadow, Spring would have been at hand and his Winter-long sleep ended. A club spokesman said the furry coat of the grizzled old prophet had turned almost white since he last was seen months ago. ‘The old boy told us this sleep had been interrupted by atomic explosions which kept shaking his den,’ a club member said.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “(UPI) — The New York Mets, bad as they are, still have a fatal fascination for a major chunk of the big town’s baseball fans. Advance ticket sales for ’63 are running well ahead of last season when the Mets drew 922,530 to the Polo Grounds for their inaugural campaign. The Mets will open again at the Polo Grounds but advance ticket buyers already have been informed where their seat locations will be if and when the club switches to the new Flushing Meadows Stadium during the season.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “(UPI) — Rosie Grier, hulking New York Football Giants lineman, makes his Carnegie Hall debut as a folk singer on the afternoon of Feb. 9. He’ll present his guitar and vocal jazz arrangements of folk tunes as part of a three-hour concert ‘Salute to the artistic achievements of Negro performers.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include comedian Tom Smothers, who was born in 1937; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Graham Nash, who was born in 1942; “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Brent Spiner, who was born in 1949; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ross Valory (Journey), who was born in 1949; model and actress Christie Brinkley, who was born in 1954; “Guiding Light” star Kim Zimmer, who was born in 1955; “The Pretender” star Michael T. Weiss, who was born in 1962; “Rescue Me” star Adam Ferrara, who was born in 1966; former NBA forward Sean Elliott, who was born in 1968; former NFL wide receiver Donald Driver, who was born in 1975; “Hips Don’t Lie” singer Shakira, who was born in 1977; “Haven” star Emily Rose, who was born in 1981; “Clash of the Titans” star Gemma Arterton, who was born in 1986; and “Girls” star Zosia Mamet, who was born in 1988.

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DUTCH TREAT: New York City was born on this day in 1653 when the magistrates of the Dutch colony on Manhattan Island signed a municipal charter making New Amsterdam a city. When the English took over in 1664, the city was renamed in honor of James, the Duke of York.

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HALLOWED HALL: The Baseball Hall of Fame announced its five charter members on this day in 1936. Of 226 ballots cast, Ty Cobb was named on 222, Babe Ruth on 215, Honus Wagner on 215, Christy Mathewson on 205 and Walter Johnson on 189. A total of 170 votes were necessary for election.

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

Quotable:

“You want a friend who’s going to tell you the truth. That’s what it’s about.”

— former NFL wide receiver Donald Driver, who was born on this day in 1975