February 5: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

February 5, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1888, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Mexico is making a high bid for immigration. It is reported by way of El Paso that the Government has made a concession to a real estate company whereby 55,000 acres of land in 11 different States is to come into its possession, to be occupied by immigrants. Settlers on these tracts are to be exempt from taxation on the land, and the Government guarantees them protection. It is proposed to establish agencies in the principal cities of America and Europe to induce immigration to Mexico.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1908, the Eagle reported, “Officers of the signal corps of the army are experimenting with an imported instrument for taking long-range photographs from points in the clouds. It is used by the operators of war balloons and is called the Telephot-camera, being an invention of a Swiss scientist. Major Edgar Russell of the signal corps took the camera to Old Point Comfort when the battleship fleet was gathered there, and he got some good pictures. As Admiral Evans’ fighting dogs steamed out to sea, Major Russell secured photos of the vessels at distances ranging from one to five miles. He was located on top of the Hotel Chamberlin with his apparatus, and despite the great range the negatives turned out satisfactorily. The camera is now being used in war balloons, with which the signal corps at Fort Myer, Virginia, is experimenting. This camera is a costly affair, the bill for the one now in use being $600. It weighs forty pounds and three enlisted men are required to set it up. If it is found to answer the purposes of the army, several more will be purchased and installed as part of the equipment of the military balloon. The Telephot-camera will be useful in ascertaining information about forts so situated that an ordinary balloon cannot approach near enough to observe the defenses. With the telescopic lenses with which the camera is fitted, photographs may be taken at long range, which give all the results obtained from near-view snap shots.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Requests for appearances before the Board of Estimate fare-boost hearings poured into the Board of Estimate offices today, with the first mail opened revealing applications by nine groups and individuals opposed to a ten-cent fare, three in favor and three non-committal. These 15 requests, all certified, are merely the vanguard of a host of others, according to Mrs. Hilda Schwartz, board secretary. Her desk was beginning to be crowded with applications to be heard at the sessions, which start at 10:30 a.m. Monday and will continue through Wednesday. Mrs. Schwartz reported that the bulk of the requests will be filed just before the hearings begin … Meanwhile the issue of a 5-cent fare against a 10-cent one, most turbulent topic to hit city politics in many years, was headed for a showdown by Feb. 20 as far as the board was concerned, with indications pointing to a referendum on the subject. Mayor [William] O’Dwyer has stated that the board decision will be made before he leaves on that date for a California vacation.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1960, the Brooklyn Record reported, “Proponents of a $250,000,000 World Trade Center in the Wall Street financial district were invited to survey Brooklyn Heights as a more suitable site by Norman H. Free, general manager of the Hotel St. George and chairman of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Hotels Committee. The center would be designed, according to sponsors, to encourage the flow of commerce through the Port of New York and make it easier for American and foreign traders to meet and display their wares. ‘Brooklyn Heights already has the basic requirements for such a world trade center with hotel accommodations of 4,000 rooms and ample ballrooms for displays,’ pointed out Mr. Free in a letter to David Rockefeller, Manhattan’s proponent of the plan. ‘Right at our doorstep are the new Port of New York Authority piers which would bring the products here from all parts of the world. There are ample sites for any additional buildings which may be necessary,’ he added. It was also pointed out that further skyscraper development of lower Manhattan would add traffic and parking problems which already are baffling the authorities.”

***

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Falcon Crest” star David Selby, who was born in 1941; Pro Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, who was born in 1942; “Heat” director Michael Mann, who was born in 1943; Blood, Sweat & Tears founder Al Kooper, who was born in Brooklyn in 1944; “Georgy Girl” star Charlotte Rampling, who was born in 1946; “A Mighty Wind” director Christopher Guest, who was born in 1948; “Beaches” star Barbara Hershey, who was born in 1948; “John Adams” star Tom Wilkinson, who was born in 1948; former “Saturday Night Live” star Tim Meadows, who was born in 1961; former N.Y. Yankees catcher Mike Heath, who was born in 1955; “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” star Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was born in 1962; “John Adams” star Laura Linney, who was born in 1964; former “Saturday Night Live” star Chris Parnell, who was born in 1967; Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, who was born in 1968; and “Glee” star Darren Criss, who was born in 1987.

***

FOUNDER’S DAY: John Witherspoon was born 200 years ago today. The native Scotsman represented New Jersey in the Second Continental Congress and was the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. He also reputedly coined the word “Americanism.” He died in 1794.

***

BRAVE NEW WORLD: Hank Aaron was born on this day in 1934. The Alabama native made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954. Known as “Hammerin’ Hank,” he won the 1957 National League MVP award while leading the Braves to the World Series championship. In 1974, he passed Babe Ruth to become first on the all-time home run list with 715. He retired in 1976 with 755 — a record that was broken by Barry Bonds in 2007 — and still holds the all-time record for RBIs (2,297) and total bases (6,856). Aaron was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He died in 2021.

***

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

Quotable:

“My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.”

— Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who was born on this day in 1934