August 31: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 31, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1878, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “A special agent of the Government, who has been investigating the troubles on the Mexican border, gives it as his opinion that the only effective cure for the evil is reciprocity between the two countries by means of a treaty of commercial amity for free admission into both countries across the border of their respective products. There is no need of troops if the high tariff were done away with and the smuggling, now constantly going on, brought to an end.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1883, an Eagle editorial said, “How violent must have been the series of earthquake shocks and concussions in and around Java may be calculated from the fact that the Government gauges at San Francisco registered the tidal waves caused by them. These waves, it seems, rose a foot high at forty minute intervals, indicating at that distance tremendous disturbance. It will be remembered that the influence of the great tidal wave which swept the South American Coast on the Pacific side fifteen years ago was felt as far away as Australia. The outburst at Java seems to have pretty well exhausted itself, the volcanoes still emitting flames and ashes, but in a much feebler manner than at first. The conclusion of the display appears to have been singularly dramatic. One volcano which had been signally active was suddenly split into fragments, seven peaks being visible where only one had existed before.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, an Eagle editorial said, “The death of Queen Astrid in a motor accident in the Swiss Alps comes as a profound shock to the Belgian people who hold their royal family in such deep affection. The young Swedish princess had quickly won her way into the hearts of her subjects, both rich and poor, because of the deep interest she took in the victims of the depression in her adopted land and because of her simple democratic tastes and manners.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “Yesterday was another great day for Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, who was master of ceremonies at the unveiling of the massive head of Thomas Jefferson, carved in granite alongside of that of George Washington on Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Borglum was irritated because he had to wait until President Roosevelt and his party attended church before the great head could be unveiled, but the occasion was another triumph for the sculptor. Borglum’s daring scheme of creating the world’s largest piece of sculpture is a success, and in ages to come it may be found that he has given America its most enduring monument.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Gale-force wind and lashing rain today battered Brooklyn and surrounding areas as a retreating hurricane from the South swept across Long Island and Long Island Sound into Connecticut. Trees were toppled by the storm, plate glass windows smashed, at least 120 power lines were torn down, and some 50,000 families in Brooklyn and 25,000 in Queens, the Consolidated Edison Company reported, were left without electricity. By noon the sun peeped out in a break of the still heavily clouded skies, and the storm, for Brooklyn, appeared to be over. In Sheepshead Bay, off Gerritsen Beach and in the North River, small boats were ripped from their moorings and set adrift. Some streets and cellars were flooded. Automobile traffic was slowed down, and in some cases public buses had to detour to avoid fallen trees. On Rockaway Beach, 40 families were marooned, by rain and swelling tide, in bungalows at the foot of Beach 84th St., on the edge of Jamaica Bay. Police went to their rescue in launches. On Long Island, the force of the storm, with gusts blowing up to 70 miles an hour, left more widespread havoc. Residents on the South Shore, warned by the Coast Guard, left beachfront homes and, aided by local police, sought refuge inland.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Hal Wallis has announced that he has signed Shirley MacLaine to a long-term contract and will launch her screen career in a starring part in an upcoming production yet to be selected. Miss MacLaine is the young understudy who soared into sudden fame when she stepped into Carol Haney’s hit role in Broadway’s ‘The Pajama Game.’ Miss Haney, the hit of the Broadway success, suffered a fractured ankle and Miss MacLaine, her understudy, replaced her.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Composer Bernie Wayne has written a song titled ‘Miss America’ which has been accepted as the official song of the Miss America Pageant, according to Vinton Freedley, producer of the pageant. The song will be heard for the first time at the coronation ceremony climaxing the event on Sept. 11 at Convention Hall in Atlantic City.”

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Debbie Gibson
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Van Morrison, who was born in 1945; violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, who was born in 1945; former N.Y. Giants coach and two-time Super Bowl champion Tom Coughlin, who was born in 1946; Scorpions founder Rudolf Schenker, who was born in 1948; “Pretty Woman” star Richard Gere, who was born in 1949; “Earth Girls Are Easy” star Julie Brown, who was born in 1954; Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock, who was born in 1957; Squeeze co-founder Glenn Tilbrook, who was born in 1957; “Lost in Your Eyes” singer Debbie Gibson, who was born in Brooklyn in 1970; “Rush Hour” star Chris Tucker, who was born in 1971; swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Ian Crocker, who was born in 1982; and N.Y. Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who was born in 1996.