November 27: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 27, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1863, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “In conformity with the conjoined request of President Lincoln and our own authorities, yesterday was observed for thanksgiving and prayer. Its observance was very general, all places of business being closed, the issuing of newspapers being suspended and the places of worship in all sections of the town being open for service. A more beautiful day was rarely known, and the general tone of gratitude harmonizing gracefully with the beauties of the outer world was heighted to the utmost by the cheering news sent from Grant at Lookout mountain and conveyed by successive Eagle extras to the thousands of expectant hearts in Brooklyn.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Eagle reported, “Employees of R.H. Macy & Co. paraded with martial music and flying banners from Fifty-first street and Broadway today, escorting a well equipped ambulance which the employees purchased by subscription among themselves and have presented to the Government for the use of the Red Cross on the battlefields of Europe. The escort of honor for the ambulance, which was appropriately decorated with the national colors, consisted of five companies of Macy’s Home Defense League, under command of Major Wells. In addition, there were 125 young women of the clerical staff, who had helped raise the fund. The ambulance will be on exhibition at Macy’s for several days before it is formally turned over to the Government.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “Probably there are something like 50,000 fellows and gals in the same boat. Fellows and gals who’ll never watch a pro football game between the Giants and the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds without thinking of that game two years ago. That was quite an afternoon. Jock Sutherland’s Brooklyn club was probably the best team representing our borough up to this time. And the Dodgers won by 21 to 7 with the all-around brilliance of Ace Parker throwing the Giants into confusion and Pug Manders blasting through Steve Owen’s line with irresistible force. For those reasons, the day was not memorable, of course. It was only a football game, although a good one. But it was that day up in the press box that Jack Singer, dictating into the INS wire, leaned back in his chair and announced, his eyes glittering with excitement, ‘The Japs are bombing Pearl Harbor.’ The spectators didn’t know much about it, although each announcement from the public address system ‘commanding’ all uniformed men to report to their posts at once resulted in speculation, to say the least. The reaction was ‘the hell you say’ in the dressing rooms after the game was over. The secondary reaction was, ‘Will we play football again?’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “CLEVELAND (U.P.) — Many new and effective law enforcement methods will be used after World War II, according to Frank J. Wilson, chief of the U.S. Secret Service. Wilson, in an address before the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said: ‘New postwar crime problems will face the nation, and criminals will emerge with new tricks for cheating the public, but the new tricks will not be confined to the underworld.’ Pointing out that a few years ago prominent police officials thought the two-way radio telephones in police cars ‘fantastic,’ Wilson said that tomorrow it will be television which will help us stop the crook. ‘With television,’ he said, ‘we will be able to flash many pictures of missing persons or dangerous criminals, or expose the tricks of criminals on television screens in the living rooms of millions of people at the same instant.’ Furthermore, he asserted, a city police department can set up television cameras at dangerous highway intersections and bring serious traffic problems into the homes of the people to teach them to walk and drive with care. ‘A television screen in every home where there is now a radio can do more than anything else to encourage the public to give the police active support in reducing juvenile delinquency and preventing robbery, burglary and other serious crimes,’ he said.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1964, the Home Reporter and Sunset News said, “Awesome, breathtaking at day, the magnificent Verrazano by night becomes a glittering fantasy. Photographer Jim Garrett captured the bridge’s evening splendor from the sixth floor of a Bay Ridge apartment building. Anyone wishing to obtain a glossy reproduction of this spectacular photo may contact Mr. Garrett at the Home Reporter and Sunset News.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, who was born in 1951; former Space Shuttle commander Jim Wetherbee, who was born in 1952; “Revenge of the Nerds” star Curtis Armstrong, who was born in 1953; TV personality Bill Nye, who was born in 1955; “Prison Break” star William Fichtner, who was born in 1956; author and diplomat Caroline Kennedy, who was born in 1957; former baseball player and manager Mike Scioscia, who was born in 1958; Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, who was born in 1962; “Early Edition” star Fisher Stevens, who was born in 1963; “Head of the Class” star Robin Givens, who was born in 1964; “Alias” star Michael Vartan, who was born in 1968; Baseball Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, who was born in 1971; “Tug of Words” host Samantha Harris, who was born in 1973; and “Family Matters” star Jaleel White, who was born in 1976.

Michael Vartan
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

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FORCE OF NATURE: Bruce Lee was born on this day in 1940. The San Francisco native was raised in Hong Kong and returned to the U.S. in 1959 to teach martial arts. He was cast as Kato in the TV series “The Green Hornet” in 1966. He moved on to film, where he displayed an intense charisma that would make him a star. However, before he could enjoy this new success, he died of a cerebral edema on July 20, 1973. His films include “Fists of Fury” (1972) and “Enter the Dragon” (1973).

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SPRING IS SPRUNG: What walks downstairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound? It’s Slinky, the classic toy that was introduced on this day in 1945. Developed by engineer Richard James, it first flew off the shelves at a Philadelphia Gimbels department store during the first postwar Christmas season. Four-hundred units were sold for $1 each in just 90 minutes. Since then, more than 30 million Slinkys have been sold.

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

Quotable:

“As you think, so shall you become.”

— martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who was born on this day in 1940