ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

ON THIS DAY IN 1909, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “An Eskimo just in from a journey of nearly 400 miles appeared at Etah, a bleak native settlement far up on the west coast of Greenland, on May 7 of last year, bearing a letter. The message was written by Dr. Frederick A. Cook of Brooklyn. It was dated March 17, 1908. It came from the Arctic Ocean and contained the news that Dr. Cook was on his way to the North Pole. When the Eskimo got the letter from Dr. Cook, the explorer was forty miles from land on the polar ice pack, almost due north of Cape Thomas Hubbard, which is the extreme western point of that great island which lies to the west of Greenland, and which is divided, like so many counties, into Ellesmere Land, Grinnell Land, Great Land and King Oscar Land. That is the last that the civilized world has heard from Dr. Cook. With this letter as a clew, Dillon Wallace will start this summer to find Dr. Cook.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Eagle reported, “Mayor James J. Walker has accepted the honorary chairmanship of the New York Sesquicentennial Committee, it was announced yesterday by Oscar S. Straus, chairman of the committee, according to the Associated Press. Chairmen of other committees announced by Mr. Straus included Owen D. Young as head of the committee on the official participation of the City of New York, and George Gordon Battle as chairman of the committee on the official participation of New York State.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “A blizzard — heavy snows accompanied by gale-force winds — will lash the city this afternoon and continue until Sunday morning, the Weather Bureau warned today. The forecast came as the entire nation east of the Rocky Mountains was in the grip of the most severe cold wave of the Winter, with the death toll attributed to the cold placed at 104. The mercury, which climbed slowly after hitting five degrees at 2:30 a.m. and setting a new low mark for this Winter, will hover close to 15 during the storm, the bureau said. The previous low was 7.2, set last Monday. Estimates of the depth of the expected snowfall ranged from ‘four inches up’ to 15 inches. The Weather Bureau in New York declined to predict an exact figure but asserted that a ‘heavy snow’ involves a fall of more than four inches. The U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington said in a special bulletin that the storm, which was moving up the East coast from South Carolina, will bring from six to eight inches of snow in most areas and near ten in mountain sections.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1955, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — President Eisenhower today asked Congress for specific authority to use United States armed forces ‘if necessary’ to defend Formosa [Taiwan] and the nearby Pescadores Islands against the threat of Red Chinese attack. Mr. Eisenhower said that as commander in chief he has the authority for some of the actions which might be required, but that he wants a congressional resolution to provide clear and public authority for the prompt employment of the armed forces if in his judgment it becomes necessary. The chief executive did not spell out the precise measures he might take. But he said the United States must be prepared to fight should the Chinese Communist forces obviously undertake a move threatening to overrun Formosa. He said his request was based on ‘a series of provocative political and military actions’ by Communist China with the announced aim of capturing Formosa.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Space scientists have prescribed music, exercise and a 26-hour day for Lunar astronauts during week-long flights to the Moon and back. The ‘prescription’ is based on tests conducted by the Langley Research Center (Hampton, Va.) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Results of the tests were reported at the 31st annual meeting of the Institute of Aerospace Sciences in Manhattan Wednesday. ‘Realistic seven-day tests, employing highly skilled research pilots, found them fully capable of completing precise maneuvers needed for atmosphere entry and landing at the end of the week,’ the Langley experimenters said. The study was made with the help of a simulated spacecraft in which test pilots ‘flew’ through the Lunar landing mission which Apollo astronauts are scheduled to make before 1970. ‘The pilots exercised in a special area inside their spacecraft and maintained peak physical condition throughout the seven-day confined mission,’ the report said. ‘Recorded music was fed into the earphones of the pilot and navigator and provided a welcome relief from the tedium of the hours of coasting flight.’ The 26-hour day was divided into four-hour sleep periods and two nine-hour waking periods. The experimenters found this ‘much more satisfactory than the usual 16 awake, eight asleep pattern.’”

***

Tatyana Ali
Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP
Mary Lou Retton
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Diamond, who was born in Brooklyn in 1941; “Tell It Like It Is” singer Aaron Neville, who was born in 1941; science fiction writer David Gerrold, who was born in 1944; “Twin Peaks” star Michael Ontkean, who was born in 1946; comedian and actor Yakov Smirnoff, who was born in 1951; “Cat People” star Nastassja Kinski, who was born in 1961; “Mad TV” star Phil LaMarr, who was born in 1967; gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, who was born in 1968; “The Hangover” star Ed Helms, who was born in 1974; actress and writer Kristen Schaal, who was born in 1978; “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star Tatyana Ali, who was born in 1979; former San Francisco Giants pitcher Scott Kazmir, who was born in 1984; and “The O.C.” star Mischa Barton, who was born in 1986.

Neil Diamond
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

***

ELEMENT OF SURPRISE: On this day in 1848, James W. Marshall, an employee of pioneer John Sutter, accidentally discovered gold while building a sawmill near Coloma, Cal. Efforts to keep the discovery a secret failed and the California Gold Rush was soon under way.

***

COMEDY AND TRAGEDY: John Belushi was born on this day in 1949. The Chicago native was an original cast member of “Saturday Night Live” (1975-79), and starred in the hit films “Animal House” (1978) and “The Blues Brothers” (1980). He died of a drug overdose in 1982.

***

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

Quotable:

“Brooklyn is not the easiest place to grow up in, although I wouldn’t change that experience for anything.”

— Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Diamond, who was born on this day in 1941

January 23: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 22: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 21: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

January 20: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY