ON THIS DAY IN 1891, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “TORONTO, ONT. ― Never before, since confederation, has there been anything approaching the excitement of the Dominion election which is taking place today. The issue, while really a question whether Canada shall endeavor to arrange closer trade relations with the United States or maintain the existing protective system, has been described by the governmental orators and organs as a question of British connection or annexation to the United States. This has increased the bitterness and asperity usual in a general election.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1893, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 4 (U.P.) ― The presidential party, with its military escort, came in sight of the eastern entrance of the capitol a few minutes after 12 o’clock. A large crowd had assembled at the east front and cheered loudly as Mr. Cleveland approached. He went in by the basement entrance in order to avoid the somewhat slippery steps on the outside. From the moment he descended from the carriage he was received with lusty cheers, and when he entered the senate wing the cheers of the outside crowd gave way to an ovation. When Mr. Cleveland stepped to the entrance to the marble room with Mr. Harrison, both men had the collars of their great coats turned up about their ears and their silk hats showed the effects of the inclement weather they had encountered on the trip from the White House to the capitol. As they crossed the threshold of the marble room Mr. Harrison bowed to his successor and walked, unattended, to the President’s room, where he found an abundance of work to keep him busy. In fact, it was such an amount of work that three times did it become necessary for the venerable Captain Bassett to turn back the hands of the clock. If there had been any fears that the appropriation bills would force a halt in the proceedings by reason of the time required to engross them, that fear was dispelled, for among the first bills to be presented to Mr. Harrison were those making appropriations for the expenses of the government. About the room were members of the outgoing cabinet, while now and then Mr. Carlisle, the new secretary of the treasury, stepped in to chat with Mr. Foster and other members of Mr. Harrison’s official family.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1899, the Eagle reported, “ROME, MARCH 4 ― The Pope left his bed today and sat in an armchair from noon until 3 o’clock without any ill effects. He continues to improve, has a good appetite and all danger is regarded as past. The Pope’s condition at 9 o’clock this evening was satisfactory. His holiness today told Monsignor Angeli that he had read a collection of newspaper articles on his illness and was pleased to find that all spoke respectfully of him.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle said, “The choice of Mayor Walker as grand marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day parade could not be bettered. Mayor Walker’s Irish descent and his position as chief executive of a city with a large percentage of people of Irish birth or stock in its population make the selection most appropriate. There is a custom which prescribes that grand marshals of St. Patrick’s Day parades shall ride horseback. Mr. Walker would look well on horseback, but he insists on breaking custom and discharging the duties of his grand marshalship from an automobile. This, of course, will detract somewhat from the spectacle because a grand marshal sits up higher on a horse than he does on an automobile, unless he sits on the roof. There will be mounted police in the parade, anyway, and those of Mr. Walker’s aides who wish to bestride horses will be permitted to do so. If any of them fail to keep their seats no one will greatly care. But it would mar the occasion if the grand marshal slipped from the unfamiliar saddle through an excess of emotion on the part of his steed. A twelve or sixteen cylinder car is a safer conveyance for a grand marshal who admits that he is not a good horseman.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “PARIS (UP) ― American armored and infantry forces broke into the streets of Cologne today and struck for the center of the Rhineland city without meeting opposition. First accounts from the front indicated the bulk of the German garrison already had fled across the Rhine and that only scattered Nazi rear guards were left in the Cologne ruins. Elements of the U.S 1st Army’s 3rd Armored Division swept into Cologne from the northwest in two parallel columns. Vanguards of the American 104th and 8th Infantry divisions were driving into the city’s outskirts from the west and southwest. The 3rd Armored Division captured Longerich, 1¾ miles northwest of Cologne, and Mengenich, two miles to the west and about the same distance from the city. Both columns pushed rapidly ahead into Cologne proper and at last reports were pouring tanks and infantrymen into the heart of Germany’s fourth city. ‘We are within the city limits and thus far there is no resistance,’ United Press correspondent C. R. Cunningham reported in a dispatch filed from the Cologne Front at 9 a.m. today (4 a.m. Brooklyn time).”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) ― Princess Elizabeth, 18-year-old heiress presumptive to the throne, has joined the ATS, British equivalent of the WAC, and is training in south England as an officer driver, a Buckingham Palace announcement said. She was commissioned a second subaltern by her father, King George, who ordered that ‘she is to receive no special privileges because of her personal rank any more than did the King when he served in the Royal Navy.’”
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Eva Mendes Evan Agostini/Invision/APRay Suarez Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include actor and comedian Paul Sand, who was born in 1932; football player and actor Fred Williamson, who was born in 1938; “Doctor Dolittle” star Samantha Eggar, who was born in 1939; former Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Kent Tekulve, who was born in 1947; “Night Court” star Marsha Warfield, who was born in 1954; magician Penn Jillette, who was born in 1955; journalist and author Ray Suarez, who was born in Brooklyn in 1957; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), who was born in 1970; “2 Fast 2 Furious” star Eva Mendes, who was born in 1974; former N.Y. Knicks point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who was born in 1996; singer-songwriter Madison Beer, who was born in 1999; and “Jojo Rabbit” star Roman Griffin Davis, who was born in 2007.
Penn Jillette Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
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TURNING POINT: The Boston Massacre took place on this day in 1770. A skirmish between British troops and a crowd in Boston, Mass., became widely publicized and contributed to the unpopularity of the British regime in the colonies before the American Revolution. Five men were killed and six more were injured by British troops commanded by Capt. Thomas Preston. The troops were defended by young lawyer John Adams, who later became a leader of the revolution and the second president of the U.S.
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CONTINENTAL DIVIDE: Winston Churchill, speaking at Westminster College, Fulton, Mo., on March 5, 1946, established the cold war boundary with these words: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” Though Churchill was not the first to use the phrase “iron curtain,” his speech gave it a new currency and its usage persisted.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“Oh, I offended you with my opinion? You should hear the ones I keep to myself.”
— country singer Patsy Cline, who died on this day in 1963
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
