December 28: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 28, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1902, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, DEC. 27 ― President Roosevelt in his message to Congress urges tariff revision (1) by reciprocity treaties or (2) by act of Congress based upon the recommendations of a tariff commission. The President is of the opinion that the ‘unhurried and unbiased report’ of a ‘commission of business experts,’ whose duty it would be ‘to recommend action by the Congress after a deliberate and scientific examination of the various schedules as they are affected by the changed and changing conditions, would show what changes should be made in the various schedules and how far these changes could go without also interfering with the great prosperity which this country is now enjoying or upsetting its fixed economic policy,’ which he declares to be ‘the protective tariff principle.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Eagle reported, “During the month of November about 4,900 children, parents and teachers visited the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Many of these attended the Saturday morning story hour. A group of women from the Americanization Society came, and a great number of teachers from the public schools of the city attended the textile designs lectures as an aid in furnishing ideas for designs to their classes. One day a large class of girls and boys from the Erasmus Hall High School came and sketched birds in the natural history section. These sketches were later to be used as motifs in their decorative designing. At the Children’s Museum 86 visits from teachers of public schools are on record, and an attendance of 4,000 children. Twenty-three regular lectures and 19 special lectures were given with a big attendance. New collections, gifts, have been received by the Children’s Museum, and among them are some very interesting things. There is a collection of butterflies from all over the world, and a collection of shells and minerals, and one of miniature buildings, costumed dolls, musical instruments and other things of foreign countries.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Eagle reported, “ ‘Daylight Saving,’ Thomas P. Robinson’s new comedy, which Richard Herndon has in rehearsal, will open in Albany Jan. 7.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “PARIS (U.P.) ― The American 1st Army went over to the attack on two sides of the Ardennes salient today in a series of punishing counterblows that cut off the most advanced German spearhead east of the Meuse, wedged deep into the enemy’s southern flank and hurled part of the Nazi force in eastern Luxembourg back into the Reich. Field dispatches apparently 24 to 36 hours ahead of the SHEAF communique said the battle of the Ardennes had entered its second and perhaps decisive phase with the Germans stopped cold everywhere and American tanks and infantrymen on the offensive at many points. Shaken by five days of merciless aerial bombardment that wrecked at least half their armor and motorized transport, the Germans were reported digging in frantically at scores of points around the perimeter of their 1,500-square-mile salient. Strong formations of American and British heavy bombers struck again at western Germany early today, indicating another day of close-up attack by the Allied tactical air forces. Despite the most optimistic front reports, there was no disposition at headquarters to claim that the Germans had lost the initiative permanently.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) ― The Air Force hoped today that flying saucer stories have been spiked once and for all. It said an exhaustive two-year investigation shows that reports of strange, disc-like objects flashing through space either were hoaxes or result of mass hysteria and a ‘misinterpretation of various conventional objects.’ A special ‘project saucer’ at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, has been abandoned, it said, because further investigations are simply confirming findings already reached.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “More than 17,000,000 individual pieces of ‘Peter Pan’ merchandise, including books and records based on the Walt Disney all-cartoon Technicolor feature, are on sale throughout the country this holiday season as part of the biggest pre-selling campaign ever launched for a motion picture. Initial pre-release engagements of ‘Peter Pan,’ an RKO release, are set for February.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (UPI) ― John (Jake the Barber) Factor and his wife contributed $22,000 to the Kennedy Presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee in 1960 and 1961, Congressional records show. Factor was given a Christmas pardon by President Kennedy from a 1943 fraud conviction. The action will quash current deportation proceedings against him. Factor contributed $10,000 to two Democratic campaign groups in 1960 and $2,000 to the National Committee last year, according to reports filed with the U.S. House of Representatives. His wife, Rella, contributed $10,000 to the two campaign groups in 1960. In Palm Beach, Fla., where President Kennedy is holidaying, press secretary Pierre Salinger said of the Factor campaign contribution: ‘I don’t know anything about it.’ A spokesman for Factor, a Beverly Hills, Calif., real estate operator, said that Factor had made contributions to both the Democratic and Republican parties, but ‘I do not recall how much.’ The Republican National Committee said Factor was not on its list of contributors of $500 or more, but that this did not rule out smaller contributions. A check of several large voluntary groups that backed former Vice President Richard M. Nixon in the 1960 campaign did not show any Factor contributions.”

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Denzel Washington
Andy Kropa/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include musician Edgar Winter, who was born in 1946; “It’s Raining Men” singer Martha Wash, who was born in 1953; “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King, who was born in 1954; Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, who was born in 1954; Hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, who was born in 1960; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani, who was born in 1971; former NFL placekicker Adam Vinatieri, who was born in 1972; talk show host Seth Meyers, who was born in 1973; “Ordinary People” singer John Legend, who was born in 1978; former tennis player James Blake, who was born in 1979; “American Sniper” star Sienna Miller, who was born in 1981; and “7th Heaven” star Mackenzie Rosman, who was born in 1989.

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STAN THE MAN: Stan Lee was born on this day in 1922. The Manhattan native elevated and transformed the comic book genre with his dynamic copy, imbuing characters with humanity and tackling real-life social issues. As a Marvel Comics staff writer, he co-created the Fantastic Four with artist Jack Kirby, then co-launched beloved superheroes like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Black Panther and the X-Men before becoming Marvel’s editorial director and publisher. As chairman emeritus, Lee shepherded the film franchises “Iron Man,” “X-Men,” “Thor” and “The Avengers,” in which he made Hitchcock-like cameos. He died in 2018.

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HAND ON HEART: On this day in 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and urged its frequent recitation in America’s schools. The pledge was composed in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister. At the time, Bellamy was chairman of a committee of state school superintendents of education, and several schools adopted his pledge as part of the Columbus Day quadricentennial celebration that year. In 1954 the Knights of Columbus persuaded Congress to add the words “under God” to the pledge.

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

Quotable:

“I like the ephemeral thing about theatre. Every performance is like a ghost ― it’s there and then it’s gone.”

— six-time Olivier Award-winning actress Maggie Smith, who was born on this day in 1934