July 14: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1849, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Mrs. [Dolley] Madison, who was reported better in our last, was subsequently taken worse and died.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1849, the Eagle reported, “Hon. James Buchanan has declined the invitation to deliver an oration upon the life and character of the late ex-President [James] Polk, lest, having been a member of the cabinet and eulogizing the events of the administration he would appear to commend himself.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1868, the Eagle reported, “‘Under the Gaslight’ has proved a most enormous success in Liverpool, Glasgow, and Manchester.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1892, the Eagle said, “The Democratic politicians in Kings county have ‘organized’ for the campaign. So have the Republican politicians. Appointment of the usual committees is accompanied by promulgation of the customary ‘claims.’ If Democrats are to be credited, the majority here for [Grover] Cleveland and [Adlai] Stevenson in the fall will be phenomenal. If Republicans tell the truth, [Benjamin] Harrison and [Whitelaw] Reid will sweep the country not like an ‘ambulance’ as one of their number once said, but like an ‘avalanche,’ as he meant to say. Sensible folk, between these violently conflicting claims, ought to strike a happy medium. When the votes are counted the story will be told. Politicians of either party, in the interval, would better devote their energies to upbuilding their respective forces than to boasting of majorities that may never materialize.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Eagle reported, “That Brooklyn will benefit most by the new subway lines and their construction will greatly enhance real estate values in the sections to be served by the improved transit is the opinion of many real estate brokers who have watched the trend of the real estate market and the development of the boro for many years. With new signs of activity in the localities to be tapped by the subway lines actually underway, the boro may look forward to an exceptionally busy fall and winter season of apartment and business building construction, it is indicated in the comments of the realty men. Even at this early date decided changes are being made along Jay st., where work is in progress on the new tunnel and the subway line. Old buildings are being demolished and in their places there will arise new and modern structures. Along Smith st., where the subway will run out to South Brooklyn and link up with the Culver line near Ditmas ave., many changes will take place. The vicinity of 9th st., where there are hundreds of old buildings, some of them long neglected, is due for a notable transformation. Apartment houses and modern store buildings will take the place of these unprofitable structures, according to real estate men who have handled property in the locality for years and who saw redemption only for the neighborhood in adequate transit accommodations for the residents and those employed in the section.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Fifty-three Congressional Democrats urged their party today to support a ‘nationwide Presidential primary’ so Presidential candidates can be picked by the people instead of national political conventions. Leaders of the group said that would prevent a repetition of the ‘disgraceful events’ at last week’s G.O.P. national convention in which the issue of ‘stolen’ delegates was raised. The 18 Senators and 35 House members petitioned the Democratic National Convention to include in the 1952 party platform a plank stating: ‘We pledge ourselves to the institution of a National Presidential Primary so that the people in both parties can select the Presidential nominee.’ The petitioners included one of the candidates for the Democratic Presidential nomination, Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, who won most of the State Presidential preference primaries in which he entered. They also included campaign managers for two other candidates — Representative Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. (D., N.Y.), who is chairman of the Averell Harriman-for-President Committee, and Senator Ed C. Johnson (D., Colo.), who is spearheading the campaign of Senator Richard Russell (D., Ga.).”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Sunset Boulevard”
star Nancy Olson, who was born in 1928; former N.Y. Giants defensive tackle Rosey Grier, who was born in 1932; former Sony Music Entertainment CEO Tommy Mottola, who was born in 1949; fashion designer Bruce Oldfield, who was born in 1950; “Glee” star Jane Lynch, who was born in 1960; “The Bad News Bears” star Jackie Earle Haley, who was born in 1961; “Lost” star Matthew Fox, who was born in 1966; former N.Y. Mets and Yankees third baseman Robin Ventura, who was born in 1967; four-time Major League All-Star pitcher Tim Hudson, who was born in 1975; former N.Y. Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who was born in 1985; “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was born in 1985; and Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney, who was born in 2004.
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HANNA-MATION: William Hanna was born on this day in 1910. The New Mexico native co-created popular animated characters such as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, Snagglepuss and Magilla Gorilla. With partner Joe Barbera, he won seven Academy Awards for his Tom and Jerry cartoon shorts, and eight other works were nominated. The Hanna-Barbera team created the first animated TV sitcom for adults, “The Flintstones” (1960), and such favorites as “The Jetsons” and “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” Hanna died in 2001.
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SURREAL DEAL: Ingmar Bergman was born on this day in 1918. One of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century, Bergman directed such classics as “Fanny and Alexander,” “Wild Strawberries” and “Cries and Whispers.” He wrote or directed 62 films and more than 170 stage plays, mainly in his native Sweden, but was renowned all over the world and nominated for nine Academy Awards. He died in 2007.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
— former President Gerald Ford, who was born on this day in 1913
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