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March 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 27, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1906, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “The proposal to put ‘Tom Sawyer’ and ‘Huckleberry Finn’ on the restricted list, with ‘The Decameron,’ ‘The Launching of the Ship’ and Shaw’s plays, in our public library, resulted in some literature from Mark Twain that was worth at least two cents a word, but that may have been as good as wasted on those to whom he sent it. Because they probably thought it was immoral, and maybe it sounded like it. A debased public sentiment has defeated the scheme, however, and the youth of our town will continue to read of the wickedness of Tom and Huck and apply it at home and in school in the usual fashion.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1927, the Eagle reported, “SHANGHAI, MARCH 26 (AP) — Americans and other foreigners were fleeing tonight from points along the Yangtze Valley, driven by the fires of anti-foreign feeling which the bombardment of Nanking apparently has fanned into full blaze. Shanghai, with its armed and barricaded international settlement, offers the most secure place of refuge in Nationalist China, and it is toward this port that the refugees are headed. Hankow, Nanking and Chungking are some of the points evacuated or about to evacuated by the foreigners, while the American destroyer Preble has gone to take off small groups of Americans from Kiangyin and lesser ports below Chinkiang. Friction is reported between the foreigners and the Chinese at Chungsha, Hunan province.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1933, the Eagle reported, “Students of the School of Engineering of Columbia University overwhelmingly expressed their readiness to bear arms in defense of the United States, rejected war as an instrument of national policy, favored capitalism and denied that the ‘world is going to hell,’ in their answers to a questionnaire made public today. The questionnaire was for the 1933 Columbia Engineer, yearbook of the school. The students expressed their views as follows: Would you bear arms in defense of the United States and its Constitution? Yes, 138; no, 54; perhaps, 26. Do you believe in war as an instrument of national policy? No, 186; yes, 24; perhaps, 8. In what fundamental social doctrine do you believe? Capitalism, 78; socialism, 50; limited capitalism, 32; nothing, 32; technocracy, 6; communism, 5; Christianity, 3; scattering, 13 (democracy, anarchy, liberalism, nihilism, Rooseveltism, syndicalism, co-operation, laissez faire, more honesty). Is the world going to hell? No, 147; yes, 32; perhaps, 39.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “PHOENIX, ARIZ. (U.P.) — Rookie Mickey Mantle stubbornly refused to surrender the spotlight today as the world champion New York Yankees returned to their Spring home base to resume their exhibition schedule against major league opposition. Mantle sent his average soaring to .432 as he hit two homers, tripled with the bases filled and knocked in seven runs as the Yankees swamped the University of Southern California, 15 to 1, yesterday. Meanwhile, Joe DiMaggio went hitless in two tries and his Spring average dwindled to .188.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “NEW ORLEANS (UPI) — The hypodermic soon will become a fountain of youth, a California plastic surgeon has promised. Dr. Harvey D. Kagan, of Beverly Hills, Calif., said facial wrinkles, creases, folds and depressions caused by aging may be eliminated by injections of a solution of silicone fluid and fatty acids, rather than by surgery. Kagan reported the development in a paper delivered at a meeting of the American Otorhinologic Society here. Preliminary medical investigation shows that the injection, which fills out both small and large depressions, can make the face appear younger than it really is, Kagan said. He said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is conducting tests on the method. The fluid was formulated 12 years ago by a Japanese physician, Dr. Rin Sakurai. He claims to have used the method successfully on 72,000 persons during the past five years.”

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Elizabeth Mitchell
Lucy Pemoni/AP
Mariah Carey
Evan Agostini/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Star Wars” actor Julian Glover, who was born in 1935; composer Malcolm Goldstein, who was born in Brooklyn in 1936; racing legend Cale Yarborough, who was born in 1939; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tony Banks (Genesis), who was born in 1950; former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, who was born in 1963; Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who was born in 1963; “Licence to Kill” star Talisa Soto, who was born in Brooklyn in 1967; “NCIS” star Pauley Perrette, who was born in 1969; Songwriters Hall of Famer Mariah Carey, who was born in 1970; “Lost” star Elizabeth Mitchell, who was born in 1970; “Firefly” star Nathan Fillion, who was born in 1971; “Big Girls Don’t Cry” singer Fergie, who was born in 1975; and former San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, who was born in 1987.

Quentin Tarantino
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

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HARD TO TOP: Thorne Smith was born on this day in 1892. Perhaps the most critically neglected popular author of the 20th century, he wrote “Rain in the Doorway,” “The Stray Lamb” and “Topper.” He died in Florida in 1934.

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SIMPLY DIVINE: Sarah Vaughan was born on this day in 1924. The legendary jazz singer was renowned for her melodic improvising, wide vocal range and extraordinary technique. She began her career by winning an amateur contest at New York’s Apollo Theater in 1943. She was hired by Earl Hines to accompany his band as a relief pianist and as a singer. She was given the nickname “The Divine One” by Chicago DJ Dave Garroway, a moniker that would remain with her the rest of her life. Vaughan died in California in 1990.

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

 

Quotable:

“A lot of people are singing about how screwed up the world is, and I don’t think that everybody wants to hear about that all the time.”

— Songwriters Hall of Famer Mariah Carey, who was born in this day in 1970

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