ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

ON THIS DAY IN 1913, Eagle columnist Frederick Boyd Stevenson said, “You read the other day that the subway contracts had been signed, but how many of you know the details of this big battle which was fought to a successful finish? You with the rest of them, probably, have been asking all along: ‘Why the delay — why don’t we get the subways?’ And you with the rest of them, perhaps, have had but slight conception of the wearisome series of battles that had to be fought and won before the final act of signing the dual contracts was made possible. The story of the subways is one of alluring attractions. On its face the physical part of it may not seem so picturesque as the building of the Panama Canal, and yet more remarkable engineering feats must be accomplished in the building of the subways than enter into the construction of the big waterway. And the financial part of the subways is a greater proposition than the financial part of the Panama Canal.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1921, the Eagle reported, “Laddie Boy, President Harding’s Airedale, is already a subject of controversy among Washingtonians who either know a lot about dogs or think they do. Everybody admits that Laddie Boy is a thoroughbred, but there are wiseacres who stoutly  contend that he is not a show dog. Most of the controversy rages about his ears. Critics are contending that Laddie Boy’s ears are too large and droop too much; that they reveal in too marked degree the otter hound strain which lurks in Airedale ancestry. There are others who assert that Laddie Boy’s ears are entirely permissible, and that any slight divergences from rigid standards in that respect are overbalanced by other good points. Laddie Boy himself is naturally ignorant of all this argument and undisturbed by it. He knows the President, he has learned the run of the White House grounds and he has acumen enough to realize that he is a lucky dog, with a fine home, good meals and a comfortable place to sleep. He is the first White House pet since the Roosevelt days.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1940, the Eagle reported, “For the first time within the memory of parade officials, a Mayor of New York City will march in the annual Brooklyn Memorial Day parade on May 30, it was learned today with the news that Mayor LaGuardia has accepted the invitation of the Kings County American Legion to march with them in the annual procession. The Mayor, it was learned, has informed County Commander Michael V. Mirande that he will be on hand for the parade. Commander Mirande has sent the Mayor a request to take part in the parade, pointing out that LaGuardia had marched in other years in each of the other four boroughs but never in Brooklyn. Mayor LaGuardia was the chief reviewing officer for the parade in 1935, when he greeted the marchers from the reviewing stand. That same day he marched with a citizens’ parade in the afternoon in celebration of the Long Island Tercentenary, but he has never marched yet in a Memorial Day parade and so far as can be determined, no mayor has ever taken part in the annual march. Whether parade officials would ask the Mayor to march at the head of the parade could not be learned. Present plans call for him to march with the American Legion division. The parade is sponsored by a committee from war veterans’ organizations, led by the Grand Army of the Republic.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “ALBANY — The Legislature today moved to put teeth into a measure designed to abolish segregation in the National Guard and other State military units. The Assembly yesterday voted two amendments to a bill which would eliminate immediately segregation of troops in military organizations and the amended bill will come up for final ratification later this week. Then the measure will go back to the Senate for approval before it is sent to Governor Dewey for signature. Originally sponsored by Senator Harold Panken, Manhattan Democrat, the amended measure declares: ‘It is the policy of the State of New York that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the National Guard, naval militia and the New York Guard without regard to race, creed, color or national origin.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “City work crews will begin Monday to patch up an ‘unusual’ number of holes in roadways caused by the severe cold this past winter, Commissioner of Highways John T. Carroll announced yesterday. A total of 1,857 men were assigned to the task over the next month. ‘While we have not had heavy snowfalls this winter, we have experienced unusually long periods of sub-freezing temperatures. Frost has penetrated two to three feet into the ground beneath paving. This has caused an unusual number of holes in roadways and pavement as thaws occur,’ Carroll said.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include football player and broadcaster Ron Jaworski, who was born in 1951; science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson, who was born in 1952; former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was born in 1952; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Chaka Khan, who was born in 1953; fashion designer Kenneth Cole, who was born in Brooklyn in 1954; “Pulp Fiction” star Amanda Plummer, who was born in 1957; “American Splendor” star Hope Davis, who was born in 1964; Basketball Hall of Famer Jason Kidd, who was born in 1973; “Patriots Day” star Michelle Monaghan, who was born in 1976; “Felicity” star Keri Russell, who was born in 1976; former N.Y. Jets and Giants receiver Brandon Marshall, who was born in 1984; former N.Y. Yankees and Mets reliever Dellin Betances, who was born in 1988; author and TV personality Ayesha Curry, who was born in 1989; and “The Haunting” star Victoria Pedretti, who was born in 1995.

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

Quotable:

“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.”

— Oscar-winner Joan Crawford, who was born on this day in 1904