Milestones: January 16, 2024

January 16, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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ACTUALLY BOOSTED BOOZE USE — THE 18TH AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes,” was ratified on Jan. 16, 1919, by the requisite number of states to make it law. Prohibition was actually more than a century in the making, as Americans, alarmed at the adverse impact of heavy drinking on society, formed temperance societies. The temperance movement by the late 19th century had gained political clout, and its members campaigned for a nationwide prohibition. Congress passed the 18th Amendment in December 1917; and with sufficient states having ratified it by January 1919, Prohibition took effect on Jan. 17, 1920. In an override of President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, Congress also passed the Volstead Act, or National Prohibition Act, which provided for enforcement tools and defined exemptions (such as home manufacture and medical or religious use of alcohol).

However, an increasing number of Americans disregarded Prohibition, and in 1933, it was repealed with the ratification of the 21st Amendment.

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FLARE BOMBING — THREE YEARS AFTER THE LUFTWAFFE ATTACKED LONDON DURING THE BLITZ, BRITAIN’S ROYAL AIR FORCE BEGAN ITS BOMBING CAMPAIGN OVER BERLIN, STARTING ON JAN. 16, 1943. The RAF’s air raids, the first bombing of Germany since the beginning of the Casablanca Conference, had the goal of realizing “the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system, and for the undermining of the morale of the German people,” — one of the Casablanca Conference’s stated objectives. The RAF used their new technology of “target indicator” bombs — flares to market the targets more precisely for their bomber planes, with a round-the-clock campaign.

The overall goal of the Casablanca Conference, which ran from Jan. 14-24, 1943 in the eponymous French Moroccan city, was to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. The key players were U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, with their respective military staffs). Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, focused domestically on the Battle of Stalingrad, could not attend.

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COMMANDED ALLIED FORCES — A YEAR AFTER THE BRITISH RAF BEGAN ITS JANUARY ANFA CONFERENCE CAMPAIGN, GEN. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER ARRIVED IN LONDON ON JAN. 16, 1944 TO ASSUME COMMAND OF THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS of the Allied Expeditionary Forces In Europe. The Texas-born Eisenhower, who in his own words was “from the heart of America,” excelled in his military training and had just completed command of the successful Allied Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942. Having also proven his talents arbitrating inter-Allied rivalries, Eisenhower was charged with the most far-reaching push of the war — the invasion of France.

Following World War II, Eisenhower was named president of Columbia University but wound up taking leave when U.S. President Harry S. Truman in 1950 appointed him to assume supreme command over the new NATO forces being organized.

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THE ‘CRITTENDEN COMPROMISE’ — THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS ON JAN. 16, 1861 KILLED THE CHANCES OF KEEPING NORTH AND SOUTH UNITED WHEN THEY DEFEATED THE CRITTENDEN COMPROMISE. Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky had introduced a set of amendments to appease Southern states and bring back to the fold those four that had already seceded. Among Crittenden’s provisions, the Missouri Compromise would be reinstated and its boundary point would be along the latitude of 36 30′. The Crittenden Compromise would have prohibited slavery north of those lines, but protected slavery in the District of Columbia; would have forbidden federal interference with the interstate slave trade; and would compensate owners whose enslaved workers escaped to the free states. Congress and Abraham Lincoln opposed both the Crittenden Compromise and slavery.

The Republican Party was formed in 1854 for the main purpose of opposing the expansion of slavery into the West. When Crittenden asked the Republicans to abandon their key values, they instead got Lincoln elected president.

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FIRST MODERN NOVEL — THE 17th-CENTURY WRITER MIGUEL DE CERVANTES’ WORK, “EL INGENIOSO HIDALGO DON QUIXOTE DE LA MANCHA,” better known as “Don Quixote,” was published on Jan. 16, 1605, Don Quixote, which came to be considered the first modern novel, introduces a minor-level noble, Alonso Quixano, whose obsession with chivalric romances drives him insane. Taking on the name Don Quixote, Quixano and his squire, Sancho Panza, wander around La Mancha in central Spain. They adopt challenges that originate as a figment of Quixote’s imagination — at one point, chasing windmills after he mistakes them for giants. Cervantes’ work is a satire on ancient stories of knighthood. Cervantes certainly did not grow rich on the royalties, but Don Quixote got exposure on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, including the New World Spanish colonies.

Adapted from the Cervantes novel was “Man of La Mancha,” a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. The 1965 Broadway production ran for 2,328 performances and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

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JAZZ AT CARNEGIE HALL — LEGENDARY JAZZ CLARINETIST BENNY GOODMAN LED HIS FAMED CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT ON JAN. 16, 1938, finding a new niche for jazz. Goodman was already at the height of his career and already dubbed the “King of Swing,” He was at first amused with the idea, but then seriously set out planning a high-caliber program. The concert featured the legendary Harry James on trumpet, Lionel Hampton on vibraphone and Gene Krupa on drums. Goodman also composed a theme work, “Twenty Years of Jazz.” He incorporated an extensive jam session featuring stars of the Duke Ellington and Count Basie orchestras.

The concert sold out weeks in advance. Prime seats sold for around $2.75. Yes, you read that number correctly.

See previous milestones, here.