May 7: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

May 7, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1910, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “LONDON — King George V was proclaimed this afternoon. The proclamation was approved by the Privy Council at 4 o’clock. The Council met in the throne room at St. James Palace under the presidency of the Earl of Crewe, who officiated in the absence of Viscount Wolverhampton, the Lord President of the Council. The new monarch was given the title of King George V. The King, who had driven over from Marlborough House, waited in a room adjoining the Council Chamber while the long formalities leading up to the actual proclamation were proceeding. With today’s ceremony and in his forty-fifth year, the second son born to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra becomes the ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British dominions beyond the seas, King, Defender of the Faith, and Emperor of India.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Eagle reported, “Commencement exercises for the graduation class of 1919 from the School of Nursing attached to St. Mary’s Hospital were held last night in Shevlin Hall, adjoining the institution, Rochester and St. Mark’s aves. Fully 500 relatives and friends of the graduates attended … Dr. Martin L. Bodkin, president of the medical board of the hospital, acted as chairman of the evening and introduced the speakers … Dr. Bodkin, in his opening remarks, said: ‘During the period of the war the medical staff of St. Mary’s Hospital was many times confronted with problems which seemed unsurmountable, the most serious being grave apprehension as to their ability to carry out successfully the burdens of the hospital. This fear permeated the atmosphere and produced often unwarranted anxiety, due in reality to the general unrest of the world. As all wars have the same general effect upon the people concerned, we are not different from others. Tonight we are most thankful to say we have fulfilled by united efforts the demands of the hospital and celebrate this occasion by presenting to these young ladies the same guarantee of efficiency which has always been the standard of our institution.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “LAKEHURST, N.J. — As the burnt, twisted hunk of metal that was the proud Hindenburg lay on the ground here today, and the Navy searched for bodies, sabotage was darkly hinted as the cause of the explosions and fire which wrecked the dirigible. Tearfully, in Berlin, Dr. Hugo Eckener, her designer, prepared to sail for America on the Europa today, declaring that sabotage must be considered when the explosions are investigated. In Washington, Senator Royal S. Copeland, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, announced that Harold E. Hartney, committee investigator, had been instructed specifically to determine whether sabotage was responsible for the destruction. The explosions and fire on the giant dirigible, ‘the perfect airship,’ late last evening, just as she was putting into port on her first transatlantic flight of 1937, left this unofficial toll: Known dead or missing — 32. Injured — 50. Delay in release of the complete list of dead and missing, it was explained by press representatives of the Zeppelin Company, was caused by the lack of an official passenger list. That was destroyed by the flames.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (UP) — A German broadcast said today that all remaining German forces in Europe have surrendered, and there were indications here that an Allied proclamation on the end of the war will be made today. There was no confirmation from Allied sources that the Germans have surrendered, but every sign in London was that the end of the war is near. Some sources here said the Allied proclamation may be issued by 6 p.m. double British summer time (noon Brooklyn time). A speaker identified as German Foreign Minister County Ludwig Schwerin von Krosigk announced over the Flensburg radio at 2:09 p.m. (8:09 Brooklyn time) that the high command of the German armed forces have surrendered unconditionally all ‘fighting German troops’ today. The order for surrender was given by Fuehrer Grand Adm. Karl Doenitz, the broadcast said. It came on the 2,074th day of the European war.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “The Rev. Dr. John Howland Lathrop, preaching at the 19th annual memorial service in honor of Florence Nightingale in the Church of the Holy Trinity, said last night that ‘under conditions similar to our present conditions, namely war, modern nursing came into being due to the stalwart character of this remarkable woman who defied the conventions of the day. Today this service has been exalted by its great need to such an extent that it is the most honorable of the professions. It stands as a sample of mercy in a world of brutality.’ … More than 500 student nurses and graduate nurses from 25 Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island hospitals and four nursing organizations attended.”

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Sydney Leroux
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “One Life to Live” star Robin Strasser, who was born in 1945; “Don’t Leave Me This Way” singer Thelma Houston, who was born in 1946; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), who was born in 1946; boxer and actor Randall “Tex” Cobb, who was born in 1950; “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” director Amy Heckerling, who was born in 1954; former SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson, who was born in 1957; “All My Children” star Michael E. Knight, who was born in 1959; Trans-Siberian Orchestra bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, who was born in 1963; four-time NBA All-Star Shawn Marion, who was born in 1978; former Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith, who was born in 1984; former “Saturday Night Live” star Aidy Bryant, who was born in 1987; and soccer player and World Cup champion Sydney Leroux, who was born in 1990.