September 26: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 26, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1849, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Gas at last. Last evening the new and beautiful iron posts recently erected along Fulton street, to accommodate the lamps of the gas company, were fired up, and for the first time our city was illuminated with gas lights. The lamps are not set on the posts, nor the burners provided: the light of last evening was, therefore, a mere spontaneous ‘rough and ready’ affair and flamed out of the top of the iron posts like flambeaus. We suppose that the first runnings of the gas are mixed more or less with atmospheric air and other impurities and that this burning off is not a sample, at all, of what the gas will do for us. It was, however, a very satisfactory exhibit as it showed that we were on the point of realizing the lights so long anticipated. The company have, in fact, been making gas for some time and their manes are now mostly filled. We shall have light therefore as soon as the fixtures are completed.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1855, the Eagle reported, “A locomotive built to burn anthracite coal has been running a hundred miles a day on the Reading railroad for the past four weeks, and her performance is so satisfactory that good judges on the road think her the best for passengers they have ever known. She has abundance of steam, throws no dirt or sparks, and makes a saving of 43 per cent.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1930, the Eagle reported, “That curiosity, morbid and otherwise, is not confined to any country was shown by the disturbing of the usual Sabbath quiet of the village of Glamis, Scotland, on a Sunday preceding the birth there of a daughter to the Duchess of York. The weather was fine, and the inhabitants declared that they could not recall ever having seen so many visitors to the village. Hundreds of private cars and a stream of motor coaches brought people from the surrounding towns, and two char-a-bancs came from Aberdeen, 60 miles away. The visitors gazed at the castle gates and caught glimpses of the castle itself, half hidden in the grounds, which were guarded by a special cordon of police. Some climbed 900 feet to the beacon, where woodmen were keeping watch, ready to fire it as soon as the signal of the birth was given from the castle. Princess Elizabeth had to be confined to the castle grounds because of the number of sightseers and had to forego her little shopping expeditions in the village.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “Plans were laid in Borough Hall today for a mighty Victory Parade Monday afternoon to honor the flag-winning Brooklyn Dodgers. The players themselves — Pete Reiser, Whitlow Wyatt, Dixie Walker, Kirby Higbe, Dolph Camilli, Pee Wee Reese and the rest — will be the center of attraction in the procession through Brooklyn streets. With them and behind them will come bands playing, flags waving and Dodger fans marching by the thousands. And other Brooklyn fans, the planners predicted, will turn out to see and cheer to the number of 500,000 and more. The number of actual paraders, it was estimated, would be about 60,000. Several tentative parade plans were merged when Borough President [John] Cashmore today called a group of representative Brooklyn leaders. At the same time he issued a proclamation making Monday ‘Brooklyn Dodgers Day’ and calling on all citizens to join in the demonstration ‘for Brooklyn’s heroes.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “Extra police were rushed to Brooklyn’s waterfront today as motorcades of A.F.L. organizers stormed the docks in a drive to take over power from the embattled International Longshoremen’s Association. Threats of violence filled the air as Anthony (Tough Tony) Anastasio, overlord of Brooklyn dockworkers, warned that his men would ‘use dangerous weapons’ and ‘fight fire with fire.’ Open warfare appeared imminent as the A.F.L. recruiters, who invaded three Anastasio strongholds late yesterday, took their fight for power to the Brooklyn Army Base piers and other docks, declaring they would not be ‘intimidated’ by Anastasio. Police feared it would take only a spark to set off open warfare between the I.L.A. and the newly chartered A.F.L. union, in the struggle to represent the port’s 40,000 longshoremen. The new union was set up to replace the crime-ridden I.L.A., expelled earlier this week from the A.F.L. for failing to clear its ranks of racketeers. Already, it had registered big successes, taking over one 1,000-man Brooklyn local, two locals in Puerto Rico with a membership of 5,000 and 10,000 men in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River locals.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “TAIPEI, FORMOSA, SEPT. 25 (U.P.) — A typhoon today forced Nationalist planes and warships to break off attacks on Communist positions around Amoy for the first time since the ‘vest pocket’ war erupted 23 days ago. The temporary lull in the fighting came as Nationalist Chinese officials predicted the Communists would attempt to seize Nationalist-held coastal islands as a preliminary to an assault on Formosa itself. A spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said Nationalist warplanes sank seven Communist gunboats in the vicinity of Amoy Friday. But, he said, planes were grounded today by heavy winds and rain. The only action reported at Quemoy, the Nationalist-held island four miles off Amoy, he said, was sporadic duels between Nationalist and Communist artillery. The spokesman said the weather also forced Nationalist warships to halt shore bombardment and take up patrol missions along the coast. Chinese Nationalist Defense Minister David Yui told a defense committee the Nationalist government is confident it could thwart any Red attempt to capture the 37 coastal islands controlled by its forces.”

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Serena Williams
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Christina Milian
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “The Most Interesting Man in the World” star Jonathan Goldsmith, who was born in 1938; “Adam-12” star Kent McCord, who was born in 1942; former “The Weakest Link” host Anne Robinson, who was born in 1944; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music), who was born in 1945; comic book writer Louise Simonson, who was born in 1946; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley, who was born in 1949; “The Terminator” star Linda Hamilton, who was born in 1956; En Vogue singer Cindy Herron, who was born in 1961; “Little House on the Prairie” star Melissa Sue Anderson, who was born in 1962; sportscaster Jillian Barberie, who was born in 1966; “Sound of Freedom” star Jim Caviezel, who was born in 1968; Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Jaycie Phelps, who was born in 1979; singer and actress Christina Milian, who was born in 1981; and tennis champion Serena Williams, who was born in 1981.