November 19: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 19, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1922, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, NOV. 18 — Mrs. W.H. Felton, appointed Senator from Georgia, pending election of a successor to the late Senator Watson, arrived here today with the announced intention of obtaining a seat in the Senate if possible, so as to ‘blaze the road for the womanhood of America.’ She added, however, that she was too old to make an aggressive fight for the place to which Walter F. George was elected on Nov. 7. Mr. George was obtaining his certificate of election today at Atlanta and expected to arrive here Monday in time for the convening of the Senate. He has announced his willingness to permit Mrs. Felton to occupy the seat for a single day if that could be done legally. Should Mrs. Felton be sworn in she would be the first woman to sit in the United States Senate. Mrs. Felton, who is 87, made the 780-mile trip from Cartersville, Ga., unaccompanied.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1925, the Eagle reported, “CAIRO (AP) — The condition of the mummy of Tutankhamen has been found to be such that it will be impossible to remove it from its gold coffin, Drs. [Douglas] Derry and Saleh Hamdi announced today in a report on the unwrapping of the mummy, which has occupied seven days. The experts announce that the mummy is firmly glued to the bottom of its gold coffin with a dried pitchlike material. It will also be futile to attempt to make X-ray pictures on account of the numerous layers of gold, faience and other materials covering the body to the knees.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1931, the Eagle reported, “A dense blanket of smoke hovering over the entire Eastern seaboard from Virginia to Florida has caused the postponement of the opening of the new air passenger line between Atlanta, Augusta, Charleston and Savannah, it was announced by Eastern Air Transport officials today. The smoke is the result of an unprecedented number of forest fires in the territory and is said to extend up to 10,000 feet. Pilots of the company have been asked to report on the location and extent of all fires that they see.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “PARIS (U.P.) — History-making Allied armies invaded both the Ruhr and Saar Basins yesterday when American tanks merged with the British 2nd Army in an assault into the Siegfried Line from Holland, while the U.S. 3rd Army crossed the Reich frontier northeast of Metz after storming into that fortress city. The joint Anglo-American offensive, delivered on a 20-mile front north of Aachen, carried nearly seven miles to within 25 miles of Duisburg, center of the Ruhr’s vast industries. It appeared to involve a double ‘leap-frog’ maneuver, with flying columns of American armor, possibly from Lt. Gen. William H. Simpson’s 9th Army, passing through the British lines in the Roermond sector of Holland, 28 miles north of Aachen.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — Princess Elizabeth and her baby Prince are making such satisfactory progress that no more daily bulletins will be issued regarding them, Buckingham Palace announced today.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “The widely discussed Narrows Bridge between Bay Ridge and Staten Island will most likely be built within the next eight years, according to Public Works Commissioner Frederick H. Zurmuhlen. The city commissioner reported that East River crossings are carrying increasing traffic between New Jersey and Long Island points and that this traffic must cross congested Manhattan. The Narrows Bridge, he pointed out, would furnish a bypass. The span should be constructed, he said, as a ’necessary addition’ to the city’s facilities. Mr. Zurmuhlen addressed a group of engineers in the offices of the Brooklyn Union Gas Company, 89-67 162nd St., Jamaica.”

***

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include talk show host Dick Cavett, who was born in 1936; media mogul Ted Turner, who was born in 1938; fashion designer Calvin Klein, who was born in 1942; former NFL wide receiver Ahmad Rashad, who was born in 1949; “Star Trek: Voyager” star Robert Beltran, who was born in 1953; Space Shuttle commander Eileen Collins, who was born in 1956; “The West Wing” star Allison Janney, who was born in 1959; “Sleepless in Seattle” star Meg Ryan, who was born in 1961; two-time Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster, who was born in 1962; “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” star Terry Farrell, who was born in 1963; tap dancer and choreographer Savion Glover, who was born in 1973; Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug, who was born in 1977; “Star Wars” star Adam Driver, who was born in 1983; and rapper Tyga, who was born in 1989.

***

AMERICAN BEAUTY: Gene Tierney was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1920. The glamorous film star turned heads with her performance in “Laura” (1944) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for “Leave Her to Heaven” (1945). Her other well-known films include “Heaven Can Wait” (1943), “A Bell for Adano” (1945), “The Razor’s Edge” (1946) and “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” (1947). She died in 1991.

***

HEART OF A CHAMPION: Roy Campanella was born on this day in 1921. The Philadelphia native was one of the first black major leaguers and a star of one of baseball’s most famous teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers’ “Boys of Summer.” A three-time National League MVP, he established three single-season records for a catcher — most putouts (807), most home runs (41) and most runs batted in (142). His career was cut short on Jan. 28, 1958 when he was paralyzed in a car accident, but he became an inspiration for people with disabilities. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969 and died in 1993.

***

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

Quotable:

“I never want to quit playing ball. They’ll have to cut this uniform off of me to get me out of it.”

— Baseball Hall of Famer Roy Campanella, who was born on this day in 1921