July 16: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 16, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1868, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Lightning was very mischievous along the Sound, Sunday afternoon. In Bridgeport it came in flashes and in balls of fire, struck several houses, set one on fire, and damaged many, killed a cow, knocked down and scorched several men and women, and split trees and telegraph poles. In Seymour, two horses were killed and a man severely burned. Five times it struck in Stratford.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1881, the Eagle reported, “Great forest fires are reported as raging all along the north shore of Quebec as far as Manitou and as far back in the country as the eye can reach.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported, “HOLLYWOOD, CAL. (A.P.) — How are talking movies made? The question is being asked by many film fans, but even more eagerly is an answer sought by players, directors and producers. For the players who have worked in sound-pictures are few; the directors who have made sound-pictures can be counted on the fingers of one hand; and the producers who actually have sound-pictures playing in the theaters at the present moment are two — Fox and Warner Brothers. Though trade names like Vitaphone, Movietone, Photophone and Firnatone continue to multiply, all sound-pictures now on the market can be classified roughly in two groups: 1. Those in which the sound is recorded on disks similar to phonograph records; 2. Those in which the sound is recorded on film, which may be either the identical film that carries the picture or a secondary film geared to the same shaft. In both disk and film methods, powerful amplifiers similar in principle to those used in modern radio sets play a vital part. And in either system the ‘ear’ which ‘hears’ the actor while the camera lens ‘sees’ him is a microphone, or set of microphones, similar to those used in radio broadcasting.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, an Eagle editorial said, “Indications are that politically-minded members of the State Legislature are prepared to spike Governor [Herbert] Lehman’s demand that the special session put through a long-overdue reapportionment of the Senatorial and Assembly districts. Up-State Republicans and Manhattan Democrats who would lose under such a redistricting are apparently joining hands to deny Kings County and other sections where there has been a big growth in population the increased representation to which they are entitled. As regards Congressional district reapportionment, several bills have already been introduced, but they are under fire from both Democrats and Republicans in Brooklyn. The former declare that the new district lines have been drawn in such a way that Representatives Cullen and Delaney would be in one district and Representatives Black and Somers in another, thus virtually forcing out of the House two of the most experienced members of the local delegation. From the Republican side, Elections Commissioner Livingston charges that all the bills would cheat Brooklyn out of at least one seat. Brooklyn now has seven seats; the bills give it eight; and according to Mr. Livingston its population entitles it to nine and a fraction. He has drafted a new measure which State Senator Blumberg is scheduled to introduce today, giving nine Congressmen and nine Senators to this borough.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “POTSDAM (U.P.) — President Truman toured the war-ravaged heart of Berlin today while awaiting the opening of the Big Three conference which was postponed until tomorrow by a delay in the arrival of Premier Stalin. Mr. Truman left Potsdam at 3:30 p.m. with an armored escort. For two hours he traveled through the streets of central Berlin, critically viewing the destruction wrought by the Allied armies and air forces. It wasn’t a victory tour with flashy ceremonials, but a serious study of destruction which Mr. Truman said was due to a man ‘who overreached himself.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include International Tennis Hall of Famer Margaret Court, who was born in 1942; Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson, who was born in 1943; “Crossover Dreams” star Ruben Blades, who was born in 1948; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stewart Copeland (The Police), who was born in 1952; “Angels in America” playwright Tony Kushner, who was born in 1956; “V” star Faye Grant, who was born in 1957; “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” star Phoebe Cates, who was born in 1963; former “Saturday Night Live” star Will Ferrell, who was born in 1967; Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, who was born in 1968; “Stand by Me” star Corey Feldman, who was born in 1971; Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Women’s World Cup soccer champion Carli Lloyd, who was born in 1982; and “Nip/Tuck” star AnnaLynne McCord, who was born in 1987.

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A CAPITAL IDEA: On this day in 1790, President George Washington signed legislation that selected the District of Columbia as the permanent capital of the U.S. Boundaries of the district were established in 1792. Plans called for the government to remain housed at Philadelphia until 1800, when the new national capital would be ready for occupancy.

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THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: The U.S. tested the first atomic bomb on this day in 1945. The experimental plutonium bomb was set off at 5:30 a.m. in the New Mexico desert. Dubbed “Fat Boy” by its creator, it vaporized the steel scaffolding holding it as an immense fireball rose 8,000 feet in a fraction of a second, creating a mushroom cloud to a height of 41,000 feet. At ground zero the bomb emitted heat three times the temperature of the interior of the sun. All plant and animal life for a mile around ceased to exist.

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

Quotable:

“The only way to enjoy anything in this life is to earn it first.”

— entertainer Ginger Rogers, who was born on this day in 1911