September 9: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 9, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1893, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “There was a birth in the White House at exactly 2 o’clock this afternoon. Baby Ruth has a little sister. Mrs. Cleveland and the new arrival are doing quite well.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1901, the Eagle reported, “CHICAGO — Two thousand members of the Socialist party voted down a resolution of regret for the attempted assassination of the President at a meeting held yesterday in Bergman’s Grove, Riverside. The argument of those opposed to the resolution was that President McKinley is the representative of the capitalistic class and that his safety or danger is a matter of no concern to Socialists. The resolution was introduced by the chairman of the meeting, Wilmot I. Goodspeed, and was designed to counteract the tendency of some people to place Socialists and anarchists in the same class. Incidentally, expression was made of the pain of Socialists, in common with other citizens, at the attempted assassination. This was regarded by many present as a letting down of the barrier of hatred which separates the capitalists from the common people, and they defeated it.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Eagle reported, “ST. PAUL, MINN. — The cost of living, President Wilson told the Minnesota Legislature today, is largely due to ‘a world situation’ growing out of the sacrifices and waste of the war. Back of that, added the President, lay the fact that the world had not yet learned what the peace status would be. ‘The world is not going to settle down,’ said he, ‘until it learns what part the United States is to play in the peace.’ He continued that this was the only nation which could have enough free capital in the near future to rehabilitate the world economically. The Legislature, which began yesterday an extraordinary session to consider the high cost of living and other subjects, received the President with cheers. He was introduced by Gov. J.A.A. Burnquist, who said Minnesota hoped there would be some arrangement to prevent future wars.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle reported, “Some 165 laughing and joking workmen at 8 a.m. today boarded the 92-foot steamer Observation, docked in the East River, at the foot of 134th St., happy in these times of depression that they were bound for their jobs helping to build the new $9,000,000 penitentiary on Rikers Island. Five minutes after the Observation had put out, there was a terrific blast aboard. For a few fatal minutes a white cloud of smoke hung ominously over the muddy waters of the East River. When it cleared, only a few pieces of wreckage remained of the craft. Frantic, cursing men struggled helplessly in the water among the dead and dismembered bodies of comrades. And New York Harbor chalked up its greatest disaster since the General Slocum tragedy. Today’s explosion occurred almost at the same place where the General Slocum burned with Brooklyn Sunday School picnickers in June 1904. The known dead this afternoon totaled 37. About 80 more were in hospitals, many of them not expected to live, and about 48 others were missing.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — The National Security Council met today to exchange views, apparently including those on Red China’s threat to Formosa [Taiwan], for presentation to President Eisenhower Sunday. The council met at the White House with Vice President Richard M. Nixon presiding. The council will hold an unprecedented meeting Sunday with Mr. Eisenhower at Denver. Administration sources reported that the unusual Sunday meeting will weigh the significance of Communist China’s stabs at Nationalist-held islands guarding Formosa. Mr. Eisenhower and his top advisers may reach a secret decision on how far the U.S. 7th Fleet will range beyond Formosa proper to protect important stepping-stone islands in the area. The United States never has said whether it would retaliate if outlying islands were hit. The Summer White House at Denver announced that the President had ordered the council meeting in Denver. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles will return from a quick trip to the Philippines, Formosa and Japan to attend.”

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Michelle Williams
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Eric Stonestreet
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Mashed Potato Time” singer Dee Dee Sharp, who was born in 1945; former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, who was born in 1949; “The Dukes of Hazzard” star Tom Wopat, who was born in 1951; “Lost in Space” star Angela Cartwright, who was born in 1952; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), who was born in 1952; “Heretic” star Hugh Grant, who was born in 1960; “Uncut Gems” star Adam Sandler, who was born in Brooklyn in 1966; model and actress Rachel Hunter, who was born in 1969; “Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet, who was born in 1971; “E.T.” star Henry Thomas, who was born in 1971; “ER” star Goran Visnjic, who was born in 1972; five-time Grammy winner Michael Buble, who was born in 1975; “Dawson’s Creek” star Michelle Williams, who was born in 1980; and “Supergirl” star Julie Gonzalo, who was born in 1981.

Adam Sandler
Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

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EARNING HIS WINGS: “Colonel” Harland Sanders was born on this day in 1890. The grade-school dropout and jack-of-all-trades became a pioneer in the fast-food industry at age 66 when he created the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. His success was due to a secret spice blend and unique pressure cooker cooking method, as well as catchy marketing and high standards. He died in 1980.

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BACK TO SCHOOL: “Welcome Back, Kotter” premiered on this day in 1975. The half-hour sitcom starred Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter, who returns to his Brooklyn high school to teach “The Sweathogs,” a group of hopeless underachievers. Cast members included Marcia Strassman, John Travolta, Robert Hegyes, Ron Palillo, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and John Sylvester White. John Sebastian performed the theme song, “Welcome Back,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1976.

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

Quotable:

“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”

— former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, who was born on this day in 1949