April 15: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

April 15, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1896, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Brooklyn school children can now join the League of the Red, White and Blue, a patriotic association organized by the principal of public school No. 75 at Evergreen avenue and Grove street. Any pupil may be admitted to the league who is in good standing in his studies and who in the presence of a teacher has written from memory the following named poems: ‘America,’ ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ ‘The Flower of Liberty,’ ‘The Red, White and Blue,’ ‘Hail Columbia’ and ‘The American Flag.’ Candidates are not required to write more than one poem at an examination. The diploma of membership is a photogravure, on heavy bond paper, 12×15½ inches, embellished with the coat of arms of the United States and the American flag. Otto Vosteler is the artist who executed the design. The pledge which the members of the league take reads as follows: ‘I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ More than eleven thousand children have joined the league.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1909, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — A new income tax bill was presented in the Senate today. It was drafted by Senator [Joseph] Bailey, one of the best constitutional lawyers in that body, and was proposed as an amendment to the Aldrich tariff bill. The action is significant because, in addition to the Democrats who will probably be solidly in favor of the amendment, there are many Republicans who believe in an income tax. Some special taxes will doubtless have to be adopted to make up the big deficit now staring the Treasury in the face, and which the Aldrich bill admittedly does not provide for. An income tax is growing in favor, especially as an inheritance tax is almost out of the question because it would conflict with so many state laws. Senator Bailey’s bill is with two exceptions identical with the income tax law of 1894, which the Supreme Court by a 5 to 4 vote declared was unconstitutional. He raised the limit of exempted incomes from $4,000 to $5,000 and increased the proposed tax from 2 to 3 percent. Then he boldly declared that the court’s ruling was not in accordance with the Constitution, and asserted that another test would establish the correctness of his criticism.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1912, the Eagle reported, “Wireless dispatches up to noon today showed that the passengers of the monster White Star liner Titanic, which struck an iceberg off the Newfoundland coast last night, were being transferred aboard the steamer Carpathia, a Cunarder, which left New York April 13 for Naples. Already twenty boatloads of the Titanic’s passengers have been transferred aboard the Carpathia, and allowing forty to sixty people as the capacity of each lifeboat, some 800 or 1,200 people already have been transferred from the damaged liner … The latest reports indicate that the transfer of passengers is being carried on successfully and deftly. The sea is smooth and the weather calm. It is probable that all of the passengers of the Titanic are safe.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1915, the Eagle reported, “The fiftieth anniversary of the death of President [Abraham] Lincoln, who was assassinated at Ford’s Theater in Washington, on the evening of April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth, the actor, is being observed in half-masted flags and the partial cessation of work in government offices throughout the state and nation today. By order of President [Woodrow] Wilson, all executive offices at Washington are closed for the day, while government offices in other parts of the country are closing at noon. In Brooklyn, flags were at half-staff over schools, clubs, public buildings and on private flagstaffs. Lincoln was shot between 8 and 9 o’clock in the evening. Of the nineteen actors and actresses who took part in the production of ‘Our American Cousin,’ which attracted him to the theater, only one survives, William J. Ferguson, of Brooklyn, who has reached the age of three score and ten years. He was playing the part of Lieutenant Vernon, R.N., on the night of the tragedy.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “As the skies darkened and an almost twilight gloom descended on New York City yesterday, its 7,500,000 inhabitants reverently paused and observed one minute of silence beginning at 4 p.m. in homage to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The period of silence marked the hour of funeral services for the late President in the East Room of the White House in Washington. All over the nation, a sorrowing people joined in the observance at the same moment. Fifteen minutes later, a lashing rain swept the city and claps of thunder added a dramatic note. In an hour, the sun shone again.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1960, the Brooklyn Record reported, “The 3rd Naval District U.S. Navy Band will open with a concert at the public ceremonies honoring Giovanni da Verrazano, Italian navigator, at Battery Park, New York, Monday, April 18, 1960, at 11:30 a.m. This was announced by John N. LaCorte, director of the Italian Historical Society of America, which is sponsoring the celebration. The ceremony, at the Verrazano monument, will pay tribute to Verrazano, who is credited by historians with discovering New York harbor in 1524, 85 years before Henry Hudson. Mayor Robert F. Wagner is honorary chairman of the day and speakers will include representatives of the French and Italian governments, officials of Federal, State and City government as well as leading members of the clergy. Bishop Joseph Pernicone, representing [Cardinal] Spellman, will deliver the invocation. Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller has issued the following proclamation designating April 17th Verrazano Day: ‘Giovanni da Verrazano, for whom the great bridge across the mouth of New York harbor will be named, was unquestionably the first man to sail from Europe to the shores of North America, with the expression intention of exploring them. This fact is recognized by the foremost historiographers and historical societies of the world. It is officially affirmed by the New York State Historian.’”

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Maisie Williams
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rockpile founder Dave Edmunds, who was born in 1944; screenwriter and producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who was born in 1947; former Bond girl Lois Chiles, who was born in 1947; UFO singer Phil Mogg, who was born in 1948; advice columnist Heloise, who was born in 1951; track and field star and Olympic gold medalist Evelyn Ashford, who was born in 1957; Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, who was born in 1959; swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Dara Torres, who was born in 1967; former N.Y. Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn, who was born in 1971; actor and producer Seth Rogen, who was born in 1982; “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson, who was born in 1990; and “Game of Thrones” star Maisie Williams, who was born in 1997.