ON THIS DAY IN 1867, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The American Institute will hold a World’s Fair at New York in 1876, beginning on the 4th of July, the centennial of American independence.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1878, the Eagle reported, “The details of the proposed income tax will be the assessment of a tax of two per cent, on all incomes exceeding $2,000 and not exceeding $5,000, three per cent, on all incomes that are more than $5,000 and not more than $10,000, and four per cent, on all incomes exceeding $10,000. The exemptions proposed are military and naval pensions, and $2,000 of ordinary income, $2,000 for each five persons of every religious or social community holding all their property and the income jointly and in common. The first assessment of the tax, if this plan should be adopted, would be made for the year ending December 31, 1878. It is also proposed to tax the incomes of corporations at the rate of four per cent.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1903, the Eagle reported, “PORTLAND, ORE. ― Henry Clay Frick, mentioned by the anti-Carnegie faction in the United States Steel Corporation as successor to Charles M. Schwab, president of the company, declares that he will not accept that position. This statement was made by Mr. Frick yesterday as he was passing through the city on his way to his home in New York.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1908, the Eagle reported, “There will be special music at both morning and evening services in the Central Congregational Church tomorrow, Palm Sunday, and the pastor, the Rev. Dr. S. Parkes Cadman, will preach.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Eagle reported, “At no time in the year is a visit to Washington, D.C., more to be desired than now; for climate, temperature and nature conspired to present a pageant which, for sheer beauty, cannot be bettered anywhere else in the world. Fortunate indeed is the motor tourist who has at least a week to spend in and around Washington at this time. The second cherry-blossoms are due this coming week, but motorists should check with the Eagle Travel Bureau or the Automobile Club for the latest information.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle said, “More than ever this year the Jewish people ponder the significance of the Passover season. Millions of their co-religionists in Europe are prisoners in concentration camps or are degraded in ghettos, are branded as outcasts. The force oppressing them today is more powerful by far than that which kept them in bondage in Egypt. Yet the Jews know that this will pass, as all evil must pass, since evil carries within it the seed of its own destruction. There is another thing today that lightens the grim picture. The Jew today is not the only victim of the persecution loosed against him. He no longer stands alone. His Christian brethren are as much the object of attack as he is. The forces which seek to enslave or exterminate Judaism seek also to extirpate Christianity, for those forces know that they cannot live as long as there is alive in the world a belief in a power greater than brute strength and devilish cunning. If ever there was a time when it behooved all men of honor and courage and decency to realize they are brothers ― whatever their faith ― it is today. If ever the non-Jew needed to look at the ability of his Jewish brother to survive persecution and death through the sheer power of the spirit, it is today. That is the lesson of this Passover season for all of us.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “PARIS (UP) ― Three American armies raced over the last 100 miles to Berlin today at a clip that was expected to bring a juncture with the Red Army in the next 24 to 72 hours. In their wake, the great German arsenal city of Essen fell. In a day of spreading Nazi military disaster that brought the final collapse of the Wehrmacht measurably closer, the American 1st, 3rd and 9th Armies, more than 1,000,000 strong, broke loose on what appeared to be the final drive for Berlin. Vanguards of the 9th Army in the north were 99 miles or less from the capital early today and all three armies were pounding ahead against disorganized resistance. Essen, Germany’s greatest manufacturing city and the core of the Ruhr Valley industries, was captured by the 9th Army’s 17th Airborne Division in an advance into the northern wall of the Ruhr trap. Home of the sprawling Krupp works and the sixth largest city in Germany, it was the richest industrial prize to fall into Allied hands. The German garrison, already more than 100 miles behind the Berlin-bound American armies, offered only weak resistance.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “The Easter season promises an unusual number of films particularly appealing to young people, and at the same time interesting entertainment for adults. This is a combination seldom seen, since a film that is at once suited to the juvenile trade and yet not merely childish doesn’t come along too often. ‘Saturation’ bookings at many theaters will bring three outstanding pictures for youngsters into practically every neighborhood. They are ‘Pinocchio,’ ‘Heidi’ and ‘Knights of the Round Table.’ In addition, ‘Prince Valiant’ at the Roxy will draw its own quota of young followers of the comic strip on which the production is based, and Danny Kaye, in his new comedy ‘Knock on Wood’ at the Capitol, will be as much a lure for teenagers as for the other assorted ages. Walt Disney’s ‘Pinocchio’ is starting the rounds of RKOs next Friday. It will be coupled with ‘Rob Roy,’ the Walt Disney live-action feature in Technicolor, which had its premiere just a few weeks ago. A whole new generation of children is waiting to see ‘Pinocchio,’ which first bowed in 1940.”
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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Cabaret” star Joel Grey, who was born in 1932; journalist Tony Brown, who was born in 1933; “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” star Louise Lasser, who was born in 1939; magazine editor Hattie Gossett, who was born in 1942; “Animal House” star Peter Riegert, who was born in 1947; former N.Y. Knicks guard Micheal Ray Richardson, who was born in 1955; former N.Y. Mets pitcher Bret Saberhagen, who was born in 1964; “Spin City” star Jennifer Esposito, who was born in 1972; “Battlestar Galactica” star Tricia Helfer, who was born in 1974; former N.Y. Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who was born in 1980; model and TV personality Alessandra Ambrosio, who was born in 1981; and singer-songwriter Joss Stone, who was born in 1987.
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IN HARMONY: Today is National Barbershop Quartet Day, which commemorates the 1938 gathering of 26 people in Tulsa, Ok., and the founding there of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America.
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ME GOTTA GO: Today is International “Louie Louie” Day, in honor of one of the greatest party songs of all time. “Louie Louie” has been recorded more times than any other rock song in history and was nearly declared the official state song of Washington. Richard Berry, who released the song in 1957, was born on April 11, 1935.
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“The first lesson in civics is that efficient government should begin at home.”
— Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who was born on this day in 1862
