June 20: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 20, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1922, Brooklyn Daily Eagle columnist John Billings, Jr., said, “WASHINGTON — The Anheuser-Busch Company, which ever since the passage of the Volstead Act has been making what it calls ‘astounding exposes’ about the laxity of prohibition enforcement, has just issued a pamphlet under the title of ‘Prohibition Afloat,’ which purports to show gross violations of the dry law aboard vessels operated by the United States Shipping Board. Yet somehow no one is stepping forth with abundant thanks for the big brewing company in St. Louis which has gathered for publication this supposed damning evidence against the way Uncle Sam administers ‘dry’ justice. The Anheuser-Busch Company adopted a spirit of arid fanaticism too suddenly to put down suspicion. The mere fact that such a concern should busy itself with making great splashes in the limpid waters of prohibition rather dulls the edge of the arguments put forth and weakens the force of the exhibits presented in this little pamphlet.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “OLEAN, N.Y. (AP) — Light snow fell early today at Rock City, in the Allegheny Mountain foothills, on the eve of the official first day of Summer. A minimum temperature of 34 degrees was recorded.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. (U.P.) — Governor [Thomas] Dewey, speaking at the Williams College commencement yesterday, said America has thought too long ‘that if we could keep Europe free, we could keep a free world.’ ‘We have concentrated on Europe while Asia has been going under and the Communists are working busily in Africa,’ the Governor said. ‘This is a world struggle, and it is time we thought of it in its true perspective.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “SHANGHAI (U.P.) — The New China News Agency today quoted Mao Tze-tung, Chinese Communist chieftain, that Communist China would become a ‘People’s Democratic Republic,’ governed by a coalition of left-wing parties.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “OSSINING, N.Y. (U.P.) — Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, defiant to the last, paid with their lives for betraying their native land. Executioner Joseph Francel sent 16,000 volts of electricity through their bodies shortly before sundown last night. Julius, the weaker, went first and withered under three shocks of 2,000 volts each. It took five jolts to kill his wife. Thus was sealed for eternity the secrets of a Soviet spy ring which many experts fear may still be operating in this country. The Rosenbergs refused to the end to trade the secrets for their life. The husband and wife were executed against a backdrop of world-wide agitation unequaled since the Sacco-Vanzetti case of the 1920s. Fired by Communist propaganda, the demonstrations reached such fever pitch in Paris that shooting broke out and one man was wounded. The White House in Washington was virtually besieged. The Rosenbergs were the first American civilians to die for spying. They were accused of sending a rough sketch of the atomic bomb to Russia. ‘Plain, deliberate, contemplated murder is dwarfed in magnitude by comparison with the crime you have committed,’ Judge Irving Kaufman said in sentencing them to death on April 5, 1951. ‘Millions … may pay the price for your treason.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (UPI) — Buckingham Palace, in an almost unprecedented move, yesterday apologized for denying that Prince Charles took a drink in a corner pub. A palace spokesman said it regrets it denied newspaper reports the 14-year-old heir to the British Throne drank a glass of cherry brandy in the pub while on a school outing at Stornoway on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis. Scottish law limits such pub drinking to persons over 18. The announcement said the Prince’s police bodyguard, with Charles in the pub, ‘misled’ the palace in reporting the incident.”

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Nicole Kidman
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Lionel Richie
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Here Comes Summer” singer Jerry Keller, who was born in 1937; “The Queen” director Stephen Frears, who was born in 1941; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), who was born in 1942; “Snowbird” singer Anne Murray, who was born in 1945; “This Old House” host Bob Vila, who was born in 1946; The Crystals singer Dolores “LaLa” Brooks, who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lionel Richie, who was born in 1949; “The Simpsons” star Tress MacNeille, who was born in 1951; “Roseanne” star John Goodman, who was born in 1952; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Taylor (Duran Duran), who was born in 1960; “Remember the Titans” director Boaz Yakin, who was born in 1966; Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, who was born in 1967; “Sin City” director Robert Rodriguez, who was born in 1968; singer-songwriter Amos Lee, who was born in 1977; and N.Y. Giants defensive end Leonard Williams, who was born in 1994.

Brian Wilson
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

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UP WHERE WE BELONG: Roger Burnham and Eleanor Waring had the first balloon honeymoon on this day in 1909. The lovebirds took off from Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Mass., at 12:40 p.m. in the balloon Pittsfield and landed at 4:30 p.m. in an orchard at Holbrook, Mass.

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VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE: “The Ed Sullivan Show” premiered on this day in 1948. Officially titled “Toast of the Town” until 1955, the popular variety show ran until 1971. Sullivan signed all types of acts, both well-known and new, trying to have something to please everyone. Thousands of performers appeared, many making their television debut, such as Irving Berlin, Victor Borge, Hedy Lamarr, Walt Disney, Fred Astaire and Jane Powell. Two acts attracted the largest audiences of all time: Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

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

Quotable:

“When there’s love present, it’s easier to deal with life.”

— The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, who was born on this day in 1942