August 21: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 21, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1882, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle said, “BUFFALO, AUG. 19 — Erie County will send an anti-Cornell delegation to Saratoga; a solid delegation pledged and instructed for Grover Cleveland to Syracuse, and between six and seven thousand workingmen will be represented by delegates in the Buffalo Labor Convention on the 12th of next month. In brief, this is the situation in Erie County. Upon the subject of presenting Mayor Cleveland for Governor, the Democrats of Erie County are not only united, but enthusiastic. It is asserted here by the advocates of his nomination that Mr. Cleveland will go to Syracuse with the solid delegations of the Eighth Judicial district, composed of Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Niagara, Genesee and Wyoming counties, being in all thirty-nine delegates. And their claim is not ill founded as I find upon examination. Mayor Cleveland is a lawyer, who has participated little in politics in the past, but who stands high in his profession and possesses the esteem of all the citizens. He was elected by a phenomenal majority of between six and seven thousand in a city which ordinarily gives a Republican majority. Since his inauguration he has increased the esteem in which he was held by administering the office with great firmness and economy, and with a total disregard for the wishes or opinions of the politicians.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Eagle reported, “The seventh birthday of Mickey Mouse is scheduled for international celebration from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4. The event is to be marked by special showings of Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony productions in theaters throughout the world. On Sept. 28, 1928, Mickey Mouse was first presented to the world by Walt Disney in ‘Steamboat Willie,’ the star’s initial venture as a screen personality. The event took place at the old Colony Theater in New York. Since then, Mickey has made a steady climb to fame until today he is one of the best known figures on earth.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “SUPREME HEADQUARTERS, A.E.F. (U.P.) — American troops poured into a rapidly expanding bridgehead on the north bank of the Seine above Paris today and drew an armored arc around the north, west and south gates of the French capital, while battered survivors of the German 7th Army fled for the lower Seine in a disorderly rout under relentless attack by Allied land and air forces. With the Americans at the gates of Paris, tens of thousands of French patriots were in revolt inside the city and the Nazi high command, admitting that street fighting had broken out, clamped virtual martial law on the turbulent capital. In a lightning thrust that threatened to seal the Seine River crossings to tens of thousands of Nazis fleeing eastward from Normandy, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s 3rd Army troopers burst across the stream in the Mantes-Gassicourt area and established a solid bridgehead for the torrent of American tanks and artillery pounding up in their rear. The German Transocean Agency said Yank paratroops and airborne infantry won the Seine crossing after an unsuccessful attempt to force the river by boat and pontoon bridge.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “The local OPA meat enforcement staff today mobilized for immediate action to prevent a resurgence of the black market when the new price controls take effect today. Callman Gottesman, local enforcement chief, announced ceiling prices will be enforced more vigorously than ever. He indicated that the meat staff would be enlarged to fight any attempts at black marketeering.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1959, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter said, “A groundbreaking ceremony was held at noon last Thursday, August 13 at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island to signal the start of construction of the $320,000,000 Verrazano-Narrows Bridge which will link Brooklyn and Staten Island. The bridge will be constructed by the Port of New York Authority and operated, maintained and subsequently purchased by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority on or before January 1, 1967. Initial financing already has been arranged by the Port Authority. Robert Moses, Chairman of the Triborough Authority, presided … When completed in 1965, the bridge will provide the first direct connection between Staten Island and the other four New York City boroughs since Staten Island was settled 298 years ago. Ferries are the only present direct means of transportation between Staten Island, Brooklyn and Manhattan. Three Port Authority bridges, the Bayonne and Goethals Bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing, provide connection with New Jersey … The bridge will present a majestic sight as it reaches across the Narrows in the lower bay with the longest and highest suspension span of any bridge in the world. It will be a double-deck bridge with six traffic lanes on each level … The anchorages will be located at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn and Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island.”

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Hayden Panettiere
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Burton, who was born in 1939; “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” singer Jackie DeShannon, who was born in 1941; “Witness” director Peter Weir, who was born in 1944; “The Bad Seed” star Patty McCormack, who was born in Brooklyn in 1945; “Boston Public” star Loretta Devine, who was born in 1949; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Smith (Journey), who was born in 1954; “Sex and the City” star Kim Cattrall, who was born in 1956; former N.Y. Giants running back Reuben Droughns, who was born in 1978; sprinter and eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, who was born in 1986; “Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere, who was born in 1989; and “Eighth Grade” director Bo Burnham, who was born in 1990.

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ROBIN’S NEST: Christopher Robin Milne was born on this day in 1920. He was the inspiration for the character of Christopher Robin in the Winnie-the-Pooh books authored by his father A.A. Milne. Christopher was enamored of Winnipeg the black bear at the London Zoo, and this “Winnie,” along with Milne’s stuffed toy animals (included Eeyore, Piglet and Roo), came to life in a series of beloved books. He died in 1996.

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HAWAII 5-0: President Dwight Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Hawaii to the Union on this day in 1959. The statehood bill had passed the previous March with a stipulation that statehood should be approved by a vote of Hawaiian residents. The referendum passed by a huge margin in June and Hawaii became the 50th state two months later.

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

Quotable:

“Of course, there are a lot of ways you can treat the blues, but it will still be the blues.”

— musician Count Basie, who was born on this day in 1904