Brooklyn Today: November 20, 2012
Good morning. Today is the 325th day of the year. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of Nov. 20, 1914, on its “Queens and Long Island” page, ran an article titled “Suffolk WCTU Hits at Demon Rum.” WCTU referred to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, a then-powerful nationwide organization that was pushing for prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Modern-day Brooklynites might be surprised to find out that the prohibitionists were very tied in with the early feminist movement, in many cases having the same members. They claimed that many men, instead of bringing their wages home to their families, instead spent it at the local saloon. While the prohibitionist movement was strong in rural America, most people in the big cities opposed it.
Well-known people who were born today include Vice President Joseph Biden, actress Bo Derek (“10,” “Bolero,” “Tarzan”), Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer, actor Richard Masur and comedian-folksinger Dick Smothers (“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”).
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