December 14: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 14, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1899, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON ― Mount Vernon was the scene today of the most unique and impressive ceremony in its history. Masons of high degree from all over the United States and Canada met at the tomb of [George] Washington in services commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the death of the greatest American. President McKinley delivered a tribute to the memory of the first President and Senators and representatives in Congress, high officers of the government and distinguished private citizens were participants and spectators of the solemn service. Later in the day when the Masonic ceremonies had been concluded, the Independent Order of Red Men also honored the memory of Washington with the rites of their order. The Masons went from this city to Mount Vernon by steamboat. Headed by Colonel Robert White, of Wheeling, W. Va., the grand marshal, the procession marched to the wharf and embarked. At Alexandria they were joined by the Federal Grand Lodge of Virginia, and the journey to Mount Vernon was resumed. President McKinley left the White House shortly after 10 o’clock and was taken to Mount Vernon by a special train on an electric line.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1913, the Eagle reported, “‘The passing of the horse’ was duly announced in the public prints even before the pleasure automobile was a pronounced success. A few years later, when motor cars became plenty, the horse again had a period of being ‘passed,’ and when the motor truck became a practical utility his obituary was once more read into the ‘Facts for the Family’ section of thousands of daily and weekly papers. But apparently he doesn’t go; in fact, in some cities there are more of him today than ever before. Whether our noble friend prefers city life to a home in the country, or whether our street traffic is growing so rapidly that the addition of thousands of tons’ capacity of motor trucks barely keeps up with that growth, we leave for our readers to decide. It will, however, be a surprise to anyone who takes the trouble to study into the matter to discover how slowly the horse is retreating from our large cities. In Chicago, for instance, there are now 72,939 horses employed, or only 287 less than one year ago. In Boston there are only 50 horses less in use than ten years ago; Baltimore shows a decrease of 873 in seven years; Cincinnati reports only 153 less than ten years ago, while Minneapolis has actually 158 and St. Louis 730 more than ten years ago. It should be noted, however, that the city carriage horse has practically gone; in fact, the cartoonists are already picturing the occasional driving horse as a curiosity, and he is now relegated chiefly to omnibus and funeral work, in which he is gradually losing ground.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “Justice closed in rapidly today on elderly, mild-mannered Albert Howard Fish for the abduction and killing, in 1928, of 10-year-old Grace Budd. But, as he readily admitted that crime, and gave the police intimate details, they questioned him about other crimes which they sought to connect him with, and which he denied. There was some evidence, the police said, of at least an attempt on the lives of other children, and there was also evidence, which the authorities refused to reject, that he was a practicing cannibal. Two boys, respectively 11 and 12 years old, the police said they had learned, were in Fish’s apartment on E. 100th St., Manhattan, on the day in June, 1928 when the housepainter was visiting the Budd family. They discovered the tools he later used in dismembering the girl’s body ― and fled. One of the boys, according to detectives, had been located, and Fish was closely questioned about that and any other children with whom he might have been associated. The cannibal charge had its origin in an anonymous note which Fish wrote to the Budd family on Nov. 7, mentioning that ‘I had a brother in the navy in 1894 who went to China and while there he was forced to eat human flesh.’ Questioned today about that, he said no, he had not practiced cannibalism. But the police were not convinced.”

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Vanessa Hudgens
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include singer and actress Abbe Lane, who was born in Brooklyn in 1932; former Walt Disney Company president Michael Ovitz, who was born in 1946; International Tennis Hall of Famer Stan Smith, who was born in 1946; “E.T.” star Dee Wallace, who was born in 1948; Waterboys singer Mike Scott, who was born in 1958; “Fame” star Cynthia Gibb, who was born in 1963; Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who was born in 1965; “The Evil Dead” actor Ted Raimi, who was born in 1965; “The Truman Show” star Natascha McElhone, who was born in 1969; singer-songwriter Beth Orton, who was born in 1970; “The Good Shepherd” star Tammy Blanchard, who was born in 1976; “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens, who was born in 1988; rapper Offset, who was born in 1991; “Nobody Love” singer Tori Kelly, who was born in 1992; and former Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV, who was born in 1998.

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VITAL SIGNS: Nostradamus was born on this day in 1503. The French physician, best remembered for his astrological predictions, was born Michel de Notredame at St. Remy, Provence. Many believed that his book of prophecies actually foretold the future. He died in 1566.

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FAREWELL TO A FOUNDER: George Washington died on this day in 1799. The commander in chief of the Continental Army and the first president of the U.S. died at his home at Mount Vernon, Va., at age 67. He had battled a sudden acute respiratory infection and had been bled four times. “I die hard, but I am not afraid to go,” were his famous near-dying words. He was mourned throughout the U.S. and in Europe.

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

Quotable:

“Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.”

— first U.S. President George Washington, who died on this day in 1799