July 8: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 8, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “ROCHESTER, MINN. (A.P.) — James Roosevelt, son and secretary of President Roosevelt, announced in a statement today that Collier’s Magazine will publish next month his ‘factual account’ of his insurance activities. The Saturday Evening Post recently published an article which Roosevelt, here for treatment for a stomach disorder, said ‘purported to tell the story of my activities in the insurance field.’ … The statement read: ‘I have had many requests for a reply to a recent magazine article purporting to tell the story of my activities in the insurance field. What is needed is not so much a reply as a factual account of those activities with a view to correcting improper conclusions drawn from statements so adroitly dressed up to resemble a factual account that many have evidently accepted them as taken from the records. Inasmuch as I now hold public office, I feel that the public is entitled to a clear statement of all the facts so that they may judge for themselves. Simultaneous releases to press and radio were agreed upon.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, JULY 7 — A 40,000-mile system of interstate highways connecting the principal cities in the United States will be mapped this Summer for postwar construction, the Public Roads Administration of the Federal Works Agency announced today. The most heavily traveled rural highways in the present Federal-aid system and main arteries in the urban areas will be included in the new plan. Route recommendations, submitted by State highway departments, will be reviewed by the agency’s divisional offices before transmittal to Washington for final approval. While some State highways built before the war, principally in New York and Connecticut, are up to standard, most of them will have to be rebuilt to accord with modern requirements, Commissioner Thomas H. MacDonald said. The program is designed to revolutionize traffic facilities in many large cities. Broad arterial routes will eliminate traffic bottlenecks. Expressways will go direct from outlying sections.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “BEVERLY HILLS, CAL. (U.P.) — Howard Hughes, multi-millionaire sportsman, today was given a 50-50 chance to survive after he crashed in his new army photographic plane on its initial flight. The handsome 40-year-old airplane builder, who also found time to make movie queens of the late Jean Harlow and voluptuous Jane Russell, was testing his super-fast XF-11, which he designed and built for the army. Eight minutes after the takeoff last night the plane apparently developed motor trouble and came down in the center of a swanky residential district. The plane struck two homes and plowed into a $100,000 mansion, setting off a series of fires and explosions that rocked this neighborhood. Doctors at Good Samaritan Hospital said Mr. Hughes was in ‘very critical condition.’ His injuries included a broken rib which pierced his left lung, a possible skull fracture, broken left collarbone, possible left leg fracture, a badly burned left hand, a broken nose and many cuts and bruises.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “COLUMBIA, S.C., JULY 7 (U.P.) — Three persons faced charges here today for rolling cigarettes of oak leaves and catnip and selling them as marijuana for $1 each. Seven others, including three girls, were charged with selling the real thing.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Eisenhower today assured Korean President Syngman Rhee that the United States is looking forward to the peaceful reunification of Korea and intends to work for it after an armistice. However, the President, at his weekly news conference, did not indorse President Rhee’s demands that the war be resumed if a political conference fails to unify Korea after three months of deliberation. The President said the question of trying to reunify Korea by warfare is something that would have to be weighed against the future of the United Nations. He said the hopes of all are high for the success of the world organization.”

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Milo Ventimiglia
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Songwriters Hall of Famer Steve Lawrence, who was born in Brooklyn in 1935; “Arrested Development” star Jeffrey Tambor, who was born in 1944; “True Grit” star Kim Darby, who was born in 1947; celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, who was born in 1949; Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston, who was born in 1951; Pro Football Hall of Famer Jack Lambert, who was born in 1952; author and activist Marianne Williamson, who was born in 1952; “Footloose” star Kevin Bacon, who was born in 1958; “One of Us” singer Joan Osborne, who was born in 1962; “Loser” singer Beck, who was born in 1970; “Heroes” star Milo Ventimiglia, who was born in 1977; “One Tree Hill” star Sophia Bush, who was born in 1982; and rapper and actor Jaden Smith, who was born in 1998.

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POST TIME: On this day in 1911, Nan Jane Aspinwall rode into New York City carrying a letter to Mayor William Jay Gaynor from San Francisco Mayor Patrick Henry McCarthy, becoming the first woman to cross the U.S. on horseback. She began her trip on Sept. 1, 1910 and covered 4,500 miles in 301 days.

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TIME FLIES: On this day in 2011, Space Shuttle Atlantis took off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for the 135th and last mission of the space shuttle program. Atlantis was carrying supplies for the International Space Station and its 12-day mission included an investigation into robotically refueling spacecraft. The first space shuttle, Columbia, was launched on April 12, 1981. Robert L. Crippen, commander of that flight, was present at the final launch.

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

Quotable:

“The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with.”

— comedian Marty Feldman, who was born on this day in 1934