October 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “OYSTER BAY, L.I., OCT. 26 — Col. Theodore Roosevelt will be 60 years old tomorrow. He will spend the day quietly at Sagamore Hill, going out only to church, a distance of three miles, which he and Mrs. Roosevelt will probably walk. With him tomorrow will be his three children who are in this country. They are Mrs. Nicholas Longworth, Mrs. Richard Derby and Captain Archibald, who was wounded on the Toul front and invalided home. Three grandchildren will also assist in celebrating. They are a son and daughter of Mrs. Derby, and Archie Jr., who will be present on his grandfather’s birthday for his first time, as he is only 8 months old. During the last year, the Colonel lost his youngest son, Lt. Quentin, who was killed while battling a German plane. His eldest son, Theodore Jr., recently made lieutenant colonel, during the past year has been wounded in battle, returning only yesterday to the firing line. His fourth son, Capt. Kermit, is also with Gen. Pershing’s forces in France.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1939, the Brooklyn Spectator reported, “An egg throwing contest, with a Communist speaker on the receiving end, occurred Friday night at 86th St. and 4th Ave., with about three hundred persons as the audience. The speaker received barrage after barrage of eggs from the surrounding roofs, and his automobile was smashed up in addition to having all four tires sliced. A parrot, belonging to a tenant in one of the nearby apartments, was directing abusive language toward the speaker. The police did not take any action. The speaker was addressing an open-air audience who apparently were not in sympathy with his remarks.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “President Truman, here to celebrate the greatest Navy Day in the nation’s history, told a cheering audience in the Brooklyn Navy Yard today he would strive to bring about ‘for our own people the full life which our resources make possible’ and ‘for people everywhere an era of peace.’ The President arrived at Pennsylvania Station at 7 a.m., had breakfast on the train with a group of local Democrats, including Mayoralty candidate William O’Dwyer, and arrived at the Navy Yard at 11 o’clock. He spoke in the flag be-decked yard at the commissioning of the new super-carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt, and pledged to carry on, both at home and abroad, the policies of the late President for whom the flattop was named. Following his Brooklyn appearance the President had before him the Navy Day parade up Broadway, an official reception at City Hall, an address to an expected 1,000,000 listeners on the Mall of Central Park in Manhattan and then — the day’s climax — a review of seven miles of the navy’s great fleet that swept the enemy off the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “The Dodgers today turned over $36,734.48, their full share from the Mayor’s Trophy Game with the Yankees, to the Brooklyn Amateur Baseball Foundation. In turn, the foundation will distribute this contribution among the sandlot leagues of the borough. This includes the Parade Grounds, Kiwanis, Shore Parkway, Coney Island, Betsy Head and Blake-Euclid Leagues as well as the Catholic Youth Organization, Police Athletic League and Little League. Played July 21 at the Yankee Stadium in what turned out to be an exhibition preview of the World Series, the game drew 50,539 fans, who paid a total of $94,924.30 into the sandlot baseball till. Federal taxes, expenses and contributions cut the net amount to be distributed to $73,468.96. Of this, the Yankees, who added their proceeds from radio rights, distributed $37,203.64 among 10 sandlot organizations. If you can stand a few more figures, the Federal taxes amounted to $15,828.44, slicing the net gate to $79,095.86. Expenses, including tickets, operating expenses and incidentals, came to $7,735.90 and contributions to $2,109. In two years the Dodgers have contributed a total of $82,383.65 to the Brooklyn sandlotters. The two-year total distributed by both clubs is $164,767.29.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1955, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter said, “Monday’s proposal from the Bay Ridge Civic Assn. calling for the erection of a baseball park for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Bay Ridge certainly rates an A grade for imagination. The Association, which has for some years been coming up with ideas for the fuller and better utilization of the Sea Beach and Long Island Rail Road cuts in Bay Ridge, now wants a new Ebbets Field in that area. The idea is certainly worth studying from every angle. No doubt it will be the major conversation piece in this neighborhood for weeks to come.”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” star John Cleese, who was born in 1939; “God Bless the U.S.A.” singer Lee Greenwood, who was born in 1942; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Garry Tallent (E Street Band), who was born in 1949; author and public speaker Fran Lebowitz, who was born in 1950; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer K.K. Downing (Judas Priest), who was born in 1951; “Body and Soul” star Jayne Kennedy, who was born in 1951; Oscar-winning actor Roberto Benigni, who was born in 1952; “Star Trek: Voyager” star Robert Picardo, who was born in 1953; World Golf Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan, who was born in 1956; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran), who was born in 1958; actress and model Marla Maples, who was born in 1963; TV personality Kelly Osbourne, who was born in 1984; and Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who was born in 1997.
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THE NATION’S FOUNDATIONS: The first of the 85 Federalist papers appeared in print on this day in 1787. The essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, argued in favor of adoption of the new Constitution and the new form of federal government. The last of the essays was completed April 4, 1788.
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BORN TO LEAD: Theodore Roosevelt was born on this day in 1858. The Manhattan native and war hero became the 26th president of the U.S. after the assassination of William McKinley and served from 1901-1909. The former governor of New York was the youngest man to assume the presidency, at the age of 42 years and 322 days. He was also the first president to ride in an automobile (1902), to submerge in a submarine (1905) and to fly in an airplane (1910). He died in Oyster Bay, N.Y., on Jan. 6, 1919.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice.”
— former President Theodore Roosevelt, who was born on this day in 1858
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