November 13: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 13, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1876, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Centennial Exhibition is fast becoming a thing of the past. Carpenters are demolishing and exhibitors packing, all is confusion, yet hundreds of eager visitors crowd in the gates daily. Next week it will be a thing of the past, but it can be made memorable to those desiring trophies and bargains and it seems unkind not to give the fact to the public, even though it will greatly pain previous buyers. Trinkets and ornaments, bronzes and pictures, which only last week were held at extortionate rates, this week are selling — to use an expression belonging to the shop — dirt cheap, and better still, the crowd is small enough to enable one to get in seeing distance of articles desired to be examined.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “Representative Frederick C. Hicks of Long Island has introduced a bill to make November 11 a national holiday, to be known as Victory Day. Up to the present time Congress has never created a national holiday by legislation. It is Mr. Hicks’ idea that November 11, which marks the surrender of Germany, should always be celebrated in commemoration of the achievements of the American Army. His bill is as follows: ‘That in recognition of the glorious victory won for human liberty by the American forces in the conflict against Germany and her Allies and to perpetuate for all time the bravery, courage and valor of those forces, by which a complete and absolute victory was obtained, November 11 is hereby declared to be in each succeeding year a national holiday throughout the United States, its possessions and the territories thereof. That this national holiday shall be designated Victory Day.’”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “ATLANTA, GA. — John W. Heisman, coach of Georgia Tech’s unbeaten elevens, insists that the famous ‘Heisman jump shift’ is not illegal. It is that formation, originated by Heisman in 1910, which, it is declared, has done so much in making the Tech elevens unbeatable. ‘Numerous descriptions of the jump shift have appeared in the papers, but each has been either inaccurate, if not actually misleading,’ declares Heisman.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1924, the Eagle reported, “ALBANY, N.Y. — Forest fires in New York State between Oct. 15 and Nov. 10 burned over an area of 21,000 acres, caused damage of $10,000 and cost $25,000 to extinguish, according to preliminary estimates of the Conservation Commission. In all there were 238 fires. Reports of district rangers indicated the comparatively low property damage was due to the fact little valuable standing timber was destroyed. The flames also spared plantations of young trees, of which there are 90,000 acres in various parts of the State. The commission reported that in the Adirondack and Catskill fire towns, which were closed to hunting and camping by a proclamation signed by Governor Smith, there were 159 fires, which burned over 9,031 acres. In the fire districts not covered by the proclamation 79 fires swept 12,347 acres. Of the 159 fires in the Adirondack and Catskill fire towns only 48 occurred after the proclamation went into effect.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Eagle reported, “Stocks crashed again today to new low levels as Wall Street waited in vain for some officially reassuring word from Washington, where Treasury officials, including Secretary Mellon, were conferring with President Hoover … A feeble rally early in the morning was completely wiped out under the new selling, and the weak and tottering market fell back further. The highest grade investment stocks were among the weakest issues again, a condition which gave rise to new fears that even powerful institutions were trying to strengthen their position.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Eagle reported, “BERLIN (AP) — Nazi Germany today practically wiped out Jewish business, barred the nation’s 500,000 Jews from public entertainments and fined them $400,000,000 for the slaying of a German diplomat by a young Polish-German Jew in Paris. In addition, the government required that Jews whose 1,000 Berlin shops were wrecked or looted Thursday in mass demonstrations must pay for the damage themselves. Insurance claims by Jews for demolition of their properties must be paid to the state. Officials promised ‘further decisive measures’ and Jews feared that the Ghetto, unemployment or concentration camps were in store for them as the result of the most violent government and private anti-Semitic actions Nazi Germany yet has seen. Police made wholesale arrests among Jewish moneyed, educated and cultured classes, 1,600 being taken in Berlin alone. In Vienna it was estimated that between 18,000 and 20,000 Jews had been arrested since Thursday. Many of them were released but thousands still were in custody. While the anti-Semitic campaign was intensified, there were new manifestations against Catholics. Aroused Nazis at Munich shattered many windows in the palace of Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber.”

***

Whoopi Goldberg
Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Peter Arnett, who was born in 1934; Hobby Lobby founder David Green, who was born in 1941; “Criminal Minds” star Joe Mantegna, who was born in 1947; “Six Feet Under” star Frances Conroy, who was born in 1953; “Law & Order” star Chris Noth, who was born in 1954; Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg, who was born in 1955; singer-songwriter Aldo Nova, who was born in 1956; “Scrubs” star Neil Flynn, who was born in 1960; former N.Y. Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who was born in 1963; TV host Jimmy Kimmel, who was born in 1967; “300” star Gerard Butler, who was born in 1969; The Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture, who was born in 1978; “High School Musical” star Monique Coleman, who was born in 1980; and singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, who was born in 1993.

***

UNCOUPLING: “On Nov. 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife.” So begins the opening narration of “The Odd Couple,” the popular TV sitcom about mismatched roommates — fussy photographer Felix Unger (Tony Randall) and slob sportswriter Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman). Based on Neil Simon’s Tony Award-winning play, the show ran on ABC from 1970 to 1975 and allowed viewers to ponder the question, “Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?”

***

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

Quotable:

“Wine is bottled poetry.”

— author Robert Louis Stevenson, who was born on this day in 1850