ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

ON THIS DAY IN 1877, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “SCHUYLERVILLE, N.Y. ― The attendance at the celebration of the Centennial of the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne to Gen. Gates and the Continental army, which occurs today, promises to be very large. In consequence of the arrivals of visitors during the past two days, nearly every spare bed was occupied last night. Flags are flying this morning in all parts of the village, and private residences and business houses are gaily decorated. Battery B arrived from Troy yesterday, and fired a salute of one hundred guns at sunrise this morning. An answering gun was heard from Willard’s Mountain, whence General Gates’ scouts signaled to him the movements of Burgoyne’s Army during the days of the campaign. Since daylight this morning, vehicles of every description, crowded with visitors, have been coming in from all directions. The Park Guards of Bennington arrived from Greenwich at nine o’clock, at which hour the streets were crowded.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1889, the Eagle reported, “The Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission met with closed doors today, in the Mayor’s office, and decided that the laying of the cornerstone of the arch should take place on October 30 at 3 P.M. For the position of grand marshal of the procession, Henry W. Knight was chosen. He will have charge of arranging all the details, and organizations which desire places in the procession must apply to him. The cornerstone will be laid by General William T. Sherman, and the Rev. Dr. Behrends will deliver the oration. Among the invited guests are President Harrison, Governor Hill and staff, General Russell A. Alger, commander in chief of the G.A.R., and State G.A.R. Commander Clark.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1905, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON ― An amendment to the civil service rules, sweeping and comprehensive in its character, was authorized today by President Roosevelt. Hereafter a cabinet officer will have the power to remove summarily and without hearing any civil service employee in his department who, to the personal knowledge of the head of the department, has been guilty of misconduct or who is inefficient in the performance of his duties. By the terms of the amendment the cabinet officer must have personal knowledge of the misconduct or inefficiency of the employee whom he proposes to discharge. With this personal knowledge the power of the head of the department is absolute. The amendment authorized today is one of the most important and far-reaching made to the civil service rules in many years. It confers upon Cabinet officers practically unlimited power as to the personnel of their departments.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Eagle reported, “An organization meeting of licensed women pilots has been called by four of the New York women fliers for Nov. 2 at Curtiss Field, Valley Stream, L.I. The call was issued by Neva Paris, Frances Harrell, Margery Brown and Fay Gillis. Those who have already signified their intention to be present are Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Opal Kunz, Nancy Hoyt, Margaret O’Mara, Sylvia Nelsen, Wilma Walsh, Agnes Mills and Betty Huyler.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “A spearhead of the mighty United States fleet which blasted the fighting forces of Japan out of the Pacific streamed into New York Harbor today for the most triumphal welcome since Admiral Dewey returned from Manila after the Spanish-American War. Paced by the mighty 20,000-ton carrier Enterprise, 10 ships arrived for the celebration of Navy Day, Oct. 27. They were the vanguard of the 50 fighting ships which President Truman will review in the Hudson River after commissioning the super-carrier Midway at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Accompanying the Enterprise, veteran of 18 of the 22 naval battles in the Pacific and still proudly plying the seas after being ‘sunk’ six times by Jap propaganda reports, are the carriers Monterey and Bataan, the heavy cruiser Portland and six destroyers. Their coming was heralded yesterday afternoon by a spectacular flight of 101 fighter planes and torpedo bombers from the decks of the carriers. Taking off far out at sea, the planes came roaring over lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to land at Floyd Bennett Field. The 40 planes from the Enterprise, 28 Hellcats and 12 Avengers, formed a giant V as they swept over the Battery at an altitude of 3,000 feet. Over Newark they shifted to an E for Enterprise, and in that formation arrived over the borough naval flying field.”

***

Wyclef Jean
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Felicity Jones
Andy Kropa/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include singer-songwriter Gary Puckett, who was born in 1942; theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh, who was born in 1946; Olympic gold medal-winning pole vaulter Bob Seagren, who was born in 1946; “This Is Spinal Tap” star Michael McKean, who was born in 1947; Space Shuttle astronaut Mae Jemison, who was born in 1956; Country Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson, who was born in 1958; “King of the Hill” co-creator Mike Judge, who was born in 1962; singer-songwriter Ziggy Marley, who was born in 1968; World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els, who was born in 1969; Fugees co-founder Wyclef Jean, who was born in 1969; rapper Eminem, who was born in 1972; and “Rogue One” star Felicity Jones, who was born in 1983.

Michael McKean
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

***

BORN TO BE WILD: Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel was born in Montana on this day in 1938. Knievel gained worldwide fame as a stunt performer, conceiving and executing a series of increasingly outlandish motorcycle jumps throughout the 1970s that often resulted in crashes and broken bones. He died in 2007.

***

SQUARING OFF: “Hollywood Squares” premiered on this day in 1966. The popular game show featured nine celebrities sitting in a giant grid. Two contestants played tic-tac-toe by determining if an answer given by a celebrity was correct. Peter Marshall hosted the show for many years and panelists included Paul Lynde, Rose Marie, Cliff Arquette, Wally Cox, John Davidson and George Gobel, among others. Davidson took over as host in 1986 for a new version of the show, with Joan Rivers and, later, Shadoe Stevens at center square. In 1998, the show appeared again with Tom Bergeron as host and Whoopi Goldberg as the center square.

***

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

Quotable:

“I learned one thing from jumping motorcycles that was of great value on the golf course, the putting green especially: Whatever you do, don’t come up short.”

— stunt performer Evel Knievel, who was born on this day in 1938