November 24: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 24, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1938, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury gave thanks today because, an official said, it considers the new Jefferson nickel a success. Ever since the coin appeared last week, employees have culled the Treasury mail just like prima donnas after an opening night. A few letters shed a sentimental tear over the passing of the Buffalo-Indian head design which characterized the nickel for a quarter of a century. A few Republican wags also commented on the coincidence of a Democratic Administration putting the profile of Thomas Jefferson, founder of the party, on a coin. Here and there, suspicious storekeepers suspected the shiny coins with unfamiliar designs of being slugs or counterfeits. ‘Aside from these unusual circumstances,’ the official concluded, ‘the new nickel apparently is satisfactory to the public.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) – A key Senate Democrat said today the recent drop in the cost of living may make price controls and rationing unnecessary. Senator Burnet R. Maybank (D., S.C.), who will be Acting Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee in the new Congress, said the downward trend in some farm prices should reduce living costs even more by January. He made his statement as the Labor Department reported a drop of 0.5 percent in the cost of living between mid-September and mid-October. It was the first drop in seven months. Economists said indications are that the cost of living has fallen still further during the past five weeks. President Truman yesterday instructed his chief economic adviser, Dr. Edwin G. Nourse, to supervise the drafting of a ‘definite’ anti-inflation program to be presented to Congress in January. Nourse would not give any inkling of the kind of program the President had in mind. But former OPA chief Chester K. Bowles hinted that Mr. Truman will renew his request for ‘selective’ price controls and rationing despite the recent price drop. Bowles predicted after a White House visit that the Administration ‘unquestionably’ will take action against inflation. Government economists said the decline in living costs during the past two months is encouraging but too slight to justify claims that inflation is over the hump.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “It’s the Los Angeles Rams against the Chicago Bears in Sunday’s top game in the National Football League and the winner will be virtually assured of the National Conference championship. That’s the situation today and it’s the direct result of the sudden and complete collapse of the New York Yanks. All season long the New Yorkers had made it a three-team race, but now they have folded like they were hinged in the middle. Their 49-to14 rout by the Detroit Lions in one of two pro games played on Thanksgiving Day left the title field clear for the Rams or the Bears.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “More than 500 New Yorkers will be injured in traffic accidents, ten of them fatally, over the Thanksgiving weekend unless there is more careful driving than during the holiday a year ago, the Greater New York Safety Council cautioned today. ‘This reminder is not intended to chill anyone’s holiday spirit,’ said Reginald M. Cleveland, council president. ‘Thanksgiving is a joyous holiday. We would like to see everyone, including the motorist and his passengers, joyously safe and safely joyous. All that requires is plain good sense and common courtesy.’ Cleveland said the 1952 Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday through Sunday, brought serious injury to 507 persons and death to ten in traffic accidents within this city. He pointed out that these figures did not include New Yorkers involved in accidents outside the city limits. Early darkness and sudden changes of weather are among the chief seasonal hazards, especially for motorists who make long trips to be ‘home for the holiday,’ Cleveland declared. He said trips that start in clear, dry, mild weather often run into slippery roads, snow or driving rain at this time of year. ‘For that reason,’ he added, ‘the holiday driver should be ready for any eventuality right from the outset of the trip.’”

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Sarah Hyland
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, who was born in 1938; former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who was born in 1940; former Beatles drummer Pete Best, who was born in 1941; “Head of the Class” star Billy Connolly, who was born in 1942; former White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater, who was born in 1942; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bev Bevan (Electric Light Orchestra), who was born in 1944; “The A-Team” star Dwight Schultz, who was born in 1947; “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Denise Crosby, who was born in 1957; “Orange County” star Colin Hanks, who was born in 1977; “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl, who was born in 1978; former N.Y. Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was born in 1982; and “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland, who was born in 1990.

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ANARCHY IN THE U.S.A.: The Milwaukee Police Department bombing took place on this day in 1917. A bomb found by a social worker next to an evangelical church was taken to the central police station, where it exploded, killing 10 people, including nine members of local law enforcement. The perpetrators were never caught but an anarchist terror cell was suspected. It was the single most deadly event in U.S. law enforcement history until the 9/11 attacks.

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THE RIGHT STUFF: William F. Buckley Jr. was born on this day in 1925. The entertaining and influential conservative author, editor and talk show host founded the National Review in 1955. He also mounted a third-party campaign for mayor of New York City in 1965, winning 13 percent of the vote. He died in 2008.

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

Quotable:

“I’d rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston telephone directory than by the 2,000 faculty members of Harvard.”

— National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., who was born on this day in 1925