July 19: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 19, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1880, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “A telegraphic dispatch, dated from Halifax, a few days ago announced that sharks had made their appearance in the Nova Scotia waters, and that one had given chase to a man who was rowing in a shell. Were the wires to be loaded with shark items from the bays and inlets of Long Island Sound there would not be much opportunity for the dissemination of other news. In brief, the Sound today is full of sharks, ranging from three to ten feet in length. Within the past three years the number of these unwelcome visitors have largely increased, and this year, while no report has been made of fatal consequences to bathers, they are more audacious and more numerous than ever.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1914, the Eagle reported, “Katherine B. Davis, Commissioner of Correction, has outlined plans for the development of a branch workhouse on Rikers Island. ‘Our plan,’ said Miss Davis, ‘is to reclaim Rikers Island and to develop it into a modern municipal farm where short-term prisoners can be put to work in the open air instead of dawdling in their cells, thus permitting the department to follow the agreed policy of removing the workhouse entirely from Blackwell’s Island. The workhouse on Blackwell’s Island is badly overcrowded, and is incapable of being made into an effective correctional institution. There are provisions at present, at Rikers Island, for an overflow from the workhouse, of 240 men, sixty in each of the four wooden dormitories. At present there is an adequate amount of work to keep all the prisoners busy, even at Rikers Island. We have had land examined by competent authority, who report to us that by sifting the material filled in by the Department of Street Cleaning, the top soil can be prepared for intensive farming. In time there will be at least 400 acres of land which can be so used.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “The 13,000-ton British steamer Carpathia, when off the Irish coast, was torpedoed four times by a German submarine on Wednesday and sunk, with the loss of five seamen … The Cunard liner Carpathia is linked indissolubly with recollections of one of the greatest marine disasters in the history of the world, the sinking of the White Star liner Titanic on her maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, with the loss of 1,595 lives. The Carpathia saved the lives of 866 others and, arriving in New York on April 18, 1912, provided one of the most thrilling scenes the city has ever known … The Carpathia was last here on June 4, when she brought twenty-eight passengers. Although in the service of the British government for several months, the Carpathia had been used as an American troop transport. She was one of the first merchant steamers to appear in American waters armed against submarines.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1922, the Eagle reported, “PARIS (A.P.) — An international organization for the control and prevention of the growing menace of cocaine is proposed by the French Academy of Medicine, it was announced today. It is pointed out that large quantities of cocaine are being distributed to the world’s markets by Germany, Central America and Mexico. Despite 600 arrests in France last year, the penalties have been insufficient to halt the traffic. The French Academy of Medicine has appointed a commission to frame regulations and to consult the proper authorities in the United States and elsewhere on the problem.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “Walt Disney’s Festival of Hits — a two-hour escape with ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ ‘The Ugly Duckling,’ ‘Ferdinand the Bull,’ ‘Donald’s Lucky Day’ and the Three Little Pigs in ‘The Practical Pig,’ all in a single program — is to open at Loew’s Criterion Theater July 27. Demands for repeat presentations of ‘Snow White’ have never ceased, although it was seen by 800,000 people during its premiere engagement at the Radio City Music Hall early in ’38 and by many times that number in its subsequent runs in every section of the city.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Truman notified Congress today that he will ask about $10,000,000,000 to increase the armed forces and equip them to win the Korean War. He said he had authorized the calling into active service of as many National Guard units and reserve forces as may be required. He recommended that Congress remove the statutory limits on the size of the armed forces — 2,005,000 men. In a message calling for stringent controls on our economy and removal of limitation on armed forces, the President said that ‘new recourse to aggression in the world today might strain to the breaking point the fabric of world peace.’”

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Jared Padalecki
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include baseball icon Rachel Robinson, who was born in 1922; “Ryan’s Hope” star Helen Gallagher, who was born in Brooklyn in 1926; “It Must Be Him” singer Vikki Carr, who was born in 1940; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bernie Leadon (the Eagles), who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Brian May (Queen) , who was born in 1947; “King of New York” director Abel Ferrara, who was born in 1951; “The Sweet Hereafter” director Atom Egoyan, who was born in 1960; comedian Lisa Lampanelli, who was born in 1961; “ER” star Anthony Edwards, who was born in 1962; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Preston Wilson, who was born in 1974; “Doctor Strange” star Benedict Cumberbatch, who was born in 1976; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher Phil Coke, who was born in 1982; “Supernatural” star Jared Padalecki, who was born in 1982; and Olympic diver Tyler Downs, who was born in 2003.