August 3: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 3, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1905, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “During the past year the Forest Service, in co-operation with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Postal Telegraph-Cable Company, has been making an investigation to find the best methods of seasoning telephone poles and of treating them with preservatives. Fifty green poles were furnished every month to each of five experimental stations. Each pole was exposed to the open air and was weighed every month until it ceased to lose weight. The rate at which weight was lost showed the rate of seasoning in different months. After one year of seasoning preservative treatment was applied to the poles, beginning last spring.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1923, the Eagle reported, “SAN FRANCISCO — Recovering from the tremendous shock of the sudden death of President Harding in his room at the Palace Hotel here at 7:30 o’clock last night (11:30 New York time), members of his entourage today completed arrangements for the removal of his body to Washington. The railroad cortege will leave San Francisco at 6 o’clock (New York time, 10 p.m.) and go directly to the capital via Reno, Ogden, Cheyenne, Omaha and Chicago, with no stops except those necessary for the operation of the train. Mrs. Harding, as brave in her grief as she was devoted and tireless in the President’s last illness, maintained her composure today and approved the arrangements made by four members of the Presidential party. Since last night, when her husband collapsed with tragic suddenness, Mrs. Harding has carried herself with extraordinary fortitude, doubly extraordinary in view of the unexpectedness of her bereavement. At his side to the last, reading to him an article in which his supposedly returning strength had brought much interest, her hand was on his when the sudden tremor marked the beginning of the end. Controlling herself in the face of a fearfully ominous symptom, she quickly called for physicians, but it was too late for human aid. ‘I am not going to collapse,’ she murmured. She did not, either last night or today.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “BERLIN (A.P.) — Off the mark fast and moving into the lead after the first ten meters, Jesse Owens today won the Olympic 100-meter sprint championship, achieving the first of three gold medals he has set as his goal in the 11th Olympiad. The brown Ohio bullet, a top-heavy favorite from the start of yesterday’s preliminaries in the sprint feature, for the second time in as many days equaled the Olympic and world record of 10.3 seconds in capturing the title. Ralph Metcalfe, husky Chicago Negro flyer, finished a yard and one-half behind Owens. Metcalfe was timed in 10.4 seconds. Two American Negroes thus ran one-two in their second straight Olympics, dominating the event from the start to finish, each winning his semi-final heat and then fighting it out in the final. In 1932 Metcalfe also was a close second to Eddie Tolan, Detroit Negro, in the final.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — The United States stands ready to throw its military force against any attempt by Red China to invade Formosa, officials said today. They issued the warning in the face of stepped up demands recently by Red Chinese officials for Communist conquest of Formosa. The officials said the United States considers the Nationalist China stronghold of Formosa essential to America’s security and believes that it must remain in friendly hands. This country has no written agreement to help Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek protect his Nationalist government in case of attack. But officials said the United States has made it clear it intends to help Chiang and is willing to use armed force if necessary. The latest Red call for an invasion came two days ago from Gen. Chu Teh, commander-in-chief of the Communist Chinese army. ‘Taiwan [Formosa] has been our territory from ancient times,’ he said in a broadcast speech. ‘As long as the Chiang brigands are not thoroughly wiped out, so long as Taiwan is not liberated, our task of liberating the whole of China cannot be considered complete. We absolutely will not allow other countries to interfere.’”

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Isaiah Washington
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Evangeline Lilly
Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Pro Football Hall of Famer Marv Levy, who was born in 1925; “The West Wing” star Martin Sheen, who was born in 1940; businesswoman and TV personality Martha Stewart, who was born in 1941; “Animal House” director John Landis, who was born in 1950; “Dennis the Menace” star Jay North, who was born in 1951; “Scrubs” star John C. McGinley, who was born in 1959; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Hetfield (Metallica), who was born in 1963; “The 100” star Isaiah Washington, who was born in 1963; Salt-N-Pepa member DJ Spinderella, who was born in Brooklyn in 1970; seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, who was born in 1977; “Lost” star Evangeline Lilly, who was born in 1979; and model Karlie Kloss, who was born in 1992.

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BEYOND THE SEA: Christopher Columbus’ first voyage began on this day in 1492. The “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” set sail half an hour before sunrise from Palos, Spain, with three ships, Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, and a crew of 90. He sailed for “Cathay” (China) but found instead a New World of the Americas, first landing at Guanahani (San Salvador Island in the Bahamas) on Oct. 12.

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TEAMWORK: On this day in 1949, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League completed a merger that created the National Basketball Association, which consisted of 17 teams. Today the NBA has 30 teams in 28 cities.

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

Quotable:

“War makes strange giant creatures out of us little routine men who inhabit the earth.”

— war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who was born on this day in 1900