October 28: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1923, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “With great simplicity and in the immediate presence of no more than 400 people who had known and loved him, the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt, at 28 E. 20th St., was dedicated yesterday as Roosevelt House by the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association, the organization which has been responsible for the restoring and opening of this, another national shrine. At the time of this solemn dedication, one of the greatest Navy Day celebrations in the history of the service was in progress at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. And thus two monuments were brought at once into public view — one the birthplace of a great man, the other the partial product of his national service.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported, “PHILADELPHIA, OCT. 27 — In a tremendous drive to overthrow Pennsylvania’s 992,000 Republican majority, Gov. Alfred E. Smith tonight delivered one of his characteristic speeches before an audience of about 13,000 in the Philadelphia Arena. This afternoon he drove from Camden, N.J., where he left his train, into the heart of Philadelphia, through streets filled with cheering thousands, which, if not as rough and irresistible as Boston’s mobs on Wednesday, were equally vociferous. The fascination which Governor Smith appears to exert on urban crowds along this Eastern seaboard was as potent in Philadelphia as in New England. On his trip down through New Jersey this afternoon the crowds in the smaller towns were meager, although Trenton gave a great welcome. The Governor’s speech tonight was a challenge to Herbert Hoover, and his eloquent protagonist, Charles E. Hughes, on Prohibition, which Mr. Smith denied was ‘a sham issue.’ This was for Philadelphia consumption, this place being liquid in habits, politics and taste.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “President Harry S. Truman told the nation in an historic Navy Day address yesterday that the United States, while retaining possession of the atomic bomb as ‘a sacred trust,’ intends to maintain its armed might to preserve world peace as the only sure method of making this country’s own freedom secure … Facing an audience estimated at more than 1,000,000 persons in Central Park and speaking over combined nation-wide radio networks, the president outlined a 12-point foreign policy, in his administration’s behalf, which highlighted the declarations that the United States, seeking no territorial expansion or selfish advantage for itself, will ‘refuse’ to recognize any government imposed upon any nation by the force of any foreign power.’ ‘We believe,’ he declared in ringing tones, ‘that all peoples who are prepared for self-government should be permitted to choose their own form of government by their own freely expressed choice, without interference from any foreign power.’ While the president’s remarks were construed by many among his listeners as a broad suggestion to Soviet Russia to alter its policy in setting up puppet regimes among her European neighbors, Mr. Truman went on: ‘That is true in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, as well as in the Western Hemisphere.’”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “The old catcher is coming back to the Yankees to take charge of the bullpen at the Stadium. Bill Dickey was appointed yesterday as the third Yankee coach for 1949. The others are Frisco Frank Crosetti and Milkman Jim Turner. It’s believed that Bill’s chief job will be to try and make a big league catcher of Yogi Berra. ‘I’m all choked inside,’ said Dickey, who came here from his home in Little Rock to sign his contract. ‘You know I’ve always been a Yankee at heart. I never realized it as deeply as last year when I returned to the Stadium for the Yankees Silver Jubilee Celebration. This is the biggest thrill I’ve got in baseball outside of the home run I hit off Morton Cooper that gave the Yanks the 1943 World Series with the Cardinals.’”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “The Dodgers took their time winning the 1952 pennant. More time, in fact, than any other team in the National League. In 80 Ebbets Field games, they averaged two hours and 32 minutes of playing time, one minute more than the Giants in 77 games at the Polo Grounds. In games between the interborough rivals, they averaged 2:51 at Ebbets Field, 3:01 at the Polo Grounds. The Dodgers played only five games in less than two hours, the Giants played seven in a slow-down season where the average major league game took two hours and 25 minutes. It doesn’t pay to play fast, though. The Boston Braves and Detroit Tigers, who led their leagues in playing speed, finished seventh and eighth, respectively. The Braves averaged 2:15, the Tigers 2:21 in their home games. The Yankees, who played only two games under two hours, also averaged 2:32 at the Stadium, one minute behind the Boston Red Sox for the American League slow-poke pennant.”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Basketball Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who was born in Brooklyn in 1937; “Soap” creator Susan Harris, who was born in 1940; “NYPD Blue” star Dennis Franz, who was born in 1944; “Family Matters” star Telma Hopkins, who was born in 1948; media personality and Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, who was born in 1949; Songwriters Hall of Famer Desmond Child, who was born in 1953; Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who was born in 1955; “The Talk” co-host Sheryl Underwood, who was born in 1963; “Still Standing” star Jami Gertz, who was born in 1965; Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Atwater, who was born in 1966; blogger and activist Matt Drudge, who was born in 1966; Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts, who was born in 1967; Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix, who was born in 1974; “Ratched” star Finn Wittrock, who was born in 1984; and “Modern Family” star Nolan Gould, who was born in 1998.
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LITERARY LANDMARK: “Gulliver’s Travels” was published on this day in 1726. Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece, set in such exotic locales as “Lilliput,” “Brobdingnag” and “Laputa,” was a satirical look at current events and human nature. Lemuel Gulliver’s adventures have been adapted numerous times for radio, TV and film.
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MEDICAL MARVEL: Dr. Jonas Salk was born in New York City on this day in 1914. The Salk vaccine, which was introduced in 1955, was instrumental in the fight against the scourge of polio, one of the most feared diseases of the 20th century. Salk received the Medal of Freedom from President Jimmy Carter in 1977. He died in 1995.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“The American dream, to me, means having the opportunity to achieve, because I don’t think you should be guaranteed anything other than opportunity.”
— Basketball Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who was born on this day in 1937
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