December 5: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 5, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1866, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle said, “The more intemperate Radicals met with an unexpected check yesterday in the Senate. An act was rushed through the House on the first day of the session without debate and without consideration, depriving the President of the power of pardoning political offenders, so far as he exercises it under an act of Congress, passed during the war. The clause of the law repealed by the House is mere surplusage; the President is empowered by the Constitution ‘to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in case of impeachment.’ The act which passed the House was introduced in the Senate by Chandler of Michigan, the man who declared in 1860 that without a little blood letting the Union would not be worth a rush. Senator Reverdy Johnson reminded the Senate of the fact that over the pardoning power Congress has no control. Mr. Fessenden desired to get rid of the subject, by referring it to a committee. Mr. Trumbull took the same ground, while Senators Chandler, Howard and Howe clamored for immediate action. A vote was finally taken on motion to take up the bill, which was lost by a tie vote … It will be seen that nine Republicans voted with the Democrats. The Senate has not lost all sense of self-respect.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1877, the Eagle said, “The publication of ‘a new Democratic daily at the Capital’ is an announcement intended to note and prepare for the Washington Post, a paper of the (immediate) future, inasmuch as the first number will be due tomorrow. There is need of the birth of one real paper at Washington for two reasons: It would be a good thing of itself and it would probably accomplish the death of about three or four sham things called newspapers which have no excuse for existence.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1900, the Eagle reported, “Winston Spencer Churchill, army officer, war correspondent, and now member of Parliament, where his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, served so long and brilliantly, will make his first appearance upon a New York lecture platform on the evening of Wednesday, December 12, in the ball room of the Waldorf-Astoria. Mark Twain will preside and deliver an address of welcome. A number of prominent citizens are on the reception committee. Mr. Churchill will talk on the South African War, of course — the title of his lecture is, ‘The War As I Saw It’ — and will relate incidentally the story of, and the sequel to, the armored train disaster at Chievelly, which resulted in his capture by the Boers and his incarceration at Pretoria, when he afterward escaped. Mr. Churchill appears in this country under the auspices of Major J. B. Pond.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1901, the Eagle reported, “A lecture on ‘The Asteroid Eros and Its Peculiar Characteristics’ was given last evening before the Department of Astronomy of the Brooklyn Institute by Professor John K. Rees, Ph.D., of Columbia University at the Art Building on Montague street. It was amply illustrated by lantern slides. The lecturer gave a history of the discovery of the asteroids and showed how the present photographic method has supplanted the old and tedious method. The number of planetoids now known are more than 450 and interesting facts relating to the meaning of some of these were given, such as Chicago, Brucia, Victoria, etc. Eros was discovered by Herr Witt at the Urania Observatory, Berlin, on August 13, 1898, and was numbered 433. Investigation showed that its orbit is partially between the earth and Mars, that its movements are more rapid than any other asteroid and that it exhibits remarkable variations of light. Its orbit is so situated that it may come within about 13,000,000 miles from earth, making it the nearest neighbor to the earth after the moon, unless the new asteroid, lately discovered, should prove nearer. The greatest value is attached to the discovery of Eros, because, through measurements obtained in calculating its distance, the distance of the sun may be more accurately gauged. Professor Rees stated that there is a probable error of 50,000 miles in the accepted distance of the sun from this earth.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Brooklyn Spectator reported, “Bay Ridge residents will be given an opportunity of seeing the air-raid wardens of zone 2, 64th Precinct, at work this Friday night at 8:45 P.M. when a hypothetical ‘incident’ will take place at the intersection of 86th St. and Fourth Ave. Incendiary magnesium bombs, simulated gas bombs and fires will be used during the demonstration to give a realistic effect and the air-raid wardens will show by their handling of this emergency the results of their more than four months training. The area in which the ‘incident’ will take place is known as Sector ‘C’ and is under the supervision of Sector Warden George King.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “TOKYO, DEC. 6 (U.P.) — Chinese Communists poured thousands of reinforcements into northeast Korea yesterday and pushed to within 17 miles of the port of Hamhung on the escape route for 15,000 to 20,000 United States Marines and infantrymen trapped below the Chosin Reservoir. The Marines were fighting desperately to keep open a tiny airstrip at Hagaru, one mile south of the reservoir, long enough to evacuate their wounded before making their own supreme effort to escape the trap. To the west, other waves of Chinese occupied burning Pyongyang and began hacking at the escape route of the U.S. 8th Army between Pyongyang and Seoul. Six Chinese divisions hit the Americans south of the Chosin Reservoir for the sixth straight day.”

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Margaret Cho
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include humorist Calvin Trillin, who was born in 1935; operatic tenor Jose Carreras, who was born in 1946; two-time Super Bowl champion Jim Plunkett, who was born in 1947; Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Monk, who was born in 1957; rapper and radio personality Doctor Dre, who was born in 1963; Goo Goo Dolls singer John Rzeznik, who was born in 1965; actress and comedian Margaret Cho, who was born in 1968; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Cliff Floyd, who was born in 1972; sprinter and Olympic gold medalist Brian Lewis, who was born in 1974; “Precious” star Paula Patton, who was born in 1975; “Angel” star Amy Acker, who was born in 1976; former N.Y. Knicks center Eddy Curry, who was born in 1982; “Malcolm in the Middle” star Frankie Muniz, who was born in 1985; former National League MVP Christian Yelich, who was born in 1991; and “American Idol” winner Maddie Poppe, who was born in 1997.

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MOVIE MAGIC: Walt Disney was born on this day in 1901. The innovative animator, filmmaker, producer, studio head and theme park developer received a record 22 Academy Awards in competitive categories as well as three honorary Oscars and the Irving Thalberg Award. Films such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia,” “Dumbo” and “Bambi” still captivate audiences today. Disney died in 1966.

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STANDING UP: The Montgomery bus boycott began on this day in 1955. On Dec. 1, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Ala., for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. To support Parks and protest the arrest, the city’s black community organized a boycott of the bus system. It lasted until Dec. 20, 1956, when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling was implemented in Montgomery integrating the public transportation system.

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

Quotable:

“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.”

— filmmaker Walt Disney, who was born on this day in 1901