December 21: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 21, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1887, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Mr. Charles H. Ebbets had very unpleasant weather last night for his opening of the toboggan slide at Washington Park, but at 8 o’clock, in spite of the rain, quite a party was presented and indulged in the sport for about an hour. Some of the ladies had never been on a toboggan before. Should the weather prove bright and cold tonight, a large attendance is expected. Two of the chutes are in first class condition, and the third will probably be ready tomorrow.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “Don’t miss the forthcoming RKO full length cartoon picture, ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ by Walt Disney. It is about a lovely little princess who was forced to dress in rags and do hard work around the castle because her wicked stepmother, the queen, who was vain and foolish, wanted to keep her in the background. Of course, a young prince is in search of Snow White, but I don’t want to spoil the plot. Just see it!”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “PITTSBURGH (U.P.) — From an engineer’s idea 13 years ago, the mechanical man has developed today into a glamorous robot with a vocabulary of 77 words. On Sept. 14, 1927, the first mechanical man, Televox, had taken concrete form in the mind of an electrical engineer, and he has been followed by two other creations — Willie Vocalite and Elektro. Constructed as a dramatic way of illustrating methods of electrical control, these robots have been a symbol of the ‘constant and rapid evolution of such devices as relays, photo-cells, and complicated electrical circuits in the automatic control of machinery and in the performance of routine tasks,’ according to Joseph Melton Barnett, ‘mechano-anthropologist.’ The first robot, Televox, who no longer is living, was limited in his actions to raising a telephone receiver, waving his arms, and operating switches that controlled machines. Born speechless, he later learned two simple sentences. Unable to understand spoken orders, Televox went into action only when he heard a proper combination of whistle signals. But Willie Vocalite, created in 1932, was a great advancement over Televox. Willie was able to speak from the day he was born, and he later added singing to his accomplishments, which included firing a gun, saluting and smoking. These tricks he demonstrated in his 100,000 miles of travels, which included a trip to Hawaii. After a face-lifting and a revision of his wire nervous system in 1939, Willie went to the Golden Gate International Exhibition. The glamour robot, however, is Elektro, created and tutored by Barnett. Now two years old, Elektro speaks distinctly 77 words; counts on his fingers; walks, moves his head, arms and fingers, distinguishes colors and smokes cigarettes.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Senate Democrats were split into potentially warring factions today, one determined to ‘get along with Ike,’ the other eager to ‘fight him right down the line.’ Heart of the matter involves the basic course the Democratic party is to take in its new days of adversity. The battle lines for the impending intra-party scrap are forming, but are not yet firm. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (D-Minn.), a leader of the liberal wing, claimed that Fair Deal Senators are considering formation of a Democratic ‘group within a group’ to fight for ‘Liberal principles.’ In view of the certainty that Southern and other conservative legislators will dominate the party organization in the Senate, Humphrey said it is likely that a ‘Liberal’ alliance may be sought to oppose Democratic leadership ‘compromises’ with the Republicans. Issues which Humphrey named on which a party split will occur are State control of the oil-rich coastal tidelands, regulation of natural gas resources and pipelines, the basing point system of determining railroad freights, civil rights and proposed curbs on Senate filibusters. The election of a Southerner, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, as minority leader is a certainty and election of Senator Earle C. Clements of Kentucky as whip is considered likely.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Brooklyn Record reported, “Bay Ridge civic and political associations, still bearing scars of their skirmishes with civil authorities on the approach routes to the Narrows-Staten Island Bridge, are gearing for another fight. This time the groups are divided on the advisability of building high rise middle income apartments in the air space over the Long Island Rail Road terminal bordered by Owl’s Head Park and the Brooklyn Army Base. Spearheading the opposition is Armand J. Starace, Republican Leader of the 9th A.D., who wonders: ‘Can the community absorb the increase in population. The subway already is overtaxed. I shudder when I think of the jams when buses of Staten Islanders come over the Narrows Bridge and try to squeeze passage on these same trains. Surveys have shown we now lack 1,400 hospital beds for adequate cover of our present population. Just think of the shortages which will result in police, sanitation and parking facilities.’ Mr. Starace readily admitted the need for such Mitchell-Lama middle income housing but believed the site of projects should be elsewhere where transportation and city services could adequately absorb the increased population. On the other side of the fence, merchants seem to favor the project for they need replacements for customers removed by the Narrows Bridge approach.”

***

Samuel L. Jackson
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include talk show host Phil Donahue, who was born in 1935; Oscar-winning actress Jane Fonda, who was born in 1937; “Pulp Fiction” star Samuel L. Jackson, who was born in 1948; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Dave Kingman, who was born in 1948; film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was born in 1950; International Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert, who was born in 1954; “Malcolm in the Middle” star Jane Kaczmarek, who was born in 1955; actor and comedian Ray Romano, who was born in 1957; former N.Y. Rangers right winger Joe Kocur, who was born in 1964; “NewsRadio” star Andy Dick, who was born in 1965; “24” star Kiefer Sutherland, who was born in 1966; “Before Sunrise” star Julie Delpy, who was born in 1969; and “The Walking Dead” star Steven Yeun, who was born in 1983.