Milestones: May 7, 2024

May 7, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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GERMANY SURRENDERS — THE GERMAN HIGH COMMAND, IN THE PERSON OF GENERAL ALFRED JODL, SIGNED the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, on May 7, 1945, at Reims, in northeastern France. Although Jodl had hoped to restrict the terms of the surrender to those only fighting the Western Allies, General Dwight D. Eisenhower (and future U.S. President) held his ground, demanding that Germany surrender all its forces, including those fighting in the Eastern theater. Had Germany not complied, Eisenhower was prepared to seal off the Western front, and Jodl’s forces would have found themselves encircled by the Soviets.

Two days later, Europe celebrated V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. Russia celebrates it as Victory Day.

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PONTIAC’S REBELLION — A COALITION OF NATIVE AMERICAN WARRIORS, under Ottawa chief Pontiac, on May 7, 1763, initiated a siege against British troops, in what became known as Pontiac’s Rebellion. During the latter years of the French and Indian Wars, the Natives learned that the French had been much more conciliatory than the British. Pontiac’s Ottawa forces got reinforcement from other tribal nations, including the Wyandots, Ojibwas and Potawatamis, thus receiving support from almost every tribe from Lake Superior near modern-day Michigan to the lower Mississippi valley, with the goal of ejecting the British from the territories that had been French. Pontiac’s plan was for each of the tribes to seize the fort closest to them and then coalesce to take out the settlements that were independent. Their strategy was to next secure the British fort at Detroit under the pretext of seeking out a peace treaty and then attack.

However, one of the British armies that went out to greet Pontiac and his men, under the command of a Colonel Bouquet, was successful in routing the Delawares and Shawnees. Initiating a demand for peace, those two tribes broke an alliance with Pontiac, who wound up shamed and signed a peace treaty with the British. He was punished for that, dying at the hands of another Native, a Peoria tribesman.

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YOUTHFUL AMBASSADOR — THE UNITED STATES’ FIRST AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN was a 14-year-old fisherman whose vessel had gotten caught up in a violent storm at sea. A whaling ship months later rescued the youth, named Manjiro, before arriving in the U.S. on May 7, 1843. American Captain William Whitfield then adopted the youth, renaming him John Mung and bringing him to his home in Massachusetts, thus making Manjiro/Mung the first Japanese immigrant. He eventually returned to Japan and was named a samurai. He became a diplomatic emissary between Japan and the West.

According to the Library of Congress, from 1886 to 1911, more than 400,000 Japanese immigrated to America, particularly to Hawaii and the West Coast. Commemorating Manjiro’s becoming the earliest Japanese immigrant, Congress in 1992, established May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

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BELOVED FINAL SYMPHONY — BEETHOVEN’S NINTH (CHORAL) SYMPHONY MARKS its bicentennial on May 7, 2024. The composer’s final symphony debuted at Vienna’s Theater am Kärntnertor on May 7, 1824, utilizing the largest orchestra ever for him, as well as chorus and soloist. A revered composer, Beethoven had completely lost his hearing ten years earlier but composed for as long as possible. At the Ninth Symphony’s debut, he “conducted” his work, although it wound up being an honorary action, as the orchestra had already been instructed to follow the actual conductor, Michael Umlauf. Sadly, Beethoven was several measures off from the beat, but his “Ode to Joy” was lovingly received, and the audience gave him an enthusiastic five ovations.

The choral movement was adapted from Friedrich Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy.”

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“THE SCREAM” IS FOUND — NORWAY’S MOST FAMOUS PAINTING, “THE SCREAM” by Edvard Munch, was recovered on May 7, 1994, almost three months after its theft from an Oslo museum. The painting, though fragile, had miraculously survived unscathed when it was found at a hotel in Asgardstrand, in southern Norway. Munch’s famous painting had been stolen during the opening day of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. The thieves were deft, taking only half a minute to complete the heist.

Almost two years later, four men were convicted and sentenced in connection with the theft, one of whom was Paal Enger, who had a previous conviction in 1988 of stealing another of Edvard Munch’s works, “The Vampire.”

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EAGLE CELEBRATES CANARSIE MARKETS — THE BROOKLYN TERMINAL MARKET and its importance to the wartime effort was featured in a May 7, 1944 caption in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The market had been established in 1941, according to that edition of the Eagle and renderings available through the Municipal Archives, City of New York; although other sources cite different opening dates. The Brooklyn Terminal Market, in the borough’s southeastern neighborhood of Canarsie, was built to replace the Wallabout Market, which had to be evacuated in the wake of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s expansion. The May 7, 1944, Eagle reported that the site encompassed nine one-story buildings being used as wholesale stores, and described post-war plans for the market, including railroad sidings to enable train-to-truck loading, a farmers’ square and additional stores.

Affectionately named the “Canarsie Markets,” the Brooklyn Terminal Market has for more than eight decades been a must-go for people seeking fresh fruits and vegetables. Today, a Merchants Association represents the vendors.

See previous milestones, here.