March 6: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 6, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1888, a Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial said, “The death of Amos Bronson Alcott, the venerable philosopher of Boston, a man of influence for good in the world, did not surprise the people. They had long expected it. The event did not sorrow them, for it was in the order of nature that the old man should pass on and up. Of his illness a pathetic and lovely incident has been the care of him by his devoted daughter, Louisa M. Alcott, the most charming and elevating teller of stories about children that the literature of America, in the Nineteenth Century, has known. Today the news is that the daughter, too, is dead. A constitution never strong has succumbed under the weight of illness that was bearable and conquerable, so long as existed the need and motive of filial service to the revered father. When he passed beyond the need of help her vital forces, denied their habit of sacrifice and their object of aid, went out to meet his released spirit. One here and one there, they will be remembered and they will journey together.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1889, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ex-President Cleveland, Mrs. Cleveland, Mrs. Folsom, Colonel Lamont and his family left Washington for New York by the Baltimore and Ohio Railway at 11 o’clock this morning. There was a generous crowd at the depot to see them off. Mr. Cleveland’s party occupied a special car, which was literally covered with choice floral offerings sent by friends. Among those who called to bid the party farewell were the members of the late Cabinet and their families and also a number of Congressmen and other public officers. Mrs. Cleveland spent a very pleasant afternoon yesterday at the residence of Secretary Fairchild, where she and Mr. Cleveland enjoyed all the comforts of private life.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1892, the Eagle reported, “BUFFALO, MARCH 5 — Mr. Franklin D. Locke had his attention called today to the dispatch from Rochester yesterday to the effect that ex-President Cleveland had said to him that he is in sympathy with the May convention and that he is not a candidate for President, but will accept the nomination if tendered him. Mr. Locke said: ‘There is not a particle of truth in it from first to last, nor anything out of which it could be made. I met Mr. Cleveland in New York last week. Probably somebody saw us together and made up the story from it. Mr. Cleveland did say that everybody ought to be given an opportunity to be heard in political matters or something of that sort.’ ‘Was that all he said?’ was asked. ‘Oh, he said more than that, but I cannot tell you what it is,’ he replied. Mr. Locke said this was all he could be persuaded to say on the subject.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “CHICAGO (U.P.) — Gutzon Borglum, 73-year-old sculptor of Mount Rushmore, S.D., died today at Henrotin Hospital, where he had been taken after suffering a heart attack. His wife, son and daughter were at his side when he died. Borglum had been in Chicago on a lecture tour. His physician said his heart attacks had been induced by overwork. While Gutzon Borglum’s life span was little longer than that of any average man, he left a memorial which will live as long as the mountain of which it is a part.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “Daylight Saving Time returns to this city Sunday, April 28. On that day at 2 a.m. clocks will be turned forward one hour. Life will not return to astronomical harmony until Sunday, Sept. 29, when the clocks will be turned back. A relic of World War I, the practice of meddling with the hour hand twice a year was superseded during the war by War Time, a year-round displacement in effect throughout the nation from Feb. 9, 1942 to Sept. 30, 1945. Originally Daylight Time was set up by act of Congress to save fuel during World war I. Because many city folks enjoyed the extra hour of daylight available for outdoor recreation after their day’s work, daylight saving was adopted by State and municipal governments after the wartime measure lapsed. The New York State law made it optional, permitting cities, towns and villages to establish daylight saving time between the last Sunday in March and the last in October. New York and other municipalities adopted it for the period from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in September.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “‘When Worlds Collide,’ now at the Brooklyn Paramount for its first Brooklyn run, is accompanied by a second feature, ‘Queen for a Day,’ which is having its citywide premiere at this theater. This is a lot of entertainment in one big package. The end of the world is depicted with startling detail in ‘When Worlds Collide,’ Technicolor picture made by George Pal, who gave us another exciting science-fiction film last year, called ‘Destination Moon.’ The new offering deals with the imminent destruction of the world by a planet which bumps into us, after the earth has just missed by a hairsbreadth another heavenly wanderer. The first encounter results in fearful upheavals, with the Atlantic Ocean torn from its bed and sloshing over Herald Square. A rescue ship, built to order by scientists, saves a handful of the world’s inhabitants and animals, and the modern Noah’s Ark succeeds in landing on another planet. The building of the ship and assembling of the passengers, in the face of onrushing danger from the air, makes ‘When Worlds Collide’ an interesting and suspenseful film.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1959, the Brooklyn Record reported, “A period of ‘general well-being never before considered attainable’ was predicted as the future for the real estate business in New York State by the President of the New York State Association of Real Estate Boards, Richard B. Morris of Buffalo. The glowing predictions are being discussed today throughout the land in banking and real estate circles by the 1,000 executives who attended a conference sponsored by Group Five Savings Banks at the Hotel St. George … Mr. Morris told his audience: ‘Within the next twenty years, barring an international conflict, and assuming we manage our affairs with reasonable competence, we may expect to enter a period of general well-being never before considered attainable. The American of today eats better, dresses better, is better housed and lives better than at any time in our history. All this, in spite of the fact that he works less time than his preceding generation. Sixty of every one hundred Americans today own their own homes and we can expect this rate to rise … It is estimated that the rate of growth of our gross national product has been three percent per year. Should we maintain this rate, one result could be that by 1975, the income of the average family will rise by fifty percent.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former CIA Director William H. Webster, who was born in 1924; former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who was born in 1926; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), who was born in 1946; “Amen” star Anna Maria Horsford, who was born in 1947; “Stand by Me” director Rob Reiner, who was born in 1947; author and journalist John Stossel, who was born in 1947; Oscar-winning composer Stephen Schwartz, who was born in 1948; actor and comedian D.L. Hughley, who was born in 1963; “Friday Night Lights” star Connie Britton, who was born in 1967; “The Cutting Edge” star Moira Kelly, who was born in 1968; Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, who was born in 1972; and “Dead Like Me” star Ellen Muth, who was born in 1981.