October 8: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1869, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “CONCORD, N.H. — Ex-President Franklin Pierce died this morning. A biographical sketch of the late Franklin Pierce will appear on the first page of the Fourth Edition.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1909, the Eagle reported, “Although the Federal departments in the various states do not, as a rule, observe holidays created by the respective state legislatures, the post offices in the State of New York will observe Columbus Day, the new state holiday, next Tuesday. The United States courts in this district will be in session as usual on Tuesday, there being no provision or order under which they can suspend business to help this state celebrate. The post office here will observe Columbus Day in the same manner it celebrates Lincoln’s birthday, by having two deliveries in the morning instead of one, as is the case on holidays more generally recognized, such as Independence Day and Memorial Day.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — President [Woodrow] Wilson was stronger today than at any time since he became ill nearly two weeks ago, said a bulletin issued today by Rear Admiral Grayson, [Dr. Edward] Stitt and Dr. Sterling Ruffin … After another good night, President Wilson appeared cheerful this morning, White House officials said, and for the first time in more than a week expressed a preference for eggs for breakfast. It is with increasing difficulty that Rear Admiral Grayson, his personal physician, keeps the President from taking a hand in the affairs of State. The President has asked to see several persons, but neither Dr. Grayson nor Secretary [Joseph P.] Tumulty has been able to locate any of them. The President told them they showed remarkable inability to find anyone he wanted to see, adding that, so far as he was concerned, the ‘campaign of silence’ was at an end. The President also wants to read, and while Dr. Grayson has permitted him to do so to a limited extent, he is prevented from reading for any great length of time because the physician fears there might be an injurious strain upon his eyes.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “Former Mayor James J. Walker’s second appointment as special counsel to the Transit Commission, following the rescinding of the first, which would have assured him a pension of about $15,000 a year, was imperiled today by a ruling in the Supreme Court in Manhattan. The decision was handed down by Justice Samuel I. Rosenman, former counsel to Governor Lehman and still one of President Roosevelt’s closest legal advisers as a member of his unofficial ‘brain trust.’ Justice Rosenman ruled that the original appointment of the former Mayor to his $12,000-a-year post was illegal because it had not been approved by the State Civil Service Commission and the Public Service Commission. ‘The court assumes,’ said Justice Rosenman, ‘that if the conclusion here reached is sustained in Appellate Court, the employment under the second resolution will also be terminated.’”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “No Brooklyn longshoremen reported for work today, continuing with their fellow rank and file unionists at piers in Manhattan and New Jersey the protest which has tied up shipping in the New York harbor since last Tuesday. There were indications, however, that the strikers might end their defiance of their own officials in the International Longshoremen’s Association, A.F.L., if they are satisfied with the outcome of negotiations with the shippers’ representatives which were to be resumed this afternoon. Meanwhile, the borough waterfront was jammed with longshoremen, idling in response to notices tacked on pier doors by rank-and-file leaders which said: ‘No gangs will go back to work until everyone goes back to work except those working on troop and Red Cross ships.’ Notices were printed in English and Italian. At a meeting of strikers this morning at Hicks St. between Union and President Sts., the men voted overwhelmingly to remain out and voted to meet again at 5 p.m. today. They also decided to telegraph Mayor LaGuardia requesting that his official arbitrator attend the meeting.”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include gossip columnist Rona Barrett, who was born in 1936; International Tennis Hall of Famer Fred Stolle, who was born in 1938; “Crocodile Dundee” star Paul Hogan, who was born in 1939; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Fred Cash (The Impressions), who was born in 1940; civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, who was born in 1941; original “Saturday Night Live” star Chevy Chase, who was born in 1943; “Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, who was born in 1943; “Alien” star Sigourney Weaver, who was born in 1949; incoming Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Robert “Kool” Bell (Kool and the Gang), who was born in 1950; former “Saturday Night Live” star Darrell Hammond, who was born in 1955; “In Living Color” star Kim Wayans, who was born in 1961; gospel singer CeCe Winans, who was born in 1964; “Lost” star Jeremy Davies, who was born in 1969; Oscar-winner Matt Damon, who was born in 1970; “Just the Way You Are” singer Bruno Mars, who was born in 1985; and “Infamous” star Bella Thorne, who was born in 1997.
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BURNED INTO MEMORY: The Great Chicago Fire began on this day in 1871. It leveled 3 1/2 square miles, destroyed 17,450 buildings, left 98,500 people homeless and killed about 250 others. Financially, the loss was $200 million. On the same day, a fire destroyed the entire town of Peshtigo, Wis., killing more than 1,100 people.
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LEGEND OF THE FALL: Don Larsen of the N.Y. Yankees pitched the only perfect game in World Series history on this day in 1956. The 27-year-old righthander blanked the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium in just 2 hours and 6 minutes. The Yanks won the series in seven games and Larsen was named MVP.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through — then follow through.”
— Medal of Honor recipient Eddie Rickenbacker, who was born on this day in 1890
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