November 4: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 4, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON – Terms of armistice under which the land and sea forces of what once was the Austro-Hungarian Empire have laid down their arms were announced today simultaneously in Washington and the Allied capitals. The armistice becomes effective at 3 p.m. today. They accomplish complete surrender and open Austria and Hungarian territory for American and Allied operations against Germany. From this drastic document, it may be stated, may be gleaned an accurate outline of the conditions nearing completion in the Supreme War Council at Versailles under which Germany may have a cessation of hostilities.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ first full-length feature film made by Walt Disney and the motion picture sensation of the year when first released by RKO Radio in the Fall of 1937, will be reissued this season under the terms of a new five-year agreement between the distributor and the producer.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, an Eagle editorial said, “All city officials concerned with the release of Floyd Bennett Field from naval auspices to the city are to be commended for the rapidity with which they solved the community’s No. 1 airport problem. For the reacquisition of the field is the first break in many months in our snarled airport affairs. LaGuardia Field is admittedly handling a daily volume of planes far in excess for which it was designed, and Idlewild is facing delays in completion. Occupation of Floyd Bennett Field was the logical solution to the difficulty — and it was a solution which was speedily effected. The Board of Estimate has approved appropriations for converting the former naval air station, and it has been estimated that commercial planes will be using the field in 30 days. It should be a good thing for Brooklyn.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “Practically exhausted from his whirlwind campaign tour, Dwight D. Eisenhower cast his vote at 8 a.m. in the lobby of a six-story apartment house at 420 W. 119th St., Manhattan. After he and his wife, Mamie, voted, the Republican Presidential nominee went home to sleep at his Morningside Heights residence two blocks away. … The Eisenhowers, optimistic, had returned early this morning from a star-studded Election Eve rally in Boston. … Boston Garden could not accommodate the crowd which attempted to get a glimpse of Eisenhower and the notables of stage and screen who appeared at the rally. Police estimated they turned away 10,000. Eisenhower appealed to Massachusetts voters to re-elect Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, opposed by Representative John F. Kennedy, son of the former Ambassador to Britain.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — The Democratic Senate victory will thrust a youthful Texan, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, into the role of majority floor leader of the upper chamber. Barring a reversal which could result from recounts in close contests, Senator Johnson will take over when the 84th Congress assembles Jan. 5 as the quarterback of the Senate program. Democratic control also will put 14 Democrats in charge of standing Senate committees, ending the chairmanships of such Republicans as Senators Joseph R. McCarthy (Wis.) and Styles Bridges (N.H.). Inasmuch as President Eisenhower remains in the White House, Senate Republican leader William F. Knowland, majority floor leader for the past year, still will be the Administration’s principal spokesman on the Senate floor. Johnson, 46, was elected Tuesday to his second six-year Senate term after 12 years of service in the House. He was chosen Democratic floor leader two years ago after two years as party whip.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “PHILADELPHIA (U.P.) — The Philadelphia Athletics, an institution set up by Connie Mack here 54 years ago, were sold today to Chicago realtor Arnold Johnson for transfer to Kansas City. Earle Mack, with tears in his eyes, came out of a morning session at his father’s apartment saying, ‘We lost out.’ Asked whether the club had been sold, Earle said, ‘Yes.’ ‘It is a tough decision,’ Earle added as he walked through the doorway of the apartment house with his attorney Alfred Luongo. Johnson had left the apartment sometime earlier and announced he would make a statement within an hour. There was no official statement other than Earle’s admission of the sale. It came as a Philadelphia purchasing group waited in the lobby of the big apartment house. Isidore Sley, one of the prospective Philadelphia buyers, said they had the money with them and offered it to the Mack family. ‘We offered it last night. The checks were dated yesterday. They told us to come back at 10 o’clock this morning,’ he said. ‘We were told Connie was too ill to be disturbed. Then they shooed us into a room. The family came out and told us to wait downstairs,’ Sley continued. The Philadelphia group included Sley, automobile dealer John Crisconi, Morton Liebman and attorney Samuel A. Goldberg, representing T.A. Hanff, and the local syndicate as a whole. Connie Mack, Mr. Baseball to generations of Americans, did not appear as Earle tearfully announced the fate of the team that was a tradition on the local scene for more than a half-century.”

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Matthew McConaughey
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “M*A*S*H” star Loretta Swit, who was born in 1937; singer-songwriter Delbert McClinton, who was born in 1940; former First Lady Laura Bush, who was born in 1946; “Cold Mountain” author Charles Frazier, who was born in 1950; former Walt Disney executive Anne Sweeney, who was born in 1957; “Cobra Kai” star Ralph Macchio, who was born in 1961; “Survivor” host Jeff Probst, who was born in 1961; rapper and entrepreneur Sean Combs, who was born in 1969; Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey, who was born in 1969; TV personality Bethenny Frankel, who was born in 1970; Pro Football Hall of Famer Orlando Pace, who was born in 1975; and former NFL return specialist Devin Hester, who was born in 1982.