August 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 27, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1846, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Long Island — the saddest fight, for us, that occurred during the long contest our fathers held for their national independence. Seventy years ago today, Washington stood on our Island shores, and wrung his hands, while tears of the bitterest anguish gathered on his cheeks — sighs of agitated passion which he is said never to have given way to, on any other occasion, before or afterward! He found the ‘Maryland regiment,’ composed of young men — the flower of some of the finest families in the South — cut to atoms in that disastrous slaughter! He found the first battle where he commanded in person going against him — and at night three thousand of the troops Congress had entrusted to his care, either lifeless as the cold ground on which they lay, or prisoners in the hands of an enemy whose barbarous treatment of them, he well knew, would be little preferable to death! No wonder that, in that dreary hour, the soul of one elsetime as serene as a god’s, felt sick within him. No wonder his lips shed words of agony, bitter as blood-drops from a wounded heart. Ah, we who live in the ease of profit and security of the present can but poorly realize such a day as the 27th of August, 1776.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Eagle reported, “New York went mad today over a girl. Nothing like the welcome to Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim the English Channel, has happened before in this city. The receptions accorded to Lieutenant Commander Byrd, who flew over the North Pole, faded into insignificance in comparison. Even that accorded General Pershing did not arouse the tremendous popular acclaim accorded to this 19-year-old girl whose courage and endurance have made her an international heroine. Fifty launches, tugs and river craft roared a welcome as the Berengaria emerged out of the fog of the Narrows at 11 o’clock, two circling airplanes swooped low and dropped wreaths of flowers on the water, fireboats shot their water salutes and a great cheer such as the harbor has never heard before greeted the girl in the blue hat, who stood beside her father, waving an American flag from the lower deck.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported from Paris, “Representatives of 15 leading nations of the world today signed the Kellogg-Briand treaty renouncing war as an instrument of national policy and condemning recourse to war for the solution of international difficulties … The first to sign the historic document was Dr. Gustav Stresemann, German Foreign Minister, who attached his signature at 3:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. New York time). Then followed, in turn, Secretary of State Kellogg of the United States and 13 others, ending with Foreign Minister Benes of Czechoslovakia.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1930, an Eagle editorial said, “Other movie actors have got their names into the household vocabulary and others have founded their fortunes on their faces, but none in quite the same way as Lon Chaney. His death cuts short a career that sailed right against the breeze of the traditions of his profession. Except in one or two parts, no one ever saw Lon Chaney act a part on the screen; the part was there but Chaney was not to be seen … As the Man with a Thousand Faces we shall vividly remember him. Also as the man with a thousand figures and personalities. His protean gift will no doubt inspire imitators. By their performances we shall know whether he simply possessed a peculiar gift not communicable to others or, rather, originated a new source of entertainment in which later comers might replace him.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1933, the Eagle reported, “Helen Hull Jacobs, for long years California’s Helen the Second, not only defended her national singles championship at Forest Hills yesterday but, in an astounding final, cleanly won her way to the title of Helen the First. She drove Mrs. Helen Willis Moody into a default in the third set, thus bringing an end to the 46th Annual Women’s Tennis Championships … Both girls were playing against doctor’s orders. One had an injured back; the other an aching side … The gallery of 8,000, already sensing the defeat of the young woman who had held the title for seven years and who was yesterday trying to tie Molla Mallory’s record of eight championships, roared ‘No, no.’ Miss Jacobs stood stunned after she had put her arm around Mrs. Moody’s shoulders and patted her on the back.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Once Upon a Time in America” star Tuesday Weld, who was born in 1943; “The Spy Who Loved Me” star Barbara Bach, who was born in 1946; “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” star Charles Fleischer, who was born in 1950; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Alex Lifeson (Rush), who was born in 1953; “Prison Break” star Peter Stormare, who was born in 1953; “Inside Moves” star Diana Scarwid, who was born in 1955; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols), who was born in 1956; New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was born in 1958; gospel star Yolanda Adams, who was born in 1961; “Grey’s Anatomy” star Chandra Wilson, who was born in 1969; Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who was born in 1970; “Scrubs” star Sarah Chalke, who was born in 1976; “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul, who was born in 1979; track and field athlete and Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie, who was born in 1990; and N.Y. Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, who was born in 1994.