Brooklyn Boro

January 18: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 18, 2025 Brooklyn Eagle History
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ON THIS DAY IN 1893, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison are the only men living who have filled the office of President of the United States. They were the two candidates voted for at the last two general elections. The Indiana statesman succeeded the New York statesman in 1889 and will be succeeded by him this year. The mortality predictable of occupants of the chief magistracy is suggested by these facts which themselves are emphasized by the death of General Rutherford Birchard Hayes, who ceased from the earth at 11 o’clock last night.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1906, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON ― Public hearings in the investigation of questions relating to the Panama Canal were begun today before the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals. Poultney Bigelow, the magazine writer, whose attack on the administration of affairs in the canal zone was denounced by Secretary of War Taft, was the first witness. On motion of Mr. Morgan, the oath was presented to the witness; but Mr. Bigelow said he was a Quaker and therefore he was permitted to ‘affirm’ rather than ‘swear.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1933, the Eagle reported, “Raising Christmas trees commercially on Long Island is entirely practical, according to replies received by Richard T. Childs of the conservation committee of the Long Island Chamber of Commerce to its questionnaire addressed to experts in tree culture. It is agreed that spruces and firs are most desirable for such use, that the unused lands, especially in central Suffolk County, are suitable for such growth, and that the chief difficulty would lie in the forest fire menace. Concerning this, two definite plans have been proposed to protect planted trees from fire damage. One is to plant in checkerboard fashion, using European larch as dividing strips to separate the blocks of highly combustible firs and spruces. The larch, according to Donald C. Clark of Malverne, is highly fire-resistant and would confine fire to a single square. It does not produce combustible litter. The larch, being marketable as a shade tree, is considered doubly valuable. The conservation committee is informed that a fire-resistant alder is used extensively in Washington State to protect inflammable trees. While it is evident that there would be considerable cost in converting the wild lands of Central Suffolk into Christmas tree groves, the Long Island Chamber’s committee reminds taxpayers that a worthwhile reduction in taxes can be obtained on such lands where reforestation is practiced. Also it has been suggested that lands owned by the counties or towns might be forested with the use of unemployed labor much for the future enjoyment and profit of the municipalities.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, Eagle sports columnist Ralph Trost said, “Once a year, about this time, American hockey fans ― meaning United Staters and not Canadians ― start saying, ‘What’s all this Stanley Cup playoff stuff about? Isn’t it enough that the boys play a whole season to decide a pennant without superimposing a playoff series that, by its very character, says, ‘Boys, that season you just completed doesn’t count. It was merely a long qualifying round. This, and only this Stanley Cup playoff, is the real and genuine. And don’t go yowling about it being impossible for the teams that finished one-two in the league to get into the playoff final. We just don’t do it the way you  want.’ So, in a little while, the playoff will start. Team No. 1 on the league ladder and team No. 2 will fight it out. Teams No. 3 and No. 4 will have another fight. The winners of the two separate fights will thereupon battle to decide the champion. Never will No. 3 meet No. 4 in the final, never will No. 1 meet No. 2. It’s strictly a Canadian caper.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, JAN. 17 ― Senate leaders abandoned efforts to get confirmation of Charles E. Wilson as Secretary of Defense on Tuesday. They granted the request of President-elect Eisenhower’s appointee to be heard again by the Senate Armed Services Committee to ‘clarify’ previous testimony. Wilson will testify Wednesday morning. Wilson’s multi-million-dollar holdings in General Motors Corporation, of which he was president, is the crux of the situation which brought Eisenhower his first serious trouble with the new G.O.P. Congress. Democratic and Republican Senators alike question the legality and propriety of any Cabinet officer holding interests in a firm which is doing business with the Government. Chairman Leverett Saltonstall (R., Mass.) of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wilson had informed him from New York that he wants to ‘clarify’ the portions of his testimony dealing with the role he will take in negotiating defense contracts with General Motors should he be confirmed. Wilson disturbed the Senate when he told the committee previously he would not disqualify himself from acting on contracts going to G.M., the nation’s largest defense contractor. Wilson hurried to New York today and conferred with Eisenhower after the Senate storm blew up and it became increasingly evident that the committee was in no frame of mind to clear him for full Senate confirmation on Tuesday ― the day Eisenhower takes the oath as President.”

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Estelle
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Kevin Costner
Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Deliverance” director John Boorman, who was born in 1933; Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Costner, who was born in 1955; Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance, who was born in 1960; Hockey Hall of Famer and former N.Y. Rangers center Mark Messier, who was born in 1961; “Little House on the Prairie” star Alison Arngrim, who was born in 1962; former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who was born in 1963; International Boxing Hall of Famer Virgil Hill, who was born in 1964; “Absolutely Fabulous” star Jane Horrocks, who was born in 1964; “Law & Order” star Jesse L. Martin, who was born in 1969; former NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, who was born in 1973; former N.J. Devils right winger Brian Gionta, who was born in 1979; singer-songwriter Estelle, who was born in 1980; former NFL defensive end Julius Peppers, who was born in 1980; “How I Met Your Mother” star Jason Segel, who was born in 1980; and N.Y. Yankees pitcher Max Fried, who was born in 1994.

Mark Messier
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

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OH-KAYE: Danny Kaye was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1913. His most notable films are “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (1947), “Hans Christian Andersen” (1952), “White Christmas” (1954) and “The Court Jester” (1955). He also hosted “The Danny Kaye Show” on TV in the 1960s. In addition, Kaye helped raise millions of dollars for UNICEF and musicians’ pension plans. He died in 1987.

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MOVIN’ ON UP: “The Jeffersons” premiered on this day in 1975. The CBS sitcom was about an African-American family (formerly neighbors of the Bunkers on “All in the Family”) who moved to Manhattan’s East Side thanks to the success of George Jefferson’s dry-cleaning stores. The cast included Sherman Hemsley as George, Isabel Sanford as his wife Louise and Marla Gibbs as their maid Florence. The show ran until 1985.

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

 

Quotable:

“I wasn’t born a fool. It took work to get this way.”

— entertainer Danny Kaye, who was born in Brooklyn on this day in 1913





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