March 2: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 2, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Hundreds of ‘flying saucers’ were to fly over downtown Brooklyn at 2 p.m. today as the Brooklyn Red Cross Chapter adopts the most modern means of communication possible to spread the story of its 1953 fund drive. The ‘flying saucers,’ made of lightweight cardboard and carrying a special Red Cross message, were to be released from the lattice work atop the Brooklyn Paramount Building, Flatbush Ave. Extension and DeKalb Ave., by Broadway actress Virginia de Luce, star of ‘New Faces of 1952,’ and two wounded veterans of the Korean fighting. Pedestrians returning the ‘saucers,’ with receipts for Red Cross contributions, will be entitled to free admission to the theater.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Government buildings bristled with extra guards today and Federal agents moved swiftly against a fanatical band of Puerto Rican assassins that has terrorized official Washington twice in less than four years. The FBI investigated a possible Communist link in the bloody violence that erupted in the House of Representatives yesterday. United States and Puerto Rican government officials were outraged. Five Congressmen fell wounded in the fantastic fusillade. The shots that rocked the world were fired from a spectators’ gallery by Puerto Rican nationalist hotheads led by a petite, pistol-packing brunette who said defiantly: ‘I am not sorry what I did.’ Speaker Joseph W. Martin Jr. directed the House Committee on Un-American Activities to investigate immediately ‘the background of any subversive plot’ against this Government and its officials. Meanwhile, Speaker Martin canceled all outstanding cards of admission to the House of Representatives as Federal officials agreed on a ‘temporary’ security plan to guard against any new terroristic acts. Martin issued 10,000 new cards of admission to the House galleries and warned members to be careful about giving them out.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Brooklyn Record reported, “A bill to restore the free tuition mandate in the city’s municipal colleges will be introduced by Assemblyman Max M. Turshen, D-Brooklyn, ‘to keep the doors of these colleges open to deserving students who cannot afford high costs at private institutions.’ Turshen’s bill, backing the stand of the Board of Higher Education, would guarantee a free tuition education to all who could meet the high standards of the colleges, now the City University of New York. Turshen noted that the tradition of free tuition is imperiled by a rider to the Governor’s scholar-incentive bill. This rider removed from the State Education Law the mandate to the City to provide free higher education. Although Governor [Nelson] Rockefeller has disavowed any move to end free tuition education, a future governor could reverse this stand by putting this rider into effect. ‘Thousands of talented young people would then discover that the door to a higher education is slammed in their faces,’ Turshen said. ‘The Legislature must act to safeguard their right to continue their learning at the college level.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (UPI) — The Public Health Service yesterday reported that radioactive fallout increased slightly in several parts of the nation during January but only Palmer, Alaska, was getting a dose approaching warning level. For the fifth consecutive month, the PHS reported that Palmer received a 12-month accumulation of iodine 131 that was above the federal radiation council’s ‘acceptable health risk’ guide. Despite increases in some cases, none of the 62 radiation monitoring stations across the nation recorded monthly or yearly accumulations of strontium 89 or the more dangerous strontium 90 anywhere near the warning range. Fallout levels are figured on the average amount of each nuclear fission byproduct in a liter of milk. The guide for iodine 131 is set for the most susceptible group, infants and very young children. Tolerance of adults is about 10 times that of this group.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Northern Exposure” star John Cullum, who was born in 1930; “The World According to Garp” author John Irving, who was born in 1942; original “Saturday Night Live” star Laraine Newman, who was born in 1952; Missing Persons singer Dale Bozzio, who was born in 1955; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi, who was born in 1962; former Atlanta Braves outfielder Ron Gant, who was born in 1965; rapper and actor Method Man, who was born in 1971; “Pitch Perfect” star Rebel Wilson, who was born in 1980; “Jurassic World” star Bryce Dallas Howard, who was born in 1981; former N.Y. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who was born in 1982; singer-songwriter Becky G, who was born in 1997; and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was born in 1998.

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TAKE ME OUT TO THE SPY GAME: Moe Berg was born on this day in 1902. The New York native, who graduated from Princeton University and Columbia Law School, spent 15 seasons as a catcher in the major leagues, making his debut with the Brooklyn Robins in 1923. During World War II, he worked as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services, a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. He died in 1972.

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A TALL ORDER: Wilt Chamberlain hit triple digits on this day in 1962. The Philadelphia Warriors center scored 100 points in a 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pa. It was and still is the single-game scoring record. The second-highest total is 81, recorded by the late Kobe Bryant in 2006.

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STILL SOUNDS GOOD: “The Sound of Music” premiered on this day in 1965. The perennially popular family film musical, starring Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp, was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise).

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

Quotable:

“The problem with fiction, it has to be plausible. That’s not true with non-fiction.”

— author Tom Wolfe, who was born on this day in 1930