August 11: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 11, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1898, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “As soon as Col. Theodore Roosevelt arrives at Montauk Point with his regiment of Rough Riders he will be waited upon by a committee from the Independent Republican organization, of Manhattan, headed by Col. Lovell Jerome, and asked for consent to allow his name to be used as a candidate for the gubernatorial nomination. It is thought that the Manhattan organization will be joined by a delegation representing Republicans of this county who desire to see the colonel of the Rough Riders head the state ticket. If he consents to be a candidate, a campaign will be inaugurated that will eclipse anything ever projected in this state. Close friends of Mr. Roosevelt say that he will consent to be a candidate if he becomes satisfied that there is a demand for his nomination.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1927, the Eagle reported, “With the purpose of the Mount Rushmore monument in the Black Hills, a work formally initiated yesterday by President Coolidge in a fitting and dignified address, there can be only harmony. The monument will commemorate Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt. Washington never crossed the Mississippi either physically or definitely; Jefferson never beheld it, but he extended our territory over a great area beyond it; Lincoln helped make the country one from end to end, but lived his life east of the great river. Roosevelt alone of the four closely knew and loved the country beyond it. Yet it is an appropriate thing that the West should have within its expanse a place dedicated to the fame of these four. They belong to the whole country, not to the East alone.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “TOKIO (U.P.) — Japan girded for war on the economic front today as the press reported the United States ‘prepared with resolution’ to face any emergency arising in the Pacific. The increasing strain of diplomatic and economic tug-of-war in the Far East was indicated in developments on a vast front from Siberia to the Dutch East Indies. 1. Approval of four ordinances to the general Japanese mobilization act designed to shift the nation economically and financially to a full war footing; 2. A statement by Kaname Wakasugi, Japanese Minister to Washington who is now in Los Angeles, that the United States was much concerned regarding the future position of Thailand and that Americans ‘seem prepared with resolution’ after arranging to enforce ‘step by step all countermeasures’ against any action Japan may take; 3. A report by the newspaper Hochi that the United States had proposed that America and Russia take concerted defensive measures if a ‘third power’ attacked the Dutch East Indies; 4. Reports, which were discounted by an official government spokesman, that Japan had indicated she would refuse to permit American war supplies for Russia to reach Vladivostok on the grounds that such materials might be destined for China. (Dispatches from China reported that a Chinese guerrilla offensive had been started in the Yellow River area in order to tie up Japanese troops that might otherwise be shifted for action in Siberia or the South Pacific). 5. Dispatches from Japanese-occupied Saigon said that the bulk of the Japanese expeditionary force in French Indo-China had been sent to Cambodia Province, bordering Thailand (Siam).”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, AUG. 10 (U.P.) — The world had President Truman’s assurance today that the secret of the atomic bomb will remain under lock and key until control methods are found to protect mankind ‘from the danger of total destruction.’ ‘The atomic bomb is too dangerous to be loose in lawless world,’ Mr. Truman said in his radio address last night.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “PHILADELPHIA (U.P.) — Directors of the impoverished Philadelphia Athletics today studied a local syndicate’s last-ditch plan to keep the club from moving to Kansas City, Mo., or some other city. Details of the plan, described by a syndicate spokesman as a ‘basis for saving the club,’ were not disclosed but were being weighed carefully by the A’s five-man board, headed by Connie, Earle and Roy Mack.”

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Viola Davis
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith, who was born in 1944; “Star Wars” star Ian McDiarmid, who was born in 1944; journalist and author Marilyn vos Savant, who was born in 1946; Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak, who was born in 1950; World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, who was born in 1953; Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis, who was born in 1965; comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan, who was born in 1967; “Hotel Rwanda” star Sophie Okonedo, who was born in 1968; “Boy Meets World” star Will Friedle, who was born in 1976; “Thor” star Chris Hemsworth, who was born in 1983; former N.Y. Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was born in 1984; and political commentator and TV host Tomi Lahren, who was born in 1992.

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STAR MAKER: “American Graffiti” premiered on this day in 1973. Written and directed by George Lucas, the coming-of-age comedy documented the cruising culture of the early 1960s. It featured a large ensemble of future stars including Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Cindy Williams and Suzanne Somers. Made on a budget of less than $1 million, it earned more than $50 million in its initial release and gave Lucas the clout to go ahead with another project, the “Star Wars” saga.

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GOLD STANDARD: Carl Lewis attained Olympic glory on this day in 1984. In Los Angeles, the 23-year-old became the second track-and-field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics, equaling Jesse Owens’ performance in the 1936 Games in Berlin. Lewis even took the gold in the same events: the men’s 400m relay, the 100m dash, the long jump and the 200m dash.

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

Quotable:

“What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom ‘to’ and freedom ‘from.’”

— author Marilyn vos Savant, who was born on this day in 1946