December 18: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 18, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1846, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “SLEIGHING. — Cling! cling! cling-a ling! go the bells along the streets of Brooklyn this morning — the bells of the sleighs, which have ‘seized the opportunity by the hair,’ and are to be seen and heard, of all sizes and qualities, and in every street! The East Brooklyn omnibuses turn out some prodigious vehicles — large enough to carry quite all the ‘Natives’ of Brooklyn and New York (which, however, is not saying much for their size) … The sleighing, though, is not the best in the world. The wind drifted the snow too much yesterday; and this morning it melts some.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1867, an Eagle editorial said, “Gen. Grant’s letter to the President remonstrating against the removal of Secretary [Edwin] Stanton and Gen. [Philip] Sheridan is published this morning. The letter is marked ‘private,’ and is written with the avowed purpose of pointing out to the Executive ‘the great danger to the welfare of our country’ which Grant foresaw in Stanton’s displacement. The President remained firm in his purpose; Stanton has been out of office for some months, and the country has contrived to survive the calamity.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, D.C. — Only one Brooklyn Congressman and one from Long Island voted in favor of the prohibition amendment which passed the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 282-128. F.W. Rowe, Senator Calder’s successor from the Sixth Congressional district, a Republican, was the only Brooklyn member of the House to vote in favor of nation-wide prohibition. F.C. Hicks, also a Republican, representing the First Congressional District, was the Long Island Congressman who lined up with Mr. Rowe. The eight remaining congressmen from Brooklyn and Long Island were all recorded in the negative on the vote. The Republican and Democratic parties split about evenly on the vote. There were 141 Democrats for the amendment and 64 against. There were 137 Republicans for the amendment and 62 against. Immediately after the Senate convened today, Senator Sheppard, of Texas, called up the National Prohibition Amendment and moved that the Senate concur in the House amendment. Vice President [Thomas] Marshall ruled that a two-thirds vote would be required for concurrence. The amendment was finally submitted by Congress to the states, for ratification or rejection within seven years. The Senate completed Congressional action by accepting the resolution as passed yesterday by the House.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “Herbert Graf, N.B.C.’s director of opera productions (at the Television B-casters Ass’n Conference in the Commodore): ‘Radio popularized concerts; television should exert the same influence on opera … The video medium will make opera take off its high hat and speak the language of the people.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “Jenny Tourel saved the New York City Symphony concert at the City Center last night. Leonard Bernstein had put together a strange program which did not work out too successfully in performance. Miss Tourel by the charm of her presence and the excellence of her singing of Ravel’s Sheherazade (three poems for voice and orchestra) became the focal point of the evening.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1964, the Brooklyn Record reported, “In the clubrooms where Brooklyn’s outstanding members of public opinion gather, they are mulling about the implications of the appearance of former Vice President Richard M. Nixon at the Brooklyn Bar Association Diamond Jubilee dinner at the Hotel St. George. Political pundits are wondering if the borough speech-making was aimed at spring-boarding Nixon into the political limelight on the eve of the Republican national policy sessions. While in his talk he said nothing about the GOP, the jockeying around for position of party leadership was the theme of the pre-dinner informal press conference. He straddled the issue. The former Vice President neatly paved the way for a foreign policy speech by saying he could talk about lawyers, but since he was considered a controversial figure, just sticking to a speech about the legal profession would be like purchasing tickets to a strip tease show and getting chamber music instead. He said he had a great affection for Brooklyn and at one time was a Brooklyn Dodger football fan when Ace Parker was playing at Ebbets Field. He characterized borough people as ‘good hearted’ with compassion for the underdog.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1964, the Record reported, “Maureen O’Hara, hostess of the Bell Telephone Christmas Hour on December 22 over NBC-TV, will sing traditional Christmas songs and narrate the Nativity, against a background of music and a live tableau.”

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Charles Oakley
Kevin Coles/Wikimedia Commons

Christina Aguilera
Nick Stepowyj/Wikimedia Commons

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones), who was born in 1943; Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who was born in 1946; film critic Leonard Maltin, who was born in 1950; former White Lion drummer Greg D’Angelo, who was born in Brooklyn in 1963; former N.Y. Knicks forward Charles Oakley, who was born in 1963; Oscar-winning actor Brad Pitt, who was born in 1963; “Muriel’s Wedding” star Rachel Griffiths, who was born in 1968; International Tennis Hall of Famer Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who was born in 1971; “Chandelier” singer Sia, who was born in 1975; “Dawson’s Creek” star Katie Holmes, who was born in 1978; “Beautiful” singer Christina Aguilera, who was born in Staten Island in 1980; and “Bad Guy” singer Billie Eilish, who was born in 2001.