February 19: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

February 19, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1842, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Long after [George] Washington’s victories over the French and English had made his name familiar over all Europe, Dr. [Benjamin] Franklin chanced to dine with the English and French Ambassadors, when the following toasts were drunk: By the British Ambassador: ‘England — the Sun, whose beams enlighten and fructify the remotest corners of the earth.’ The French Ambassador, glowing with national pride, drank: ‘France — the Moon, whose mild, steady and cheering rays are the delight of all nations, consoling them in darkness, making their dreariness beautiful.’ Dr. Franklin then arose, and with his usual dignified simplicity, said: ‘George Washington — the Joshua, who commanded the sun and moon to stand still, and they obeyed him.’”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1911, the Eagle reported, “Two copies of an ancient newspaper carrying accounts of the illness and death of General George Washington, besides incidents attending both, are in the possession of Lyndon Arnold of Pierrepont street. Mr. Arnold’s family formerly lived in Providence. The newspaper is the Providence Gazette, published January 4, 1800, which contains all the news of the death of the First President of the Nation, giving an account of the funeral cortege as it arrived at the banks of the Potomac. Washington died December 14, 1799, but newspapers were published at long intervals in those days, and the Providence Gazette was the first newspaper to startle the world with the news of General Washington’s death. The Congress of the United States went into session and took action on the death of Washington on Monday, December 23, according to the Gazette, and ‘resolved that a marble monument be erected by the United States in the Capitol, in the City of Washington, and that the family of George Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it, and that the monument be so designed as to commemorate the great events of his military and political life.’”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1911, the Eagle reported, “Brooklyn has surrendered to the auto show. Surely no ducal feast or levee of princes ever presented to the general public a more gorgeous spectacle or exerted more enthralling interest than did the first automobile exhibition which opened in the Twenty-third Regiment Armory last night under the auspices of the Brooklyn Motor Vehicle Dealers Association. Keyed up to the pitch of enthusiasm by similar forms of enterprise held all over the country, the citizens of the City of Churches have responded nobly. From 7:30 o’clock, when the massive doors of the gigantic structure on Bedford avenue swung open, there was a surge of expectant humanity. Thousands have already paid their homage and tens of thousands more will do so before the week is out. To the average citizen, automobile show attendance is no longer a fad; it is a duty. A more comprehensive and educative display than the local show it would be hard to imagine. It is thoroughly typical of the great industry which it represents, and but for the published fact that it is the first under local association auspices, one would almost be justified in declaring that the Brooklyn Motor Vehicle Dealers Association has already said the last word.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — The Air Force disclosed today that objects resembling ‘flying disks’ have been sighted over Korea by crew members of two U.S. bombers. Top officials have ordered a full investigation of the reports, which came through regular military intelligence channels. A spokesman said the objects were described by four eyewitnesses as globe-shaped, bright orange in color, and emitting an occasional flash of bluish light. He indicated that several were sighted, but did not give the number. The Air Force, which has thrown cold water on hundreds of previous ‘flying saucer’ stories, apparently was impressed by the circumstances under which the new sightings were reported by its own personnel.”

***

Smokey Robinson
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Smokey Robinson, who was born in 1940; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), who was born in 1948; “The Joy Luck Club” author Amy Tan, who was born in 1952; “The Newsroom” star Jeff Daniels, who was born in 1955; “Dynasty” star Kathleen Beller, who was born in 1956; former World Series MVP Dave Stewart, who was born in 1957; “Bridget Jones’s Diary” author Helen Fielding, who was born in 1958; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was born in 1959; “Kiss From a Rose” singer Seal, who was born in 1963; Kansas City Chiefs co-owner Clark Hunt, who was born in 1965; Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro, who was born in 1967; “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” author Jeff Kinney, who was born in 1971; actress and singer Haylie Duff, who was born in 1985; and “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, who was born in 2004.

Benicio del Toro
Eva Rinaldi/Wikimedia Commons

***

A STAR IS BORN: Nicolaus Copernicus was born on this day in 1473. The Polish astronomer and priest revolutionized scientific thought with what came to be called the Copernican theory, which put the sun instead of the earth at the center of our planetary system. He died in East Prussia in 1543.

***

A PERSON OF NOTE: Saul Chaplin was born on this day in 1912. The Brooklyn native attended New York University School of Commerce and played in dance bands in the 1930s. He made his mark in Hollywood as a composer, arranger and producer for such films as “Cover Girl” (1944), “On the Town” (1949), “An American in Paris” (1951), “Kiss Me Kate” (1953), “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954), “West Side Story” (1961) and “The Sound of Music” (1965), winning three Academy Awards. He died in 1997.

***

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

Quotable

“We regard it as a certainty that the earth, enclosed between poles, is bounded by a spherical surface.”

— astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born on this day in 1473