August 9: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 9, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1845, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published the following book review: “Library of American Books: Tales, by Edgar A. Poe. Wiley and Putnam, New York: 1845 — With all Mr. Poe’s severity — we might say harshness – of criticism upon his contemporary authors (and particularly the poets), we consider him one of our best and most deserving writers. The facility with which he dashes off stories of an exciting and highly intellectual character, not less than the fluency with which he deals out the most pointed sarcasm and the broadest satire, would astonish us if we had not already learned his depth. The leading story — The Gold Bug — took a prize of $500; and yet it scarcely surpasses in interest several others in the volume which probably did not yield him one-twentieth part of that sum. We could hardly introduce our friends to a more pleasant compagnon du voyage — or for that matter, compagnon du shade — than this volume. — Price, 50 cents.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1908, the Eagle reported, “LEMANS, FRANCE, AUG. 8 — Wilbur Wright of Dayton, Ohio, made a flight of from 2½ to 3½ kilometers with his aeroplane here this afternoon. The official time was 1 minute 46 seconds. Throughout the flight Mr. Wright had perfect control of the machine. No attempt was made for a distance record, the only object of the flight being to try out the aeroplane. While flying through the air, Wright demonstrated — or so it appeared to the spectators — that he was absolute master of the airship, first soaring, then shooting gracefully downward and then mounting again at will, until finally, after completing two circles, he came down easily to earth. Afterward Mr. Wright said to the Associated Press, ‘I am perfectly satisfied with my first flight. I made one or two little mistakes, but I am confident that I shall be able to do all I hope for in later trials, probably next week.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1916, the Eagle reported, “Isaac Simman of 16 Pier avenue, fishing from the Iron Pier, Rockaway Beach, with a weakfish as bait, caught a seven-foot shark. Thirty bullets from a policeman’s pistol altered the determination of the fish to stay in the water.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (AP) — Yes, there is a Loch Ness monster — if you accept the findings of Sir Edward Mountain. The reported presence of the mysterious marine animal in the Scottish lake had piqued the public curiosity for many months, along with the curiosity of Sir Edward, a leading businessman. Determined to get to the bottom of the thing, he organized a party of 20 watchers. After peering into the lake for a month, they report that beyond doubt Loch Ness harbors some ‘unidentifiable monster.’ Sir Edward’s watchers agree the creature has a relatively small head, shows ‘two or three’ humps when near the surface, and moves with such remarkable speed through the water, he, she or it creates a big wash. During the month, the patient observers said, they were rewarded 21 times by glimpses of the animal. But they are not yet fully satisfied and will continue the look-out for another week, hoping to get good photographs.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1939, the Eagle reported, “ROME (U.P.) — It looks as if the Loch Ness monster’s little brother has turned up in Italy. Peasants of the Tesimo district report the reappearance of a strange land monster which was first supposed to have been seen 32 years ago.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Truman today summoned his key policymakers to a White House conference with him and the men who perfected the atomic bomb … There was somewhat of a stir yesterday when Dr. Harold Jacobson of New York, who was connected with the bomb project in a minor capacity, said in a published article that any area hit by one of the bombs would be saturated with deadly atomic irradiations for 70 years. The War Department later issued a statement by its foremost authority, Dr. J.R. Oppenheimer, saying the bomb left no appreciable radioactivity and that what little there was would decay ‘very rapidly.’ Dr. Paul F. Douglass, president of American University here, said in an address last night that the atomic bomb had ‘sharply defined the moral crisis of our age.’ ‘We recognize now,’ he said, ‘that science, even in the minds of the best men, is a moral, and must be directed by the political processes pursuing moral values. The tremendous power exerted by this new development must be controlled for the benefit of mankind.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy, who was born in 1928; “Road House” star Sam Elliott, who was born in 1944; Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Simmons, who was born in 1949; “Working Girl” star Melanie Griffith, who was born in 1957; rap legend Kurtis Blow, who was born in 1959; fashion designer Michael Kors, who was born in 1959; Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull, who was born in 1964; “Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb, who was born in 1964; Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who was born in 1967; “The X-Files” star Gillian Anderson, who was born in 1968; “Charlie’s Angels” director McG, who was born in 1968; former N.Y. Knicks head coach Derek Fisher, who was born in 1974; “Boston Legal” star Rhona Mitra, who was born in 1976; “Amelie” star Audrey Tautou, who was born in 1976; Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Chamique Holdsclaw, who was born in 1977; “Pitch Perfect” star Anna Kendrick, who was born in 1985; and former N.Y. Giants cornerback Eli Apple, who was born in 1995.