September 20: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 20, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1881, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle said, “James A. Garfield, the twentieth President of the United States, died last night at Long Branch of a wound received on the 2nd of July last, in the City of Washington, at the hands of an assassin named Guiteau. In this event three things are seen: A villainous blow at popular liberty; a strange mockery of human foresight and ambition, and a tragedy as pathetic as any that has ever shocked the affections of men. Liberty is stricken, in that popular support and general loyalty seem to afford no guarantee for the security of a ruler beyond what tyranny may also devise. The mockery, the irony of fate, lies in the evidence that the best ordered career and the noblest exertions may be blighted on the eve of consummation by the adventure of a worthless knave, or the chance stroke of a rabid madman. What the tragedy is hardly needs description. Not only have we the sudden sacrifice of an innocent life, which is tragedy in essence, but that rarer form of bloody intervention which appears when the victim falls, while the cup of the highest felicity is in his hands, and lives for a time to wring devoted hearts with the spectacle of suffering which they cannot diminish. When the dagger, the sword or the bullet brings instant death, the wife, the children, the kinsfolk and sympathetic society have at least a poor consolation born of the thought that slow torture was not added to the deed of murder. But here, days and weeks and months have passed, during which the torments of a hundred deaths must have been endured by the victim.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Eagle reported, “MIAMI, FLA. (AP) — Estimates ranging from 600 to 1,500 dead prevailed in the Miami disaster area today as first contact with the outside world was established by airplane, motorcar and relief trains. These figures did not include the casualties at Fort Lauderdale, where 100 were reported dead, or at Moorehaven, 75 miles northwest of Miami, where huge waves from Lake Okeechobee took a heavy human toll. Continuing its path of devastation, the tropical hurricane that struck the Florida east coast Friday night crossed the Everglades and roared out into the Gulf of Mexico, today was striking at Pensacola and Mobile, according to meager advices received just before both cities were isolated from communication. Advices from Pensacola, at the extreme northwest tip of Florida, said a 100-mile gale was blowing this morning and the barometer reading was 29.16. At Mobile the last message said thousands were seeking safety.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle reported, “HOLLYWOOD (AP) — It might be a different story if Lillian Millicent (Peg) Entwistle, once a well known New York actress and Theater Guild graduate, had been a success in Hollywood. There would be huge floral offerings, crowds begging for admittance to the funeral parlors and celebrities of the screen present to pay their last respects. But Peg Entwistle was not a success. Police listed her today as a suicide at the age of 24 years. In the small undertaking parlor where the body lay there were not many flowers and only a few friends were expected to attend the final rites. Some time during the weekend Miss Entwistle had climbed to the highest spot in the Hollywood hills and leaped to her death from the top of a high electrical sign.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “Shortstop Bobby Brown, second ranking International League hitter to the Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson, will finish the season with the Yankees. Teammates catcher Larry Berra, outfielder Frank Coleman and pitcher Victor Raschi of the Newark farm club will also finish the campaign with the parent body.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “‘Twelve Angry Men’ is the title of the best drama of the still young Fall season. The cast is loaded with Broadway and Hollywood celebrities, but the real star of the proceedings is author Reginald Rose. Rose served on a jury last Spring and tonight’s play is based on his experience in the courtroom. It’s a study in human weakness, understanding and bravery.”

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George R. R. Martin
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winning actress Sophia Loren, who was born in 1934; “A Song of Ice and Fire” author George R. R. Martin, who was born in 1948; Styx co-founder Chuck Panozzo, who was born in 1948; “Office Space” star Gary Cole, who was born in 1956; Thompson Twins co-founder Alannah Currie, who was born in 1957; TV journalist Deborah Roberts, who was born in 1960; Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, who was born in 1966; “3rd Rock from the Sun” star Kristen Johnston, who was born in 1967; Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd, who was born in 1969; “Blade” star N’Bushe Wright, who was born in Brooklyn in 1969; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Jason Bay, who was born in 1978; former NFL return specialist Dante Hall, who was born in 1978; “American Idol” champion Phillip Phillips, who was born in 1990; former N.Y. Islanders captain John Tavares, who was born in 1990; and “Yellowjackets” star Sammi Hanratty, who was born in 1995.

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RED-LETTER DAY: Red Auerbach was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1917. As coach of the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1966, he won nine NBA titles, including eight straight from 1959 to 1966. After he retired from coaching, he was either general manager or president of the Celtics from 1966 to 1997. He was team president from 2001 until his death in 2006. In 1980 the Professional Basketball Writers Association named him the greatest coach in NBA history, and he is widely considered the best sports executive of all time.

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SHARK WEAK: “Happy Days” jumped the shark on this day in 1977. Cool guy Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli, in his trademark leather jacket, flew over a shark while water skiing in L.A. — a gimmick at odds with the sitcom’s normal action. “Jumping the shark” is now a term to describe an outlandish stunt that signals a creative decline.

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

Quotable:

“Mistakes are a part of the dues one pays for a full life.”

— screen legend Sophia Loren, who was born on this day in 1934