February 18: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

February 18, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1854, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The two Mexican treaties — that agreed on by Minister Conkling and the treaty arranged between Mr. Gadsden and the Mexican authorities — are published at length. They differ in detail, but the main proportion of Gadsden’s treaty — which is now under the private consideration of the Senate, having been transmitted to that body by the President — is the same as the synopsis published by us some weeks since. Mexico cedes to the United States a strip of land for which the latter pay $15,000,000. This government pledges itself not to purchase mules or other property from the Indians of the Mexican territory, nor in removing Indians from her own soil shall America render it necessary for them to seek homes in Mexico. The President proposes to make this duty reciprocal, so that Mexico shall equally pledge herself to the United States.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1861, the Eagle reported, “The Committee appointed by the Common Council and Board of Supervisors to make arrangements for the reception of the President-elect have proceeded to Albany to join in escorting the party to [New York City]. The Hudson River Railroad Co. have constructed a new car for the exclusive use of Mr. Lincoln and party. It is gotten up in beautiful style, carpeted and ornamented with appropriate designs.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1906, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, FEB. 17 — With a plain circlet of virgin gold, in the historic East Room of the White House, at thirteen minutes after 12 o’clock today, Alice Lee Roosevelt, eldest daughter of the President of the United States, and Nicholas Longworth, the representative in Congress from the First District of Ohio, were united in marriage. The ceremony — one of the most impressive ever performed in the executive mansion – was according to the rites of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which the bride is a member. It was solemnized by the Rt. Rev. Henry Y. Satterlee, Bishop of Washington, and was attended by all the solemn state of a grand official function and by the devotional beauty of a cathedral service. No ceremony of a similar kind ever was witnessed by a more distinguished assemblage. There were present as guests not only the most eminent representatives of the American Government, but the personal missioners of the kings and potentates of the powers of the civilized world, constituting an assemblage not only one of the largest, but the most distinguished that ever was gathered at one time in the White House.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1922, the Eagle reported, “CHICAGO (AP) — Federal Judge Kenesaw M. Landis today announced that he had resigned from the bench and would devote his entire time to his position of Baseball Commissioner. The resignation is effective March 1. Announcement of it was made formally by the Judge today as he took his place in court. ‘There were not enough hours in the day for all of my activities,’ said the Judge. ‘Therefore I have forwarded my resignation as Federal Judge to Washington, effective March 1.’ The Judge then called the first case on his docket and refused to discuss the matter until court recess. Judge Landis will have virtually completed seventeen years as Judge for the Northern District of Illinois when his resignation becomes effective.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1924, the Eagle reported, “The trial of General Ludendorff and Adolf Hitler for their part in the Nationalistic ‘putsch’ in Bavaria last November was to have been begun in Munich today. Hitler, who has been organizer and leader of the Bavarian Fascist forces, was wounded during the fighting, and it has been said an operation might prevent his appearance for trial. Hitler’s supporters, moreover, have been threatening another ‘putsch,’ which they declared would prevent the trial of their leader in any event, and it has been reported that all parties were making efforts to put the trial off indefinitely or abandon it, because of the political bitterness which it would be certain to stir up anew.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1933, the Eagle reported, “Death came at 9:45 last night to Mrs. Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, widow of Douglas Robinson and sister of the late President Theodore Roosevelt. She died at her home, 147 E. 61st St., Manhattan, after an illness of less than a week that had developed into pleural pneumonia. Born in Manhattan, Mrs. Robinson was educated by private tutors, was ‘presented’ to New York society at the age of 18 and that same year was married to Douglas Robinson, one of the founders of Brown, Wheelock, Harris & Co., real estate concern. Mrs. Robinson was the mother of four children, all born while she was in her twenties. They are Theodore Douglas Robinson of Jordanville, who was Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Coolidge; Corinne Elliott Douglas Robinson, now Mrs. Joseph W. Alsop of Avon, Conn.; Monroe Douglas Robinson of Manhattan and Stewart Douglas Robinson, who died in 1910. All the surviving children were at the E. 61st St. home when Mrs. Robinson died. With the characteristic Roosevelt energy, Mrs. Robinson plunged into public work at the outbreak of the World War, and kept occupied despite the death of her husband in 1918 and of her famous brother the following year.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Brooklyn Spectator reported, “British children just can’t take it. While here the queues waiting to see ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ are daily blocks long, over in England children under 16 aren’t admitted to the picture unless they are accompanied by adults. The British seem to think that some of the shots of the wicked stepmother would be just too upsetting for young Britishers to see. Hence their ruling with regard to Walt Disney’s masterpiece.”

***

Molly Ringwald
Alexandra Wyman/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include musician and artist Yoko Ono, who was born in 1933; former L.A. Dodgers outfielder Manny Mota, who was born in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Herman Santiago (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers), who was born in 1941; World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, who was born in 1945; Styx co-founder Dennis DeYoung, who was born in 1947; “Moonlighting” star Cybil Shepherd, who was born in 1950; “It’s a Heartache” singer Juice Newton, who was born in 1952; “Saturday Night Fever” star John Travolta, who was born in 1954; “Wheel of Fortune” star Vanna White, who was born in 1957; “The Outsiders” star Matt Dillon, who was born in 1964; “The Facts of Life” star Molly Ringwald, who was born in 1968; and former N.Y. Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius, who was born in 1990.