August 23: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 23, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1875, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Lafayette statue, by Bartholdi, a distinguished Paris sculptor, is soon to be erected in the New York Central Park under the auspices of the Cercle Francais de l’Harmonie. The statue was ordered by the French Government in 1871 as an expression of gratitude and in remembrance of the friendly offerings of the people of New York at the close of the late war between France and Germany. It represents Lafayette standing upon the prow of a ship as if embarking to offer his services to the Continental Government. He was then in his twentieth year, and the design was suggested to the sculptor by the passage taken from Lafayette’s Memoirs, in which he says: ‘As soon as I heard of the Declaration of Independence, my heart was enrolled in the cause.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1920, the Eagle reported, “ANTWERP — The Olympic athletic events in the stadium closed this afternoon with the American athletes so far in the lead in the point scoring that they were the winners by a large margin. The closing contests were held in the rain with only a handful of spectators present.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — An angry army of French patriots rebelled against their Nazi conquerors and liberated their capital city of Paris today. Striking for their own freedom even as a massive American tank army gathered at the city gates, hundreds of thousands of embattled Parisians stormed Nazi barricades, overwhelmed the enemy garrisons and hoisted the tri-color triumphantly over the city. First word of the patriotic blow came in a dramatic announcement from Gen. Pierre Koenig, commander in chief of the French Forces of the Interior, that insurrection had been raging through the capital since early Saturday morning when the call for a general uprising was flashed to the underground in Paris. Five hours later, Allied headquarters had no comment on Koenig’s statement. Headquarters press spokesmen said they had no knowledge of the announcement until after it was issued. In four days of street fighting such as the ancient city had not seen since the storming of the Bastille 155 years ago, the ill-armed patriots routed the bulk of the German occupation forces from Paris and slaughtered the doomed rear guards left to cover the Nazi evacuation. The reconquest of the city, the first of the Allied capitals to be wrested back from the Nazis, was the most spectacular blow struck by Europe’s smoldering underground armies since the German hordes overran the continent four years ago.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “LINCOLN, NEB. (U.P.) — Shoplifting, once rampant here, is being brought under control through close cooperation of the police, merchants, municipal court and newspapers. Special policewomen and private detectives patrol the stores, watching for pilferers. Clerks, trained to spot thefts, report them immediately. The newspapers consistently give publicity to such persons when they appear in court, where heavy fines are assessed. With shoplifting losses now at a minimum, Police Capt. E.H. Masters is convinced the system really works. ‘Anyone who makes a practice of shoplifting is caught sooner or later,’ he said. ‘They all decide, after being taken into court, fined and given publicity, that it’s not worth the price.’ The shoplifters — usually women — generally work in groups. Equipped with a large purse or shopping bag, one woman takes what she wants, while others act as ‘lookouts.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “OTTAWA (U.P.) — Governor [Thomas] Dewey of New York warned today that an attack by the Communists on Formosa [Taiwan] could split the unity between the United States and Great Britain. Mr. Dewey warned that a Communist attack on the Chinese Nationalist bastion was impending and said the western allies must unify their Formosan policy before it comes. He said the threatened Red attack was a major part of Russia’s offensive to divide Great Britain and the U.S. because Formosa was a Communist ‘weapon’ that could ‘disunite and destroy us.’ In a speech prepared for a luncheon meeting of the Central Canada Exhibition Association, Dewey also called for unification of the U.S. and Canadian military and civil defense plans. He said joint planning was necessary because the two countries are geographically and idealistically ‘a single defense unit in a perilous world.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “Grace Kelly, the Hollywood lovely, has taken a courtside box at the Forest Hills Stadium, which is another good reason to attend the National Tennis Championships which start next Saturday.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Psycho” star Vera Miles, who was born in 1929; “I Dream of Jeannie” star Barbara Eden, who was born in 1931; Pro Football Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen, who was born in 1934; “WKRP in Cincinnati” star Richard Sanders, who was born in 1940; International Tennis Hall of Famer Nancy Richey, who was born in 1942; “Plum Island” author Nelson DeMille, who was born in 1943; former Surgeon General Antonia Novello, who was born in 1944; “Cheers” star Shelley Long, who was born in 1949; “Jessie’s Girl” singer Rick Springfield, who was born in 1949; former N.Y. Mets first baseman Julio Franco, who was born in 1958; former “Saturday Night Live” star Jay Mohr, who was born in 1970; “X-Men” star Ray Park, who was born in 1974; swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin, who was born in 1982; former Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin, who was born in 1988; and former Brooklyn Nets guard Seth Curry, who was born in 1990.

Rick Springfield
John Salangsang/Invision/AP

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SONG AND DANCE: Gene Kelly was born on this day in 1912. The actor, dancer, director and choreographer starred in many hit films, including the musicals “Singin’ in the Rain” and “An American in Paris.” He died in 1996.

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SHAKEN UP: Brooklyn was hit by tremors on this day in 2011. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake that was centered in Virginia was felt here for about 15 seconds at 1:50 p.m. Minimal damage was reported, but Borough President Marty Markowitz told the Brooklyn Eagle, “We need this like we need a hole in the head.”

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

Quotable:

“It’s always good to be recognized for hard work you’ve done in the years past. While you’re doing it, you don’t think of it so much. You’re just working.”

— actress Barbara Eden, who was born on this day in 1931