July 21: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 21, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1912, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “OYSTER BAY, L.I., JULY 20 — How to form a new party without appearing to be a boss in doing it is one of the hardest problems which Colonel [Theodore] Roosevelt is facing, with the National Progressive Convention only a fortnight away. The Colonel was asked today what arrangements had been made for the convention, in the way of the usual machinery for such assemblages, and said that he did not know much about it. The question of temporary and permanent chairmanships, nominating and seconding speeches for the presidential and vice presidential candidates, floor leadership and committee assignments are yet to be settled, and so far as could be learned, little has been done in that direction. Colonel Roosevelt said that there would be no repetition of the boss rulership which, he declares, prevailed at the Republican National Convention. He refuses to be boss, he said, and he regards the movement as essentially a popular one founded largely upon a revulsion of feeling against bosses. It is merely his desire, he added, to make his views known as widely as possible, and to have the delegates reach their own decision upon them.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1924, the Eagle reported, “CHICAGO (AP) — The fate of Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb, indicted for the kidnapping and murder of 14-year-old Robert Franks, was rested today ‘in the mercy of the court.’ This resulted from a plea of ‘guilty’ made today in court by Clarence S. Darrow, chief counsel for the boys, and affirmed by them after they had been duly warned by the court of the consequences of this plea. The degree of punishment, which may vary from an indeterminate prison sentence, through life sentence in the penitentiary, incarceration in an asylum, or death, will be determined after a hearing which is to start at 10 a.m. Wednesday. In entering the plea of guilty, Attorney Darrow said that the defense admitted the correctness of the facts, ‘substantially as printed in the newspapers.’ He asked permission of the court, however, to ‘offer evidence as to the mental condition of these young men and their degree of responsibility.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle reported, “Bob Hope has been engaged for ‘Ballyhoo of 1932,’ which is in rehearsal. This will be Mr. Hope’s Broadway debut in a revue. He has been a headliner for R.K.O. vaudeville.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Eagle reported, “’Murder Plane,’ first of a series of pictures by Warner Brothers based on the activities of the U.S. Secret Service, will go before the cameras within a fortnight. Ronald Reagan will be featured in the series, for which William H. Moran, former chief of the Secret Service, has been retained as technical director and script adviser.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Brooklyn Spectator reported, “Col. James Stewart, movie star, who now is chief of staff of an 8th Air Force Liberator combat wing, has been awarded the Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross, military authorities announced. Stewart was cited for ‘extraordinary achievement while serving as air commander of heavy bombardment formations on many missions over enemy-occupied territory.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (U.P.) — Fifteen new plaques were to be placed in the baseball shrine today and the New York Yankees were scheduled to play the Boston Braves in the annual big league exhibition game on Doubleday Field as the baseball world celebrated its Hall of Fame day.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “CHICAGO (U.P.) — Gov. Adlai E. Stevenson, still resisting efforts to draft him for the Presidential nomination, told the Democratic convention today the party’s program is more important than its candidate. ‘Who leads us is less important than what leads us,’ he said in formally welcoming the delegates on behalf of the state of Illinois. ‘A man doesn’t save a century or a civilization, but a militant party wedded to a principle can.’ The Governor’s speech gave no encouragement to the party leaders who want him for standard-bearer. But Stevenson supporters, including Illinois National Committeeman Jacob M. Arvey, insisted his ‘no’ really meant ‘maybe.’ Stevenson’s latest ‘no’ came yesterday afternoon at a closed-door caucus of the Illinois delegation. Reporters who eavesdropped from an adjoining room heard the 52-year-old Governor plead with his state’s delegates not to support him for anything but another term as Governor. ‘I just don’t want to be nominated for president,’ he said. ‘I have not the fitness, mentally, temperamentally or physically, for the job.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Cat Stevens, who was born in 1948; “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau, who was born in 1948; The Hooters co-founder Eric Bazilian, who was born in 1953; “The Lincoln Lawyer” author Michael Connelly, who was born in 1956; former “Saturday Night Live” star Jon Lovitz, who was born in 1957; former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin, who was born in 1961; National Soccer Hall of Famer Brandi Chastain, who was born in 1968; “The Hangover” star Justin Bartha, who was born in 1978; “Black Hawk Down” star Josh Hartnett, who was born in 1978; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, who was born in 1980; rapper KB, who was born in 1988; former Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan, who was born in 1988; “Wonder Wheel” star Juno Temple, who was born in 1989; and model and actress Sara Sampaio, who was born in 1991.

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NO MORE BULL: The first major engagement of the Civil War took place on this day in 1861. Union Gen. Irvin McDowell was defeated by Confederate troops led by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at the first Battle of Bull Run at Manassas, Va. It was during this battle that Confederate Gen. T.J. Jackson won the nickname “Stonewall.” Jackson was stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn in the late 1840s.

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A STRONG FOUNDATION: The National Women’s Hall of Fame was founded on this day in 1979. Located in Seneca Falls, N.Y., where the first Women’s Suffrage Convention was held in 1848, the hall honors American women whose contributions “have been of the greatest value in the development of their country.”

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”

— novelist Ernest Hemingway, who was born on this day in 1899