August 30: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 30, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1883, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “A convulsion of nature which in a few hours has swept from life some 75,000 persons, has swallowed islands, engulfed mountains, obliterated towns and converted forests into cinders, uplands into dreary wastes of sulphur and rock and fertile plains into arms of the sea is an event in the physical history of our planet which possesses few known parallels. The burial of Herculaneum and Pompeii in 79 in the ashes and scoriae of Vesuvius, the sudden and terrific fate of Lisbon seventeen centuries later, just when the exploration of the newly discovered cities had commenced, and the shaking of the South American republics in Chile and Peru furnish the only parallels in history to the awful display of nature’s hidden forces that has recently been made in Java. Removed as the island is from us almost as far as it can be upon the surface of the planet, and different as are the conditions of life there in its unsurpassed climate and other conditions, the telegraph has so annihilated distance that we can more fully share the horrors of the scene with the survivors of the cataclysm than could have been done a century ago in adjoining states.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “New York City’s lovers of surf and sun may bathe with impunity today at any of the beaches, including Coney Island, on the Health Department’s list, knowing that the list has been approved by a special committee of Fellows of the New York Academy of Medicine. In a report made public yesterday, as the individual opinion of members, the committee sustained conclusions reached by the department from bacteriological data, sanitary surveys and other records, and praised the work as ‘painstaking’ and the data as ‘complete and reassuring.’ The city was urged, however, to rush its program of sewage disposal plant construction so that there might be no increase in the slight amount of existing pollution. The committee found no reason to believe that any cases of typhoid fever could be traced to bathing at city beaches.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Eagle reported, “BRUSSELS (A.P.) — Long lines of Belgians entered the royal palace in sorrow again today, paying their last homage to Queen Astrid, who was killed yesterday in an automobile accident in Switzerland. It was 18 months ago that these same folk came to view the mortal remains of King Albert, who also died by accident. Funeral services are to be held next Tuesday, probably at 11 a.m. The dead Queen Astrid came back to the capital to the muffled roll of drums and to the sound of bugles playing ‘Aux Champs’ — the call usually sounded at funerals. Sorrowing crowds wept openly in the streets and behind them doors were draped with black crepe and shop windows were shuttered. A deathlike hush fell over the crowd outside the station as the Queen’s body was lifted from the coach in which it made the overnight journey from Lucerne. Sobs from the bareheaded crowd broke the deep silence as attendants placed the casket in the motor hearse outside the somberly draped station and stepped back to await the start of the drive to the palace. Then drums, hung with heavy black velvet, began the funeral roll, and the notes from the trumpets of a band of army buglers rang out strangely and sharply in the usually bustling square facing the station.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “In times such as these one should be cautious about calling another person a ‘Hitler,’ Magistrate D’Andrea today warned Mrs. Ray Brodsky of Manhattan, arraigned in Coney Island Court on charges of disorderly conduct and littering the beach at Coney Island. Special Officer Thomas O’Connor of the Park Department testified that Mrs. Brodsky called him ‘a Hitler’ when he warned her against littering the beach with paper Saturday. O’Connor said that she was sitting on a paper, a practice prohibited by Park Department ordinance, and that he issued the summonses after her remarks.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “Tall, poised Althea Gibson of New York, first Negro ever to play on the manicured turf at Forest Hills, shared the billing today with two of the world’s greatest foreign stars as the U.S. tennis championships swung into the third day. The 22-year-old Negro star was only one game away from a tremendous upset victory over Wimbledon champion Louise Brough of Beverly Hills, Cal., when a violent electrical storm struck yesterday. Weather permitting they’ll resume today right at that point. Her unfinished match with the cagey 27-year-old Californian, transferred from a side court into the huge horseshoe stadium, was the first order of business. She led Miss Brough, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6, when the storm struck. Miss Brough will serve the next game. Frank Sedgman of Australia, also washed out of his scheduled match, was paired against Straight Clark of Pasadena, Cal., and Jaroslav Drobny of Egypt drew Harry Hopman of Australia in the top second rounders in men’s singles. Sedgman and Drobny were the pick of most of the players to meet in the finale on Labor Day, ensuring the first foreign title winner since Fred Perry of England captured the crown in 1936.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Brooklyn Record reported, “Historical South Brooklyn’s part in the American Revolution will be revealed by Dr. David M. Cory, Director of [the] Long Island Historical Society, as a feature of the annual Citizenship Day Parade, Sunday, Sept. 15. The address is slated for the reviewing stand at James J. Byrne Memorial Park, 5th Avenue and 3rd St. The parade itself will start at 2:30 p.m. at 26th Street and Fifth and will proceed along 5th to 3rd Street. The Citizens Committee of South Brooklyn, Inc., is the sponsor with Edward J. Whitney as general chairman. Thomas S. Kirnan, County Commander, United Spanish-American War Veterans, is this year’s Grand Marshal. The Nation observes Citizenship Day in commemoration of the formation and signing of the Constitution of the United States and in recognition of all who, by coming of age, or by naturalization, assume the right and obligation of citizenship.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include International Tennis Hall of Famer Vic Seixas, who was born in 1923; Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, who was born in 1930; “The Dukes of Hazzard” star Ben Jones, who was born in 1941; cartoonist Robert Crumb, who was born in 1943; comedian Lewis Black, who was born in 1948; “The Paper Chase” star Timothy Bottoms, who was born in 1951; Basketball Hall of Famer Robert Parish, who was born in 1953; “Mr. Saturday Night” star David Paymer, who was born in 1954; former St. John’s basketball coach Fran Fraschilla, who was born in Brooklyn in 1958; “The Shield” star Michael Chiklis, who was born in 1963; “The Mask” star Cameron Diaz, who was born in 1972; journalist Lisa Ling, who was born in 1973; International Tennis Hall of Famer Andy Roddick, who was born in 1982; singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha, who was born in 1989; “Underwater” star Jessica Henwick, who was born in 1992; and Brooklyn Nets player Mikal Bridges, who was born in 1996.