December 6: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 6, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1847, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “Winter is coming on with a slow but steady step; the decaying leaves which rustle upon the pavements, or flutter from the branches, upon which they have withered under the influence of the newly come and nipping frosts, are the silent but powerful testimonials of the change which will soon make an apparent desolation of the fair garments of nature, and rob the tree and flower, and shrub and verdure, of outward life and beauty. The summer’s pride and autumn’s glory have faded away; and while we experience the new sensations which the advent of winter occasions, let us not be unmindful of the promptings of humanity which they should also call forth. To the rich there is but little terror in the frosty embrace of winter. Guarded against his icy touch and shielded from his chilling breath, there is pleasure in his coming which makes his reign welcome and acceptable. But for the poor and houseless, his name is terror and his reign a horror. The cold wind that sweeps unheeded by the comfortable dwelling — or, if heeded, serves only to make the inmate feel still more the genial influence of the fireside — rudely penetrates the poor hovel, where no fire is lighted upon the hearth and no comforts abound. The rags that cover the bones of the homeless are but poor preventives of suffering; and it is a sad truth to know, that while the affluent are rejoicing, the stricken are suffering sorely.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1930, the Eagle reported, “Unemployment, the ogre who has thousands down for the count of nine, is due to be thrown for a loss on Saturday, Dec. 13. The Eagle, which is co-operating with the Salvation Army by distributing tickets giving ‘permission’ to listen to the Army-Navy game, is receiving a constant stream of reports of the success in the efforts to aid the jobless. Those desiring to do their share may send either a check or a money order to the Eagle or to the Salvation Army as indicated on the ticket printed on this page. Something like 80,000 persons will jam the Yankee Stadium just before game time. The Cadet corps of both academies will be present, brilliant in uniform, marching in perfect unison to their seats in the stands. It will be a gala day for New York. And an even greater day for the country’s unemployed. For the 80,000 who will witness the game will have contributed well over a million dollars to the Salvation Army’s Fund. Every seat in the Stadium with the exception of those allotted the cadets and midshipmen has brought in from $5 to $50.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “Japan renewed bitter attacks on the United States through officially approved statements today, declaring that efforts of ‘hostile powers’ to hamper creation of a new order in East Asia would be repulsed and that the next move for war or peace was up to President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill. ‘We Japanese are tensely watching whether Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill commit the epochal crime of further extending world upheaval,’ Lt. Gen. Teiichi Suzuki, minister without portfolio and president of the Cabinet Planning Board, told a meeting of the East Asia Economic Council. ‘Japan’s patience would no longer be necessary in event the countries hostile to peace in East Asia — countries whose identities are now absolutely clear — attempt to continue to increase disturbances in the Far East.’ At Manila, the Philippines Cabinet took emergency measures including preliminary evacuation of danger zones, suspension of non-essential construction to supply funds for defense and canceled inauguration plans for President [Manuel] Quezon.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1942, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, DEC. 5 (UP) — Eight U.S. battleships and 11 other naval vessels were crippled and 177 of our planes were destroyed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor a year ago Monday, the Navy Department disclosed tonight. In 110 flaming minutes the Japanese hit every American battleship in the harbor. They thus laid up nearly half the number of battleships in the entire U.S. Navy at the time. They destroyed or disabled ‘most of the aircraft in the Hawaiian area,’ the navy said. A high naval officer said it was fair speculation that the balance of the Pacific fleet remaining seaworthy after the attack could have been annihilated if the main Japanese battle force had followed up the initial blow. All told, the navy revealed in its anniversary statement, 86 ships of the Pacific fleet — exclusive of small craft — were moored at Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7.”

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CoCo Vandeweghe
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “The Pretender” star Patrick Bauchau, who was born in 1938; baseball player and manager Larry Bowa, who was born in 1945; “Poltergeist” star JoBeth Williams, who was born in 1948; “Amadeus” star Tom Hulce, who was born in 1953; comedian Steven Wright, who was born in 1955; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Peter Buck (R.E.M.), who was born in 1956; former N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was born in 1957; “Wallace and Gromit” creator Nick Park, who was born in 1958; filmmaker Judd Apatow, who was born in 1967; “Stargate Atlantis” star Torri Higginson, who was born in 1969; former Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who was born in 1970; baseball player Adam Eaton, who was born in 1988; and tennis player CoCo Vandeweghe, who was born in 1991.