August 13: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1923, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “EBERBACH, GERMANY (A.P.) — Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, the American draft evader, said last evening that he had expected to return to the United States with his mother on Sept. 27, but that last Saturday’s effort to kidnap him made him hesitate about doing so. Mrs. Bergdoll was not in the hotel when the attempt was made to seize her son. Bergdoll has not been arrested but has made a formal statement to the police. The four men who are being held in connection with the attempted kidnaping were removed last night to another place in Baden, the name of which was not made public. They were kept in separate cells while here. The men are [G.H.] Griffith, a former American lieutenant; Faust Gagarin, a Russian Prince; Roger Sperber, a French detective and a citizen of France, and John Nielson, an American chauffeur. The German police say that Sperber, who was wounded twice during the clash in the hotel, had informed them that Griffith engaged him in Paris two months ago to arrange the kidnaping, telling him that a well-known American organization was financing the affair. Karl Schmidt was shot three times by Bergdoll and died without making a statement. He was a Swiss citizen and a resident of Lausanne. The shooting occurred in a dark room. Bergdoll fired six shots, three of which hit Schmidt, while two struck Sperber and one went wild.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “A war veterans’ hospital in Bay Ridge appeared assured today when a resolution approving its establishment was introduced at the American [Legion] state convention in the Hotel Pennsylvania. While the resolution is one of seven offered by the Kings County delegation, many other delegations indicated their support of the measure and no opposition was expected. Setting up the hospital requires congressional approval and all of the state’s representatives and both senators have declared themselves in its favor. The convention also had before it a resolution condemning the government practice of sending home and discharging wounded men in need of hospitalization. The resolution urged that the Veterans Bureau be required to provide necessary hospital service for the men of World War II.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.