ON THIS DAY IN 1875, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The American and French Commissioners of the U.S. Centennial yesterday had a conference, and a reception to Americans in Paris will be given next Sunday.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1917, the Eagle reported, “It is generally considered by economists and students of political conditions that the purchase of the Virgin Islands, formerly known as the Danish West Indies, by the United States from Denmark for $25,000,000 on January 17, 1917, was a move of great political, economic and strategic importance for the United States. Both strategically and politically the importance of extending American jurisdiction over the islands is very apparent. Their geographical position in the Caribbean, 1,440 miles southeast of New York, and 1,025 miles northeast of Colon, within 40 miles of Porto Rico, with two excellent harbors ― St. Thomas Harbor and the one at Christiansted at St. Croix ― offer an admirable base and coaling station for the navy in time of war, as well as being valuable to merchant ships in time of peace. Also, the political significance of the purchase is quite obvious in view of the fact that the Monroe Doctrine is practically a settled National policy of the United States. In point of fact the chief reason for the purchase was at the time very plain. It was all but actually stated that if this country didn’t buy the islands some other country would, and we decided to ‘play safe.’”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “The new $55,000,000 Fulton St. line of the city-owned Independent Subway System was opened formally today when Mayor LaGuardia touched the motorman’s controls of a ten-car train which immediately pulled out of the Schermerhorn-Hoyt St. station. Fifteen hundred Brooklyn civic, business and political leaders jammed every available inch of space in the train in their eagerness to celebrate the most important rapid transit development in the borough in many years. Chairman John H. Delaney of the Board of Transportation, who is the city’s official worrier about the headaches of subway sardines, found out how they feel in the rush hours, for he arrived after the train was crowded and had to play the role of straphanger. The straphanger next to him was Herbert L. Carpenter, chairman of the committee on arrangements for today’s celebration and of Brooklyn’s Committee of One Hundred, which has been one of the most militant proponents of the completion of the subway system. Even the Mayor himself had to stand and cling to a strap on the return trip from the Rockaway Ave. terminal to Nostrand Ave. When someone mentioned it, he grinned and said: ‘Oh, I don’t mind it. I’m used to it.’”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle said, “The creation of a new department ― of Health, Education and Welfare ― in the Federal Government setup is the first since 1913, when the Department of Commerce and Labor was split into two. The change is desirable on the basis of the importance of the three subjects with which it will deal. It is also highly desirable because of the unusually competent individual who will thus become a member of the Cabinet ― Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby, who will be the second woman to sit in the Cabinet. Her only predecessor was Miss Frances Perkins, who served as Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “AUGUSTA, GA. (UPI) — Jack Nicklaus, a boy on a man’s mission, accomplished it yesterday when he won the Masters Golf Tournament with a steady final round par 72 for a 286 total that staved off brilliant finishes by 29-year-old Tony Lema and 51-year-old Sam Snead. The broad-beamed 23-year-old Nicklaus, who has generally been rated the nation’s No. 3 golfer behind Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, made a bold claim for the top spot by adding his first Masters triumph to the U.S. Open Championship he won last year. With a majority of the 30,000 galleryites urging the favored Palmer to overtake young Jack, Nicklaus never wilted in the face of intense pressure as he methodically fired a final round 37-35 to go with his previous rounds of 74-66-74. … Nicklaus’ best previous finish in the Masters was seventh place in 1961 while he was still an amateur. This marked the fifth time he had competed in this blue-ribbon event. ‘I think now I have come of age,’ he grinned, after holing out on the 18th. ‘It proved to me that my victory in the Open last year was no fluke.’”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Steve Howe (Yes), who was born in 1947; “Piano in the Dark” singer Brenda Russell, who was born in Brooklyn in 1949; “The Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider, who was born in 1960; “Valotte” singer Julian Lennon, who was born in 1963; L7 co-founder Donita Sparks, who was born in 1963; “The Princess Bride” star Robin Wright, who was born in 1966; Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette, who was born in 1968; “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Emma Caulfield, who was born in 1973; former N.Y. Mets outfielder Timo Perez, who was born in 1975; “Battlestar Galactica” star Katee Sackhoff, who was born in 1980; and “Jessie” star Skai Jackson, who was born in 2002.
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ARMS AROUND THE WORLD: The Venus de Milo was discovered on this day in 1820. One of the most famous works of Greek sculpture, it was found in the ruins of the ancient city of Milos in the Aegean Sea, intact except for its missing arms. It currently resides at the Louvre in Paris.
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ALL THAT JAZZ: Carmen McRae was born on this day in 1920. After winning an amateur contest at the Apollo Theatre in her native Harlem, she became a noted jazz artist, singing with the Earl Hines, Mercer Ellington and Benny Carter bands, among others, and recording dozens of albums. She died in 1994.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“Blues is to jazz what yeast is to bread — without it, it’s flat.”
— singer Carmen McRae, who was born on this day in 1920
