October 11: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 11, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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TORON THIS DAY IN 1902, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle said, “When the stars first shone last night the solemnities of the Hebrew Day of Atonement began. Yom Kippur is the most impressive of all the holidays of the Jewish calendar and every member of the Jewish community, orthodox or liberal, follows the precepts of Moses on this day. When the sun sank in the West last night and darkness began to fall, the Hebrew merchant left his wares, the artisan his tools and the laborer ceased work; fires were extinguished and all worldly activities gave way to the call of religion.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1909, the Eagle reported, “The celebration of Columbus Day tomorrow by 100,000 Italians of Brooklyn will be a demonstration of the autonomy of the borough. The Brooklyn spirit prevails here among the Italians as well as among civic and political organizations, and the events of the day on which the discovery of America by Columbus is to be commemorated will represent the defeat of an attempt on the part of the Italians of Manhattan to annex Brooklyn and make it the tail end of their celebration. Resentment against the Manhattan bodies among the thirty or more Italian societies of this borough which will celebrate the day is intense. The former endeavored to make the celebration a Manhattan one entirely, and sought to augment their forces by tacking on the societies of Brooklyn. The Brooklyn societies refused to be made use of in that way, and in retaliation, the Manhattanites ignored them in the Il Progresso, the Italian newspaper that circulates throughout the city. No notices of the events to take place in Brooklyn, the parades and the big banquet that is to be held at the Imperial, were printed, and this treatment will be roundly denounced when 5,000 Brooklyn Italians gather at Saengerbund Hall tomorrow afternoon after their parade.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported, “Taking atoms apart and letting them snap together again. Taking lightning, putting it in a bottle and making it work. These were some of the stunts which Dr. E.E. Free, inventor and scientific editor of the Forum, performed with spectacular effect at the first fall meeting of the New York Electrical Society, held last night in the Engineering Societies Building. Kaleidoscopic effects of light and color dazzled the audience as Dr. Free produced lighting effects by applying currents of high potentials to the rare, noble gases of the atmosphere.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle said, “There is a disposition in some quarters to regard the chances of Lewis H. Pounds, the Republican candidate for Mayor, as exceedingly slim. The odds are against him, but there are some significant figures on New York’s voting habits which should be borne in mind. [Jimmy] Walker’s vote in 1925, the first time he was elected, was 158,951 less than the combined Coolidge-LaFollette vote of the previous year. Coolidge’s vote was 626,111; LaFollette’s 281, 527. The former Mayor’s vote in 1929, the last time he ran, was 867,522. The year before, Herbert Hoover received 714,102 votes in New York City and Albert Ottinger, Republican candidate for Governor, 728,712. In 1921 John F. Hylan, formerly of Bushwick and now of Forest Hills, was the Tammany candidate for Mayor. He received 750,247 votes. The year before, Warren G. Harding, the Republican candidate for President, received 785,959 votes. Fully as significant as these figures, in estimating the voting habits of the city, is the fact that the number of persons who qualify to vote in Presidential years is normally 25 percent greater than the number who qualified the year previous. An increase of from 500,000 to 600,000 in this year’s registration over last year’s is by no means unlikely. Without being overly optimistic, it is safe to say that from three-fifths to three-fourths of these ‘four-year’ voters are not bound to either political machine by any strong ties. They may have Democratic or Republican preferences, but they are not the men and women whose votes the ward heelers of both parties can definitely forecast in advance.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Eagle reported, “Additional donations from religious groups, business firms and individuals have increased the Red Cross hurricane relief fund in Brooklyn to $13,342.90, it was announced today at the headquarters of the Brooklyn Chapter, 66 Court St. In response to an appeal forwarded to ministers, priests and rabbis by C.R. Beardsley, chairman of the Brooklyn Red Cross, it was said, a total of $2,228.51 has been received from 84 churches, synagogues and other religious organizations.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Truman and his Cabinet spent one and a half hours today discussing means of ending the meat shortage. Mr. Truman took under advisement a number of different recommendations made by his advisers. Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson said the decision was now up to the Chief Executive. Among plans to relieve the shortage was one proposing importation of foreign meat, including canned beef from Argentina. Secretary Anderson said the question of bringing in Argentine canned meat was brought up in a general discussion of importing meat. Meantime, Attorney General Tom C. Clark said he had ordered the anti-trust division of the Justice Department to investigate C.I.O. charges that up to 800,000 head of beef cattle are in packers’ feed lots in four States and could be slaughtered immediately. Today’s was one of the longest regular Cabinet meetings since Mr. Truman took office. Most of the Cabinet members ducked reporters’ questions when they left the White House but the reporters concentrated on Mr. Anderson. Asked whether they came to a decision today, Anderson said, ‘No.’”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson, who was born in 1936; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Daryl Hall, who was born in 1946; sportscaster Jon Miller, who was born in 1951; “John Adams” star David Morse, who was born in 1953; Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young, who was born in 1961; “Working Girl” star Joan Cusack, who was born in 1962; “Mystery Science Theater 3000” host Michael J. Nelson, who was born in 1964; former N.Y. Yankees and Mets pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who was born in 1965; “30 Rock” star Jane Krakowski, who was born in 1968; rapper and actress MC Lyte, who was born in 1970; “Bones” star Emily Deschanel, who was born in 1976; “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Michelle Trachtenberg, who was born in 1985; golfer Michelle Wie West, who was born in 1989; and rapper and songwriter Cardi B, who was born in 1992.

Michelle Trachtenberg
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

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A BIG PLUS: On this day in 1887, a patent was granted to Dorr Eugene Felt for the Comptometer, which was the first adding machine known to be absolutely accurate at all times.

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ALIVE AND KICKING: “Saturday Night Live” premiered on this day in 1975. Originally titled “NBC’s Saturday Night,” the show features skits, commercial parodies and news satires, with a different guest host and musical guest each week. Its first guest host was comedian George Carlin. Notable cast members have included Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Jan Hooks, Adam Sandler, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Kristen Wiig, among many others. The show’s 50th season began Sept. 28.

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

Quotable:

“To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.”

— entrepreneur Henry J. Heinz, who was born on this day in 1844