June 22: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1864, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Cricket. The Grand Match at Bedford, New York vs. Philadelphia, was commenced this morning in the presence of a much more numerous assemblage than that of last week, considerable interest being manifested in this game. We shall give full particulars tomorrow.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1885, the Eagle reported, “Professor Riley, the entomologist of the Agricultural Department, has carried his investigation of the locust, or, as he prefers to call it, the periodical cicada, not only to the classification of the thirteen and seventeen year races, but he divides these two races into twenty-two distinct broods. Thus, while the seventeen year species takes that length of time to reappear, different broods have their different years. Those broods vary greatly in size and have their respective localities. This year locusts receive an unusual degree of attention because two large broods — No. 22, the largest of the seventeen year race on record, and No. 7 of the thirteen year race — make their appearance together.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1892, the Eagle said, “There is no present reason to believe that the sentiment against [Grover] Cleveland, among the minority of the national Democratic convention, can do more than a little while delay the body from its work. The dissidents are receiving most considerate treatment. The resources of patience and good nature for them will apparently be drawn on by Cleveland men, up to the point where forbearance will cease to be a virtue. At the close of the convention none who took part in it will have any excuse for refusing to accept its results or to labor for its ticket.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1912, the Eagle reported, “CHICAGO, ILL. — For President — William H. Taft, of Ohio. For Vice President — James S. Sherman of New York — if he will have it. Platform — A conservative appeal to the people. The foregoing is now the programme of the Taft machine, which has a safe and tight hold on the situation. The leaders expect to put it through today. The Roosevelt men have agreed to offer no obstacle interfering with the carrying out of the plan after the permanent roll has been adopted, so that the convention may wind up tonight.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “PEARL HARBOR (U.P.) — Admiral Chester W. Nimitz announced today that the United States 5th Fleet had won one of the greatest triumphs of the war by defeating the Japanese Grand Fleet in battle off the Philippines in which 14 of the enemy’s major units were sunk or damaged. The long-sought showdown battle with the Japanese fleet opened Monday afternoon in the waters between the Philippines and the new American foothold in the Marianas Islands. On the basis of the latest information, American carrier-based planes from Admiral Raymond A. Spruance’s fleet inflicted the following damage on the Japanese: One carrier believed to be the 17,000-ton Buiakaku received three 1,000-pound bomb hits. A Hayataka class carrier was sunk. One of the same class was damaged badly and left burning furiously. One light carrier of the Zuito or Taito class received at least one bomb hit. One Honsho class battleship was damaged. One cruiser was damaged. Three destroyers were hit, one of them believed sunk. Three tankers were sunk, and two more badly damaged and left burning.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “PORTLAND, ME. (U.P.) — Rep. Margaret Chase Smith was assured today of becoming the nation’s first GOP woman senator by winning the nomination over three male opponents in yesterday’s State primary. Returns from 602 of Maine’s 620 precincts gave Mrs. Smith 63,941 votes, Gov. Horace A. Hildreth 31,228, former Gov. Sumner Sewall 21,916 and Rev. Albion P. Beverage 6,684. Hildreth and Sewall both conceded victory shortly after midnight when the 49-year-old congressman’s lead piled up to nearly 2 to 1 over her nearest competitor. The GOP nomination is considered tantamount to election in Maine, where Democratic opposition is only nominal. The Senate seat for which Mrs. Smith won the nomination was one being vacated by Senator Wallace H. White Jr.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle said, “Ronald Reagan and actress Nancy Davis are on fire. They met when she ran for office in the Screen Actors Guild, of which Reagan is president. If they get married, would you call that a union union?”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “The Giants have announced the signing of Willie Mays, 19-year-old Negro outfielder. Mays was assigned to the Giants’ Trenton farm club in the Class B Inter State League. Described by the Giant front office as a ‘long ball hitter,’ he stands 5 feet 11 inches and weighs 170 pounds. Mays, who was graduated from high school yesterday, played with the Birmingham Black Barons for a year and a half.”
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Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Chris Pizzello/AP
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson, who was born in 1936; journalist and author Brit Hume, who was born in 1943; The Turtles co-founder Howard Kaylan, who was born in 1947; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Todd Rundgren, who was born in 1948; Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep, who was born in 1949; “The Bionic Woman” star Lindsay Wagner, who was born in 1949; U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was born in 1949; “True Colors” singer Cyndi Lauper, who was born in 1953; “Star Trek: Voyager” star Tim Russ, who was born in 1956; “Evil Dead” star Bruce Campbell, who was born in 1958; Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, who was born in 1962; “Judging Amy” star Amy Brenneman, who was born in 1964; “The DaVinci Code” author Dan Brown, who was born in 1964; “24” star Mary Lynn Rajskub, who was born in 1971; and “Scrubs” star Donald Faison, who was born in 1974.
Rich Schultz/AP
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LAW OF THE LAND: The Dept. of Justice was established by an act of Congress on this day in 1870. It is led by the attorney general, who before 1870 was a member of the president’s cabinet but not the head of a department.
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ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE: Joseph Papp was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1921. At the helm of the New York Public Theatre, Papp produced a wide range of works from the classical to those of the newest American dramatists, including “Hair,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” and “A Chorus Line.” He won three Pulitzer Prizes, six New York Critics Circle Awards and 28 Tonys. He died in 1991.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“A fellow doesn’t last long on what he has done. He has to keep on delivering.”
— Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, who was born on this day in 1903
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.