March 1: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March 1, 2025 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1843, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “In the House, the general appropriation bill was taken up, and a pending resolution to regulate the expenditure of money for the coast survey agreed to. Also, an amendment making an appropriation of $5,000 for sending an agent abroad to make inquiries relative to the Canal across the Isthmus of Darien, and how it can be used by the United States.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1903, the Eagle reported, “On Tuesday, March 3, the Roman Catholics throughout the world will unite in masses of thanksgiving in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the coronation of Pope Leo XIII as supreme pontiff of the church. This anniversary is of more than ordinary interest, especially when the age of Pope Leo and the length of time the venerable pontiff has given to the service of God in the church are considered. Many men born since Leo XIII was ordained a priest in 1837 have become old and enervated, but the supreme head of the Catholic church, although burdened with the weight of ninety-three years of an eventful life and closely confined within the walls of the Vatican, where he is ‘practically a prisoner,’ still rules over his church with the same strength and vigor he displayed in the early years of his pontificate, and in spite of the many rumors that appear from time to time regarding his failing health, he still preserves a wonderful physical strength for a man of his advanced years and shows no signs of a breakdown.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “PARIS (U.P.) ― American tanks and shock troops battled yard by yard through the last German defenses before Cologne today on a blazing six-mile front looping to within six miles of the Rhineland fortress. Berlin was apparently preparing the home front for word of a German retreat behind the Rhine. German propagandists said the U.S. 1st and 9th Armies had thrown six armored and 12 infantry divisions ― perhaps 220,000 men ― into the offensive and that the battle was approaching a climax. Assault spearheads of three American 1st Army Divisions were across the Erft River in force at three or more points and slugging their way through suddenly stiffened German resistance on high ground about a mile east of the river. Behind them a great array of men, guns and armor was racing up to join the battle, their passage speeded enormously by the capture of two Erft River bridges capable of handling the heaviest tanks and artillery. Doughboys of the 8th Infantry Division were out in front of the attack on the southern flank of the American assault line. Fighting on foot and from the turrets of speeding tanks, the Yanks rooted a strong German force from the cellars and pillboxes of Modrath, 6½ miles west of Cologne, and by this morning had cleared all but the eastern edge of the town.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle said, “City parents are going to be repaid by the American Red Cross for blood donations in the discovery of a cure for measles in plasma residue. The new substance, gamma globulin, was found in the residue after the processing of plasma and it prevents measles among most children who never have had it. A gift to the city from the American Red Cross, it will be distributed free by the Health Department, hospitals and physicians. Most of us have been through the miserable experience of the measles and fully appreciate the worth of the new serum. Health Department records indicate that from 1939 to 1940, 80 percent of the deaths from measles in New York were in children under five. Health Commissioner Stebbins reports that a single dose of gamma globulin, administered within eight days after exposure, will protect most children from developing measles for about three weeks. The small number of children treated with the serum, who develop measles, usually have mild cases which clear up quickly, he says. Another victory for plasma and the American Red Cross.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. (U.P.) ― The New York Yankees came to the end of a short-lived era today. The opening of the major league Spring training season meant journey’s end for the playboy tactics which last year cost Bucky Harris his job as manager of the club. Things are going to be different under Casey Stengel, back in the majors as Harris’ successor after a long sojourn in the Pacific Coast League. Not that Stengel is going to be a dyed-in-the-wool disciplinarian. But he is going to see that the Yankees do not lose any ball games because of any off-field antics. Harris was discharged because he allegedly didn’t keep all of his players in line and the Yankee powers blamed that for their failure to repeat as American League champions in 1948. Stengel, of course, did not want to discuss that, but emphatically he said: ‘Starting tomorrow there will be a midnight curfew. I am not going to have the players trailed or anything like that for I’m sure most of my men know enough to keep in shape and behave themselves. But if any stray off the reservation ― well, I’ll see that they get right back on the right track or else.’”

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Lupita Nyong’o
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Roger Daltrey (The Who), who was born in 1944; “The A-Team” star Dirk Benedict, who was born in 1945; “The Dukes of Hazzard” star Catherine Bach, who was born in 1954; Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, who was born in 1954; “Wings” star Tim Daly, who was born in 1956; Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem, who was born in 1969; “NYPD Blue” star Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who was born in 1974; “Supernatural” star Jensen Ackles, who was born in 1978; Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who was born in 1983; “Tik Tok” singer Kesha, who was born in 1987; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Michael Conforto, who was born in 1993; “Love Yourself” singer Justin Bieber, who was born in 1994; and “A Quiet Place” star Millicent Simmonds, who was born in 2003.

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HOUSE OF HORRORS: On this day in 1954, four Puerto Rican nationalists shot five congressmen from a balcony in the House of Representatives chamber of the U.S. Capitol. The shooters received long prison sentences, which were commuted by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and 1979.

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HELP IS ON THE WAY: The Peace Corps was established on this day in 1961 by an executive order of President John F. Kennedy. The Corps has sent more than 220,000 volunteers to 140 countries to help people help themselves. The volunteers assist in projects related to health, education, water sanitation, agriculture, nutrition and forestry.

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

Quotable:

“I feel that I’m on the ground floor of something that human beings will be concentrating on for the next 1,000 years — if we don’t destroy ourselves in the meantime.”

— Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton, who was born on this day in 1924